Parties and get-togethers with friends and family are common this time of year. If you’ve hosted or attended enough ugly sweater parties to last a lifetime, what are some other holiday party themes you can bring in?
Holiday game night
For groups that love games, there are lots of free Christmas bingo online you can print out and use, like these from The Spruce Crafts. All holiday party themes need some refreshment, so serve cocktails (for adults), eggnog, and/or hot chocolate! If bingo doesn’t quite cut it, opt for some holiday-themed trivia instead.
Holiday movies
Pretty much everyone has a favorite holiday movie they like to watch this time of year. Have your friends and/or family bring one and watch it all together. If you have a larger group and don’t want to watch a bunch of full-length movies, watch favorite TV specials or shorts instead.
Appetizer/side dish potluck
If you want to serve food at your get-together, but the thought of cooking for a large group seems exhausting, ask everyone to bring a favorite appetizer or side dish instead. This way, there’s lots of variety. As the host, you can provide dessert and drinks.
Ornament exchange
Need more ornaments to spruce up your tree? Throw an ornament exchange party where everyone brings an ornament in a gift bag. You can play a game to distribute the ornaments or keep things simple and just have people choose one blind.
Gingerbread house decoration contest
Are your friends competitive? Harness that spirit with a gingerbread house decorating contest. You can get kits at a store, so don’t worry about baking a bunch of gingerbread yourself. If buying a bunch of full-sized houses is not in your budget, you can have your group make graham cracker houses! You can find instructions and a list of supplies on Heidi Kundin’s “Happiness Is Homemade” blog post. A contest for decorating sugar cookies is also a great activity and a little more simple.
Latkes swap
Latkes, or potato pancakes, are a classic Hanukkah food. There are countless variations out there, so if your friends and family all make theirs a different way, have a party where everyone brings their own recipe. You can make it a contest or just share the fried deliciousness.
Christmas karaoke
If you have a karaoke machine or know where you can get one, getting people together for some carol singing is a great way to celebrate the season. This is a great party theme if your group includes people who love singing and performing. Serve some seasonal booze to relax anyone who’s a little nervous.
White elephant exchange
A white elephant exchange is a very fun holiday party theme because it’s adaptable. Everyone buys a gift, wraps it, and then at the party, everyone gets to choose or steal the gifts. Be sure to set a reasonable price limit and let people know if they should get gag gifts or “serious” gifts. You don’t want an awkward situation where there’s one really good gift and everyone is fighting over it, or there’s one gag gift and the person that brought it feels bad.
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