Creative Holiday Party Ideas

By Penny Warner

Start your holiday celebrations with cheer! Choose a distinctive theme, then personalize the party with your favorite traditions.

TREE TRIMMING PARTY AND ORNAMENT EXCHANGE.
Have guests bring ornaments to exchange, then trim the tree over hot cider and munchies.

Invitations: Buy inexpensive ornaments, attach a card with party details written with glitter pens, and mail to guests. Ask them to bring a wrapped ornament to exchange.

Decorations: Choose an ornament theme, such as snowmen, Santa, stockings, stars, or snowflakes. Or try a whimsical theme, such as bags of St. Nick’s Coal (black bubble gum), pink flamingos, seashells, funny frogs, or rubber duckies. Decorate accordingly.

Activities:

• Make an ornament. Buy paint-it-yourself wood or ceramic ornaments, then have guests decorate and personalize them with crafts supplies. Make ornaments from kits, such as personalized resin, mini-stockings, beaded icicles, foam Santas, or candy cane reindeer.
• Exchange an ornament. Have guests draw numbers, then choose a wrapped ornament in order. The next guest gets to choose a wrapped ornament or steal an opened ornament. No one is safe until the last ornament is opened!

Food: Serve an “Appetizer Tree” by sticking cut-up veggies into a Styrofoam cone covered with lettuce. Cut tree-shaped sandwiches using cookie cutters. Serve a tree-shaped cake sprinkled with green tinted coconut and tiny candy ornaments.

Gifts: Buy or make personalized ornaments, tuck them into tiny stockings, and send them with the guests.

GIFT MAKING AND GIFT WRAPPING PARTY.
Gather the gang for a “gifted” party full of goodies and glad tidings!

Invitation: Buy small boxes and write party details inside. Include small candy, wrap boxes, tie with festive ribbon, and mail to guests.

Decorations: “Wrap” the front door with foil to look like a giant present. Cover the table with a white tablecloth, then crisscross with wide red and green ribbon to look like a wrapped package, and set a big bow in the center. Hang up signs that read “Santa’s Workshop” or “Quiet! Elves Working!” Have elf hats for guests to wear. Set out craft materials and tie ribbons on some of them.

Activities:

• Select a few simple gifts for guests to make, such as photo frame kits, advent calendars, holiday bookmarks, marshmallow snowmen kits, color-it-yourself holiday plates, and so on. Gather craft supplies, set up stations, and let the guests choose what they want to make.
• Include one station for do-it-yourself gift-wrap making, and provide large sheets of butcher paper, stencils, paint, glitter, and ribbon.

Food: Make petit fours (small cakes), then decorate them to look like mini-presents. Serve cookies cut into holiday shapes and let guests decorate them with frosting and sprinkles.

Gifts: Besides their homemade gifts, send the guests home with a special memento of the party, such as a framed photo of the group, some holiday craft magazines, or a craft kit.

COOKIE EXCHANGE AND GINGERBREAD HOUSE PARTY.
Have an edible party with creative cookies and gingerbread!

Invitations: Make gingerbread men cookies, decorate them to look like guests by adding hair, glasses, beards, etc. Include a card with party details and hand deliver to guests in decorated boxes. Ask guests to bring 3 dozen favorite cookies to exchange.

Decorations:
Set up a scene made from Gingerbread houses and figures or foam kits. Cut out letters from gingerbread using alphabet cookie cutters and bake cookie-words such as, “Welcome to Gingerbread Village” and “Can’t Catch Me!”

Activities:

• Place cookies on a table, then give guests a cookie tin or plate and have them select an evenly divided number of cookies from each plate to take home. Wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon.
• Prepare pre-baked Gingerbread Men or Gingerbread Houses and let guests decorate them with tubes of icing, sprinkles, and other candy decorations. Or make them from kits.

Food: Serve gingerbread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and hot cranberry-apple cider with a cinnamon stick.

Gifts: Guests get to take home their cookies and creations.