From Humbug To Hooray - How To Plan The Perfect Christmas Party

Bad Christmas parties. There really is no excuse. They say a that a failure to plan is a plan to fail and this is especially true for Christmas parties. If just a little time and effort is put in at the beginning the rest just falls into place quite easily. Don’t believe us? Collectively, we’ve thrown so many Christmas parties that we’ve lost count, each one better than the last. So being the season of giving, just sit back and accept our heartfelt gift , the ultimate guide to planning the perfect Christmas party, where we promise a lot less “Humbug” and a lot more “Hooray!”

First, you’re going to need a Christmas party theme? “A theme”, you ask. “Isn’t Chrismas a theme?” Alas, no it’s not. Just like “birthday” isn’t a theme and “wedding” isn’t a theme, Christmas on its own is not a theme. So what options do you have?

Winter Wonderland Theme: Whites and blues, snowdrifts and snowflakes, ice sculptures and snowmen. The list is endless and yet well defined and any theme that combines both a style and colour scheme is going to make it easy for you to deliver on.

The Night Before Christmas Party Theme: Capture the warmth, wonder and excitement of Clement Clarke Moore’s famous poem and create an old 1800’s Christmas scene complete with a roaring fire and a great big Christmas tree, hung stockings and a giant silhouette of Santa’s reindeer and sleigh. Timber panelling (you can just use printed paper) can convert any room into a 19^th century living room that your guests will love.

Nutcracker Christmas Party Theme

Nutcracker soldiers are meant to be extremely good luck at Christmas time, according to German folklore and these wooden toys bring great colour and a childlike wonder to any party. A pair of giant nutcrackers at the entrance will totally set the scene for this great Christmas party idea and you can run their imagery throughout the party.

Country Christmas Party Theme:

Think pine cones and fir trees, hessian table cloths and snow-covered decorations as well as holly themed bunting and timber decorations. Use festoon or faux-candle lighting throughout to create a rustic, beautiful Christmas party scene.

Santa’s Workshop Christmas Party Theme:

There’s two things you’re going to see a lot of in Satna’s workshop and that’s elves and toys. Create an entrance that looks like an ornate doorway into a workshop with benches, wooden toys, and curved elven shoes and hats everywhere you look. Use green tunics and striped leggings as costumes for your waiting staff to really set the mood.

If you still can’t find a Christmas theme to suit, check out our full list of Christmas party themes with matching party favours and decorations. There’s hundreds to choose from in a wide variety of styles and colour schemes.

The guests

Besides creating a guest list, you need to sell the mood of the party before they get there. Different people have different approaches to a Christmas party so it’s up to you to get them excited.

Tease a few of the details in your invitation so they know that this will be more than “just another Christmas party”. Sell your theme and encourage guests to add a touch of tinsel, or a touch of Christmas cheer to their attire for the evening.

Styling

Now that you’ve decided on a theme and a corresponding colour scheme, it’s time to focus on your Christmas party decorations and favours to really sell that theme. The entrance is all important and will go a long way to telling the story of your Christmas party theme and how much effort you’ve put into it, so this is good place to start.

If you’re going to spring for a Christmas tree then this is the spot to place it, not in some far off corner of the room. The exception to this is a giant tree in the middle of the room if the budget can stretch that far. Otherwise, a pair of trees on either side of the entrance in your chosen colour scheme will look great.

To reinforce your colour palette, use one of our gorgeous Christmas balloon garlands over your drink station or dessert table. They take less than an hour to put up, can be done a day in advance and look absolutely fabulous. Further decorate them with sprigs of holly, fir tree branches or snow flake shapes cut from card in a variety of sizes.

Favours

Create a pile of Christams bon bons in either gold or silver and stack them on a plate – they sparkle and create a great sense of abundance and cheer. Platters of chocolate Christmas gifts with a personalised message on them just ooze festive class.

Customise some gold chocolate coins in a large brass bowl which will look beautiful as do candy cane cards which you can use to welcome guests to a sit-down dinner. Alternatively, our Christmas Toblerone bars also make a great place card replacement for more formal settings.

A great parting favour for guests is our themed Christmas hamper. If your guests have a sweet tooth you can gift complete chocolate Christmas hampers.Entertainment

On the music front, start with traditional carols and work your way up to the more upbeat numbers (think “All I want for Christmas is you”) as the night progresses. The number of dance-worthy Christmas tracks grows every year so creating a Spotify play list is worth the hour it takes.