Throwing a Friendsmas party can be overwhelming when considering the invite list, time, location, menu, entertainment and themes. No worries here! We are going to look at each section and break each one down into helpful Friendsmas ideas to make your party great!
Before diving into our guide, let’s first talk about what Friendsmas is. Friendsmas is the time where friends get together during the Christmas season and enjoy time together. Each friendsmas is different. You can play games, eat yummy meals and treats, or vibe out to music while you exchange gifts.
Friendsmas Ideas:
Who to Invite to Your Friendsmas Party
The first step in the Friendsmas planning process is the guest list. Who to invite is totally up to you! Maybe you want to keep the party small and invite a few of your closest friends. Or maybe you would like to extend the invitation to friends and their partners. Either way, there are no rules to Friendsmas, it just depends on if you would like to keep it small or a little bigger!
Tip: Canva offers free templates for holiday party invites. Each template is easily customizable and beautifully designed. Instead of a group text, send out a beautiful holiday Evite with Canva.
When to Host Your Friendsmas Party
The second step to hosting a Friendsmas party is deciding on a date to host the party.
Mid-December is the time in the holiday season where things pick up and slow down all at once…making picking the perfect date a challenge. But most peopole are accustom to their weekends in December to be chock full of holiday activities. Just be sure to send out your invitations at least 1-2 weeks in advance. Anywhere between the beginning of December to the week before Christmas is a great timeline to host.
Tip: Ask a few friends on your guest list when the best time is to host the party. Two minds are better than one.
Where to host your Friendsmas party
The third step to host is deciding on a place to host the party. Do you want to host it at one of the invitees’ homes? Or perhaps, renting out a private room in a restaurant and getting the party catered? Maybe you want to rent an Airbnb in the mountains for a wintry escape. There are many options depending on the style and vibe you are looking for.
Tip: To alleviate costs, ask each invitee to donate $25. They probably won’t mind donating for such a fun cause.
Friendsmas Themes
The fourth step is to decide on a theme for the party. Depending on where the party location is, could depend on the theme that works.
Christmas movie theme – Everyone dresses up as a character from their favorite Christmas movie and brings a treat that represents that movie. Ex. maybe your favorite movie is “Elf”, so you dress up as buddy the elf and bring his famous candy spaghetti.
Ugly sweater theme – The classic ugly Christmas sweater theme. This is always a great idea because the cost is low, and maybe no cost at all. Sweaters can be purchased anywhere, or DIY/upcycled. The sweaters could be made at the party as an activity or worn to the party and have a competition for prizes for who has the ugliest sweater.
Carol-Oke theme – Spice up the party with a bit of karaoke, not just any karaoke, but carol-oke! Have each guest come prepared and ready to perform their favorite Christmas carol!
Friendsmas Menu
Creating the Friendsmas menu is the fifth step in the planning process and can be dependent on the theme of the party. The menu can be simple, fancy, or a happy medium! Some ideas could be:
Pizza – A simple and delicious meal that could be ordered, delivered or you could make an activity on it and everyone could make personal pizzas at the party!
Christmas Dinner – The menu could be fancied up a little bit and do Christmas dinner with all the fixings! Each guest could bring a dish to create the ultimate Christmas dinner!
Charcuterie Boards – The popular and easy meal idea of a charcuterie board is always a hit! Each guest could be given a charcuterie board theme and bring that board to the party for a fun and diverse menu!
Tip: Make sure you have a signature cocktail to serve your guests. Even if you want the taste without the booze, you can try your hand at non-alcoholic holiday drinks.
Friendsmas Games
The last step in planning a Friendsmas party and perhaps the most fun part are the games! There are so many different types of games to choose from, but you want to focus on the ones your specific audience would enjoy the most.
Board Games – The classic board games are always a safe bet, because even if people do not enjoy games, the likelihood of someone sitting down to play a board game is high. Borrow games from a few friends to build up a large collection of different games!
Gift Exchange Games – Gifts exchanges are such a fun part of Christmas parties and there are several types to choose from! There is a secret Santa, white elephant, switch, steal and unwrap, and others.
Saran Wrap Ball Game – The Saran Wrap Ball game is a fast-paced, hilarious game that involves wrapping up little gifts that range in price in layers of saran wrap. Each person takes turns unwrapping the ball to get as many gifts as possible before the second individual rolls doubles on the dice.
Tip: To ensure you pick entertainment that engages your guest list, get game suggestions from a few friends on your guest list.
Hosting a Friendsmas party is a lot of fun, but is also overwhelming. Hopefully these friendsmas ideas will not only serve as a step-by step guide but alleviate the stress of party planning.
