All your planning has to be done well before Thanksgiving if you want to get your invitations out before everyone's calendars fill up. Try to find out when other events are being held so you don't plan a party when all your frinds will be at the concert. On a separate sheet of paper for each party, make lists of guests, menus, groceries, gifts, prizes, candles, centerpieces, music, activities, clothes, and so on.
You can take advantage of the clean house and the cleared out refrigerator by having 2 or 3 parties back to back. For instance, have the tree decorating party on Friday night, the Christmas open house on Saturday, and the ornament-making party with your friends on Monday afternoon. On this piece of paper you could also assess the party afterwards. How did it go? What could I change for next year? What foods were the favorites or least favorites?
Below are some some party ideas and the food and activities that go with them. This year, why not host 1 or 2 additional parties for your celebration of the Holidays? And remember, inviting just one person can still be a party, if you have a party frame of mind.
Decorating the Christmas Tree Party
Before the party, have the room neat, clean, vacuumed, furniture moved around, etc.
Have all extention cords, electric timers and plenty of ornament hangers ready ahead of time. Detangle the lights and garlands. Have an
idea of the order you want objects hung. At party time, put on some Christmas music and get ready to put the Tree up rather quickly.
Be open-minded about how it's going to look by the end of the party. Don't risk hurting anyone's feelings by correcting their idea of
Decor. You can always make adjustments later. When I am giving this party I gently announce at the beginning that I reserve the right
to tweak any decorations later "to show each ornament off to its full advantage". This disclaimer assures everyone that they won't be
hassled about their choices. If there are too many people to decorate the Tree, have some other decorating tasks ready. Teens and adults
can wire some pine branches together for evergreen swags, including a few pinecones. Then, with a wide red bow on each swag,
you have decorations for each door, porch posts, etc. Everyone should have a job and know what their job is, so have a list of tasks
and be prepared to delegate. Young kids can have a few ornaments to hang, and can hand ornaments to grownups to hang on the tree. Older kids can put out the food,
and take turns with adults at decorating the Tree, or helping the little ones with their decorating. Tney could also be in charge of
the final touches-- putting the tree skirt down and placing at least one wrapped gift underneath. Then, turn out the lights, light the
finished tree and sing "O Christmas Tree". Drink wassail, eat cookies and congratulate each other for a job well done.
Christmas Open House
Make lots of dainty sandwiches, cheese balls and crackers, punch, veggie trays, devilled eggs, cakes, cookies-- your favorite holiday
foods that can be replenished throughout the day. Your invitations will specify the hours you are 'open', such as 1 - 5pm. The trick is
having enough food to last the day, yet be able to store leftovers, in case there is too much food. Have Christmas CDs ready to play
all day long.
Jesus' Birthday Party
This is an obvious party for kids. Serve birthday cake and ice cream (everybody gather around the cake and all
blow out the candles at once), play games, award prizes. The gifts given to Jesus could be cards filled out by each guest that tell a personal
thing they could do for God: "Read poetry to an old person", "Load the dishwasher for mom", "Join the church choir", etc.
Build a Gingerbread House Party
Do a Google search for "gingerbread house" and find the recipes you like for the gingerbread and icing. Figure out
how many gingerbread walls you need to bake, OR how many graham crackers to buy. Make a work area for each guest, including a wide
assortment of candies, paper towels, a knife to spread the icing, and so forth. Make a foil-covered piece of cardboard for the tray
to hold the house for each person. For refreshments, have each guest make their own treat: ice a graham cracker and decorate it with
a few candies. Serve punch or milk to go with the goodies. When guests are done, take a photo of the group with their creations.
Christmas Carolling Party
Prepare hot chocolate and spiced apple cider ahead of time, so they just have to be warmed later. Borrow or make some Christmas
carol booklets, OR, just make a list of songs that everybody knows. Carpool and sing at nursing homes, retirement centers, orphanages,
church leader's homes, coach's homes, street corners, where ever! Then go back to your house for refreshments. Make coffee and tea, heat
the cocoa and cider, and put out punch, and any other cold drinks. An asssortment of Christmas cookies and candies served on pretty
holiday dishes will be a great finish for the evening.
Night of Music Party
Invite friends, relatives and neighbors over for an evening of singing your favorite Christmas songs. This is like Christmas carolling
at your own house. A piano or guitar would be a nice accompaniment, but a capella is perfectly fine, especially if there are some who
can sing harmony. Everyone has their own cup of warmth, and the cookies and fudge are arrayed on the coffee table for everyone to
serve themselves. After the singing is finished, people can share their most memorable Christmas, making the evening a time of
bonding.
Christmas Movie Party
Every year I watch "It's a Wonderful Life", and "A Christmas Carol" (the one with Alistair Sims is my favorite version), "The
Best Christmas Pageant Ever", etc. Why not invite friends over to watch with you? Specialty Popcorn (see recipes on the Internet)
and other snacks with your favorite cold and warm dips will go perfectly.
Actually Fun Office Party
Invite the office to your house this year-- so much a better atmosphere than the fluorescent lights and desks at work. Do a google search
for some games, or use the tried-and-true charades, etc. Make the food a potluck menu-- have everyone bring their favorite holiday dish.
Don't worry about the menu being out of balance-- several desserts and only one main dish, for instance. It always comes out just fine.
Another form of this party would be to have several card tables set up with a different game going at each table, then at some point
everyone switch to a different game and carry on where the other people left off. Also, there's the Ever Popular White Elephant Gift
Exchange. Everyone brings a funny or not-useful wrapped gift. No one knows what it is. The crazier, the better, such as a worn out
toilet seat, or what I received last year-- the travelling First Aid Kit made from a jock strap. I will add 1 or 2 new features to it,
then bring it to this year's party. At the time for the gift exchange, everyone is counted and draws a
number out of a hat. If there are 15 people, the numbers would be 1 through 15. Number 1 goes first. He selects any gift and opens it.
Number 2 can now select to open a new gift OR take the gift from number 1. This goes on until number 15 has made their selection. Then,
number 1 gets to have the last turn: keeping what they have or trading with someone else. Usually, someone brings a desirable gift such as a
box of chocolate-covered cherries, or even a bicycle, but usually the items are totally unwanted. When it's someone's turn to choose, those
with an undesireable gift try to convince that person to take their gift, pointing out its good qualities. A noisy game, and full of
laughter.
Christmas Eve Family Party
Christmas Eve is the Big Party at our house. To see how our family celebrates, go here. .
If your family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Day, then Christmas Eve is a wonderful family time to go to a late church service, read the
real Christmas Story from the Bible, Christmas poetry, the Dickens' "A Christmas Story", etc. It would be fun to invite another family over,
close friends, and have all the kids in their pajamas, stretched out on the floor with afghans and quilts to snuggle in and with
lights dimmed. The adults might take turns reading, or let the best reader do it. Have candles lit in safe places, and read quietly.
The children, even teens, will remember this night for years to come. Refreshments should be served before the reading, in case little
ones fall asleep. Lots of families open one gift on Christmas Eve.
Christmas Day Brunch
If Christmas Eve is your main celebration, a Christmas Brunch the next day is a satifying party to give. That's when
we invite college students or single people whose family is far away. Usually
people enjoy breakfast dishes. A quiche that includes sliced sausages, with spice muffins and a cranberry-apricot compote is a great way
to wake up for the day. Make plenty of flavored strong coffee and tea. Encourage guests to come as they are in their coziest or new
Christmas pajamas. Each person can bring their own bed pillow and just loll around until mid afternoon. Let the kids play and watch
videos while the grownups just veg.
Some Additional Party Ideas:
Have a party with your friends to plan all of your holiday parties! You can share recipes, perhaps even make enough of a
certain dish to share with each of the others. How about a guy's party where they all rig up the outdoor
lights and decorations at each other's houses? The women can gather at the last place and prepare a hearty potluck lunch or dinner.
What about a cut-your-own-Christmas-Tree-party? My mom, daughters, sister and I get together for a Christmas Cookie Baking Day. We each
come with the recipes and any special ingredients. The hostess provides the staple ingredients such as flour, baking soda, oil, and so
forth. We play Christmas music and break for lunch in the living room and watch HGTV's "Christmas at the White House" or similar show.
By the end of the day, we're tired, covered with flour, but all the cookies are divided, boxed and ready for the freezer.
In our family, the final party of the holiday season is New Year's Day brunch while watching the Rose Parade. We eat the kind of foods
(like pastries and special fruit dishes) that we don't eat the rest of the year.
Whatever parties you hold this year, I hope they will be the best you've ever given!
| Quilting Workroom | How to Become a Christian | Stuff I Wanna Do in Heaven | Christmas |
Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved. Updated 1/5/2008.
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