Awesome Christmas Party Ideas

I love throwing parties.

I absolutely love throwing Christmas parties.

As we end our week of Christmas in July here at How to Be Awesome at Everything, here are some great ideas for Christmas parties, most of which I got from Pinterest.  As usual, links are in the titles.

Christmas-Shaped Mini Pizzas

This was a big hit a few years ago.  I used cookie cutters to cut out pizza crust into Christmas shapes and baked it before hand.  

Then everyone got to put whatever toppings they wanted on their pizzas, and we threw them back in the oven for a few minutes.

The only thing I didn't like about this was that it required more "hands on" participation from me, getting pizzas in and out of the oven, than I generally prefer while hosting a party.  Still, it was super cute and everyone loved it.

Candy Cane Punch and Rimmed Glasses

This punch recipe is fantastic, 

and for one party I used gel writers (they never work on cakes anyway) around the rim of the glasses before dipping them in crushed candy cane.  Not gonna lie, that was a lot of extra effort, but it looked really cool and it was a hit, so I call it a success.  The punch has now become a tradition at my Christmas parties, although I don't usually do the glasses.

Truffles

I actually had this truffle recipe already, and it super easy.   It's just semi-sweet chocolate mixed with cream cheese for the middle, and then dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with crushed candy canes.  Yum!

Funfetti Dip

This was not as big a hit as I had hoped.  You make it using Funfetti cake mix, (I used the Christmas version so it had red and green sprinkles) and you mix it with yogurt, cream cheese, and a few other things.  

I liked it, but it gets old after a while, and people who don't like yogurt won't like it at all.  Plus, you use like, three Tablespoons of Funfetti mix, and then what are you supposed to do with the rest of it?

Yup.  You eat it with a spoon.  That's what I thought.

Hot Chocolate Bar

Last year, our Halloween party theme was "Party at the North Pole," so a lot of the things we did there would work great for a Christmas party, too.  We set up a hot chocolate bar with peppermint marshmallows, candy cane stir sticks, and cool whip.  We also had coffee, tea, and cider.

Plus, I found these adorable snowman marshmallows at Walmart!

Doughnut Snowmen

These were awesome because who doesn't like powdered doughnuts?  They weren't hard to make (it's just doughnuts, icing, and candy corn) and they looked super cute.

Frito Taco Salads

We labeled the Frito bags as "reindeer feed bags" and let everyone put whatever taco toppings they wanted into the bag.  They could dump the bags onto a plate or just eat straight out of the bag!  

You can see in the picture that we also did a "Christmas tree" stack of sandwich wraps, white cheddar cheese puffs as "snowballs" and some fruit, cheese, and nuts as more "reindeer food."

Cookies and Milk

I've already talked about how awesome Christmas cookies are, and everyone loves them at a party.  We just put a pitcher in a big bowl of ice, filled the pitcher with milk, and had a "cookies and milk" station.   Easy and fun!

Game

We played this game at our last party and it was a lot of fun.  Simple, easy, and hilarious.  People basically follow directions to draw a "Christmas scene" on a paper plate, but the plate is on top of their head.  Points are based on how accurate the pictures are (the stocking can't touch the fire because that's a hazard!).  It's cute and fun.

Decorations

Usually, the normal Christmas decorations are enough for us, but last year when we did our North Pole Halloween party, we cranked it up a little bit.  We were still on a budget, so even though it looks like we went all-out, it was actually very cheap to do.

This was our "photo op" area.  A "North Pole" made out of a piece of PVC pipe and some red duct tape, our Christmas tree, of course, and an igloo made out of a tent frame and some white sheets.  We hung a white sheet behind it and a banner from Walmart.

We hung snowflakes from the ceiling, used some of my school bulletin board cut outs on the walls, and covered everything with white sheets and/or fake snow.

We made the Aurora Borealis in the hallway using cut-up plastic table cloths and colored Christmas tree lights.  Also, we hung coats, scarves, gloves, etc. on hooks down the hall.

Brian made an awesome sign for the kitchen.

Of course, you don't have to decorate quite so extensively for your Christmas party.  Just remember to light a cozy fire in the fireplace and welcome your guests with a smile.

Have a Merry Christmas in July, y'all.

Click here for Part 1:  DIY Christmas Presents

Click here for Part 2:  Awesome Christmas Cookies