Christmas dinner parties are a time for loved ones to come together and share food, memories, and affection with one another. The holiday season is a time for cheer! But year after year of the same old Christmas party can get old… how can you spice things up?
Throwing one of these unique Christmas dinner parties will help reinvigorate your Christmas groups and will inspire love and harmony among all! Finish each idea with a fabulous feast of goodies; invite your guests to contribute a small food item to add to the sharing.
- DIY Hot Chocolate Bar
This is one of the most fun and most creative Christmas dinner party ideas on this list. A hot chocolate bar lets your party guests create their own hot chocolate masterpiece with fun ingredients and flavors!
Party attendees can get as creative as they want, or they can stick to simplicity and go with a classic hot chocolate. The choice is theirs! All you have to do is provide the ingredients, instructions, and the setting for the fun to begin.
Let the hot chocolate brew all afternoon for a rich, creamy mixture. Provide guests with toppings like nutmeg, cinnamon, sprinkles, marshmallows, whipped cream, and even fruit! Allow yourself to be inspired and give your guests full creative control.
- Christmas Card Writing Party
This idea is charming and heartwarming, perfect for the holiday season! A Christmas card writing party invites all your friends, family, and acquaintances to come together to write loving messages to the ones closest to them. This is yet another creative party idea.
Guests can write their own notes on premade cards, or they may choose to make their own cards from scratch. Depending on your personal vision for this party, make sure to provide all the tools necessary: cards/card-making paper, pencils/pens, scratch paper, and other materials.
To put a spin on this Christmas party idea, consider having all your participants write Christmas cards to a specific group or a specific cause. Perhaps write letters to orphaned children or troops serving overseas; use your creativity and inspire guests to do so too!
- Christmas Tree Decorating Party
This one is a classic. Who doesn’t have fond memories of decorating the family tree when they were young? Reviving this tradition in a modern Christmas party with friends (and/or family) is fun and exciting, it invokes all the warm feelings of wonder that Christmas had during childhood.
There are a variety of ways to add variety and spunk to this kind of Christmas party. Besides just offering guests pre chosen ornaments that you’ve picked out, consider having guests bring one of their own ornaments to contribute, or even have everyone make one at the party!
If you plan to have all your guests make an ornament at the party, make sure you’ve got the necessary supplies beforehand. And, purchase some lights, a tree topper, and a few extra generic ornaments to finish out the adornment of the tree at the end of the party.
- Christmas Candy-Making Party
On Christmas, nothing is better than a tasty, delectable treat. And even better than a tasty treat alone is making the tasty treat with a loved one! Candy making is a fun and educational experience, and it’s sure to be a blast for kids and adults alike.
This is a perfect way to start off the dinner party, since guests can finish making their candies and then sit down to a decadent meal. Afterwards, everyone can enjoy homemade Christmas treats together. It encourages the spirit of sharing and creativity.
Some super fun Christmas candies are toffee, fudge (try a chocolate-peppermint version!), peanut brittle, nougat candies, candy cane hearts, and peppermint patties, just to name a few. A quick online search for Christmas candies is sure to warrant a long list of inspiring recipes!
- Christmas Spa/Pampering Party
On Christmas break, it can be rejuvenating to take a break to settle into a spa day with your girlfriends. With the cold weather and the upcoming New Year’s celebrations, taking some time to reflect on the past year and nurture your mind and body is a great idea.
It can be fun to go out to an actual spa before coming home to a healthy, nutritious Christmas dinner, but it can be even more fun to stay in and treat yourself and your friends to a nourishing and collaborative spa day effort. Staying in and nurturing yourself personally is a real reward.
Gather some spa supplies to prepare for this party. Face masks, lotions and special creams, nail polish, and other fun, creative, and self-nurturing items. Start the party early so there’s plenty of time, and end with a delicious dinner and an entertaining movie or board game!
- Christmas Baking Competition
Christmas is all about the delightful cakes, cookies, and candies. Most people have pleasant memories of enjoying yummy treats over the holiday season, and for this reason, a Christmas baking competition can be an innovative and engaging update to classic Christmas traditions.
If you have a kitchen that allows it, let everyone bring their own specialty ingredients or tools for their signature dish and cook together in the same kitchen! This encourages camaraderie and competition in the same breath, which is ideal for balancing the stresses and joys of Christmas.
Provide some extra flour, sugar, butter, and other vital ingredients just in case someone forgets something. Start the party earlier than dinner time so that you have plenty of time to bake up some goodies for dessert. This Christmas bake-off is sure to be a hit!
- Christmas Caroling and Dinner
Christmas caroling is a classic tradition that’s persisted for generations of Christmas gatherings. Singing brings on the Christmas cheer like nothing else will, and this can be a particularly fun dinner party activity for a group of active people (especially if they love to sing!).
Start the preparations by compiling a list of caroling songs that your guest list is sure to know and love. Then, form a route plan for the group to follow during their caroling. The caroling route doesn’t have to be long or calculated, a few households are adequate!
Make sure to give guests print-outs of the songs you’ll be singing on your caroling route so that they can follow along. This is supposed to be fun though, so don’t worry if you mess up! Laugh it off and share the joy of Christmas song with a neighbor.
- Christmas Gingerbread House Decorating Contest
For a group of competitive people who adore decorating or design, a gingerbread house decorating contest may be the perfect answer for a unique Christmas dinner party idea. Decorating gingerbread houses is likely to be a blast, and everyone gets a cool takeaway!
This Christmas dinner party plan is sure to spark some good natured competition that will end in positive vibes when everyone gets around to enjoying and complimenting others’ gingerbread masterpieces. It’s a beautiful way to bring people together on Christmas.
To prepare, gather together some affordable gingerbread house building kits and provide the rules, if there are any. Before getting started, make sure to elect an official judge or two to determine the winner of the contest! Offer some finger snacks if the contest is before dinner.
- Christmas Dinner Party Game Night
Having a game night at a Christmas dinner party is a simple and straightforward idea, but it can be a huge hit with family and/or friends. Plus, if they so desire, guests have the option of contributing their favorite game to the pool of possible games to play!
The first step in organizing a Christmas game night is to put together a list of appropriate games. Consider your group, but the options really are endless! Everything from charades to Monopoly can be on the table for the choosing, but a loose plan is helpful to have.
Start with a yummy dinner full of Christmas classics, and then move onto the dessert course and go to a comfortable spot to start playing. Consider creating incentives with a Grand Prize for the winner of each game (but of course, everyone should get a small gift, it’s Christmas!).
- Christmas Movie Marathon
For a comfy group of people like close friends or adoring family members, nothing screams “fun Christmas party” than a delightful night of Christmas movies. This one is ideal for movie lovers (obviously) and people who like to curl up with a blanket on cold winter nights.
Depending on the time you have and the group, a few movies in a night is definitely possible! If you plan to eat dinner while watching movies, you might be able to easily fit in 3 movies, but 2 movies can also be a good number. Assess the group and make a plan.
Choose some movies that are Christmas classics as well as more modern movies. The combination of modern and classic will make for a fun and diverse night with plenty of laughter and joy and bonding among the members of the party.
- Christmas Dinner and a Talent Show
Dinner and a show is a classic date night idea, but what about turning it into a Christmas party plan where the guests are the performers? Super fun! It’s smart to eat first so that guests can really enjoy the delicious food, but when it’s time for dessert the entertainment can begin.
Guests can feel free to opt out of the talent show, but because the goal is to share skills and abilities with the group, they should be encouraged to share something. This is a give of talent rather than of something material that can be purchased!
For a group of performers or artists, this can be an especially innovative and entertaining Christmas dinner party idea. It’s also good for families where there are a lot of kids; children adore talent shows, because they get to show their skills off to their elders!
- Christmas Cocktail Party
This is definitely more of an adult Christmas dinner party, but a group of mature friends or family members is sure to love a Christmas cocktail party. Who wouldn’t love the opportunity to try premade cocktails, or create their own Christmas creations?
One fun addition to simply making and sampling Christmas themed cocktails is to hold a competition or contest to see who can create the tastiest alcoholic masterpiece. Guests can feel free to simply enjoy the drinks on the menu and do taste testing, or they can get creative!
For a Christmas cocktail party, make sure you have the most essential drinks along with some tools and ingredients for making tasty cocktails. A quick online search will warrant a host of holiday cocktail recipes to give you an idea of what materials are necessary.
- Christmas Dinner and Karaoke Night
This idea is similar to the talent show idea, except it’s more spontaneous and (in some ways) less serious. Of course, it requires some consideration to prepare a proper karaoke setup, but this is certainly a dinner party that no one will ever forget.
Karaoke is a Japanese activity that is regularly shared by friends, and it was only relatively recently that the rest of the world caught on to this super engaging trend. Prepare a delightful meal with Christmas classics, and then get to the partying!
When preparing the karaoke setup, be sure that you have plenty of Christmas songs available… this is a Christmas party, after all! Have some other songs too, but because this is first and foremost a party to celebrate the holiday spirit, this calls for an abundance of holiday jingles.
- Reverse “Christmas in July” Dinner Party
Surely by now most readers have heard of the Christmas in July trend, but what about Reverse Christmas in July? This unique idea brings the warmth and festivity of Christmas to a whole new level by bringing summer back into winter!
For people who live in warmer or more tropical climates, a Reverse Christmas in July party can be super fun and super clever. Bring on the decorated palm trees and ornament-design beach balls, it’s time to celebrate a green and warm Christmas!
Offering fresh fruits and tropical dinner specialties, along with interesting renditions of Christmas classics (think palm tree sugar cookies), Reverse Christmas in July can be an interesting and surprising Christmas dinner party for both you and your guests.
- Christmas Costume Dinner Party
Don’t be fooled, Halloween isn’t the only time of year when costumes are appropriate. Dressing up in Christmas themed costumes at a costume dinner party can be a delightful way to celebrate the holidays with family and friends!
Of course, a full meal with appetizers, multiple sides, and dessert (even more than one dessert!) is absolutely essential for this party. Guests are required to dress up in their most dramatic Christmas and holiday garb to be able to attend the party.
To add a twist to the Christmas costume dinner party, make it into a contest with designated judges! The person with the best costume gets the Grand Prize while everyone else gets smaller (but just as wonderful) gifts for their participation and holiday cheer.
- Pet-Sharing Christmas Dinner Party
Does your friend group or your family consist primarily of animal-lovers? Consider throwing a pet-sharing party where everyone gets to bring their pet to dinner! Having a group of loving people and loving animals can be a truly blessed holiday party experience.
With a pet-sharing party (a “petmas party”), all the pets and people can eat together! Have guests bring their pet’s favorite food to the party along with a food dish, and all the pets can to share a Christmas dinner with each other as can their people (your human guests).
To add to the fun, encourage your guests to wear matching outfits with their pets! Perhaps the pet and the owner can both wear the same headpiece or sweater, or maybe they can dress up as complimentary characters (i.e. Santa and Rudolph)! Don’t be afraid to think creatively.
- Christmas Potluck Dinner Party
This is quite possibly one of the most festive and communal Christmas dinner party ideas on this list. A potluck is a dinner where all the guests contribute something to the meal, whether it be a dessert, drink, or even a main course.
Christmas potluck seems like a natural dinner party idea. After all, the holidays are a time for sharing and gifting! A Christmas potluck can be done a few different ways, depending on your other plans for the night and your personal vision for the party.
Have guests all bring some food item of their own creation and choosing without putting any limitations. This is the first option. Another option is to direct guests to all bring desserts to sample, or to direct specific guests to bring specific dishes/courses.
- Christmas Eggnog Party
Eggnog is a delightful specialty drink that most of the Christmas-celebrating world waits for year round. The wait for eggnog is met with anticipation and excitement; why not celebrate its arrival with a super fun eggnog dinner party?
This is a similar idea to the DIY hot chocolate party, except it’s geared specifically toward eggnog-lovers. Have guests create their own eggnog flavors with a DIY bar, or simply have an eggnog bar with already-made eggnog flavors!
Nothing goes better with a Christmas dinner party than a nice helping of rich, creamy eggnog. Guests will be sure to love the creativity and sampling, and the dinner party will automatically go up in ranking by quite a few notches!
- Secret Santa Christmas Dinner Party
What better way to celebrate the holidays by throwing a Secret Santa dinner party? This fun game is also known as Yankee Swap and White Elephant, and it’s practically guaranteed to be a hit among your Christmas dinner party guests!
The rules of Secret Santa are simple. As the host, you will randomly select Secret Santa pairs for your guests. Those people will have to buy gifts for each other, but no one will know who their gifts are from! They will only know the person for whom they are buying the gift.
Then, you will provide a price limit for the gifts ($10-$20 is good). The gifts can be entirely the choice of the guests, or you can set a theme. This game is best played with a group of people that knows each other somewhat; finish things off with a yummy feast!
- Holiday Trivia Christmas Dinner Party
Yet another game-based Christmas dinner party idea, having a night filled with fun trivia questions and games is a perfect choice for competitive groups of holiday lovers. This is sure to be an amazing night full of joy, learning, and competition!
Making your own trivia game questions is fine, but it may be easier and more fun to invest in a special holiday trivia game geared toward parties. Depending on the size of the group and personal preference, choose to either split the group into teams or work as individuals.
This Christmas dinner party idea wouldn’t be complete without a fabulous dinner! Before letting the games begin, give your guests some brain food by providing a beautiful splay of all the best Christmas specials. Make sure to offer a delicious dessert to fuel their minds during the games!
Conclusion
Christmas and dinner parties are a match made in heaven. Between the food and the entertainment, it’s a perfect combination. With so many fantastic ideas, it’s impossible not to get excited about the thought of throwing a holiday-themed dinner party!
After reading this list of wonderful ideas, you now have all the inspiration you need to plan an awesome Christmas dinner party. So, get together your guest list and send out the invites, you’re going to throw the best party of your life this holiday season!