Andie Thueson » Wellness » Christmas » How To Throw THE Best Adult Christmas Party Ever!!

How To Throw THE Best Adult Christmas Party Ever!!

·

This post contains affiliate links; I earn a small commission when you click on the links and make a purchase.

*Updated 10/12/22

The first year the Hubs and I threw an adult-only Christmas party for our friends, I was stressed out of my mind. I was so worried if my friends would all get along, would my food taste okay, would everyone actually show up. You know the usual party insecurities that we all share. (or maybe it’s just me.)

I remember the whole night I was a ball of nerves running around making sure my party guests were well-fed and having a great time. – that I actually had no fun at all. And at the end of the night, after saying the last goodbyes of the night and finally sitting down and putting my feet up totally exhausted that I vowed that parties are to be enjoyed, not endured and that the next year would be better! 

So now a Christmas Party throwing veteran, if you will, I have learned from mistakes, missteps, and party fouls to bring you my TOP tips for throwing the BEST Christmas Party EVER with the BEST Adult Christmas Party Ideas I have found over the years! The kind of Christmas party where your friends are still talking about it weeks later, and they start awkwardly asking you at the beginning of November when your annual Christmas party will be so they can make sure and get it on the schedule so it will not be missed!! All this without the drama and stress! 

Pinterest image of fun looking group of friends having a good time at an adult Christmas party.
I’m sharing all my best tips with my favorite Adult Christmas Party Ideas EVER!

So here it is, dear friends, my online survival guide for having one heck of a party and keep your sanity intact: 

  1. Christmas Party Invitations: Step one to any party planning is to invite friends! I recommend finalizing your guest list and sending out invites at least two weeks in advance! Christmas time is crazy, and people are busy! The more heads up you give people, the better! Hand-delivered and designed invitations are fun, but evites can be equally entertaining and are super convenient! Keep it simple, a quick perusal of Christmas party invites on Pinterest, and you will come up with quite a few free printable Christmas invites that can easily be printed out! But honestly, evites are the easiest, and they save trees if you’re into that. Or you can create a digital invitation on Canva and text out the invitation. Bottom line: Invite your guests. The earlier, the better.  
  2. Delegate: – Just because you’re hosting doesn’t mean you need to shoulder the entire Christmas dinner burden! Your friends want to help, and giving assignments gives everyone a chance to join in on the fun! I usually will make the main dish, a killer dessert, and create a theme. – Then, I’ll assign appetizers, salads, bread, and sides! – The best part is to see how creative everyone is with the specific theme I came up with. By making assignments, you ensure that you do not end up with anything but Jell-O salads. {been there done that…} So if you are going to give up the reigns and delegate, which I highly recommend – give very SPECIFIC assignments! 
  3. Make fun hostess gifts for your guests! I always like to send my guests home with a little goody bag that I put together a couple of days ahead of time with some yummy treats. It’s always a fun and thoughtful way to show your guests how much you appreciate them coming to your party! 
  4. Set The Scene With The Perfectly Dressed Table:  Tips for setting the perfect table. #1 lighting! Use a couple of different sources to help with the ambiance! Candles are a must! Place your little gifts for your guests to help dress the table and make it more festive!! Mix it up and have fun! Don’t have enough of one one-color placemat? Mix and Match – It adds a level of fun, and no one will know the difference!
  5. Menu plan ahead! Make things that you can make ahead! Not having to be in the middle of whipping up dinner as your guests are arriving will alleviate a ton of stress! Using your crockpot or having it all cooked and kept warm in the oven until your guests are ready to eat are both game-changers to managing stress the night of the party!! Desserts are also pretty easy to make ahead! And by not being stuck in the kitchen cooking, you can spend more quality time with your guests.
  6. Plan on Games: Christmas Party Games are sooo much fun and can take a ho-hum party to the next level… Picking just the right fun Christmas games can ensure an evening filled with laughter and moments that are downright pee-your-pants funny! 

The Ultimate List of Adult Christmas Party Games:

  • Christmas Carol Pictionary: While your guests arrive, put out a jar or vase with scraps of paper and pens. Instruct everyone to write as many Christmas carols as they can think of on the pieces of paper and put them in the jar! To start the game, separate your guests into two teams… Husbands Vs. Wives is always a hoot! Then have a whiteboard for your friends to use, and then let the fun begin… Imagine your friends trying to draw out your favorite Christmas Song. Think “Feliz Navidad,” “Jingle Bells,” or “White Christmas” This is a really fun game and is a great way to break the ice.
  • White Elephant Gift Exchange: This is usually the highlight of the night! First, tell your guests to each bring a gift and assign a dollar amount. Nothing is worse than bringing a $20 gift and you get stuck with something from the dollar store! So make sure to assign a $ amount so everyone brings something of equal value. We’ve tried many different methods for the exchange, but our favorite way is writing a number for each guest, i.e., 1-12, or however many people you have in attendance. Then each guest will draw a number at random this will let them and everyone else know the “order” of gift choosing! #1 is the first person to pick from any of the gifts in a pile! Being 1st is not too exciting… But when #2 goes, the fun gets notched up! #2 can either pick a different gift from the pile, or they can steal the gift that #1 picked! And so it goes through everyone’s turn… Usually, we put a cap on the amount of “steals” that can be made of an individual gift for the game to three times. For example, the Handmade Duct Tape Vest and Gift Card to Home Depot can only be stolen three times. So if you are the third steal, you can rest assured those puppies are going home with you! We encourage zany and “naughty” gifts to spice up the night! For my Ultimate Round-Up of  Hilarious White Elephant Gift Ideas, Go >>HERE.
  • Who am I?!?  Before everyone arrives, I write celebrity names on index cards. As everyone arrives, I pin a name on everyone’s back… then everyone goes around asking only “yes” or “no” questions until they figure out who they are! This is an easy way to help break the ice as your guests arrive and the perfect way for them to get to know one another. 
  • What Child Is This? Before the party, ask everyone to send you a baby pic… Then make a poster including everyone’s baby pic, and then have your guests guess who’s who! Again this is a fun way for everyone to get to know each other better.
  • Minute To Win It Games! These can be total hilarity! Who doesn’t love watching your friends inch an Oreo from their forehead to their mouth!! Dating Divas created fantastic printable instructions with over 50 great ideas to help make your Christmas Holiday Party the best! Click HERE to check it out!
  • Christmas Charades: Before the party, write out as many of your favorite classic Christmas movies, Christmas characters, or Christmas things as you can think of. Think “Christmas Story,” “Santa Claus,” “Gingerbread Houses,” “North Pole,” and “Christmas Cards,” then split into teams to act out these things basic Christmas things most people know and love to make for a night of extra fun.
  • Host a Gingerbread House Competition: This one can be a blast if you have artsy friends or just really competitive friends. Have gift cards or prizes for the winners!

As Elf says, the easiest way to spread holiday cheer is by singing loudly for all to hear. I am not sure about the singing, but the perfect mix of Christmas music is a must for any Christmas Party!

Buiddy The Elf

The Ulitmate List of Christmas Music Playlists:

What’s an adult Christmas party without some Christmas-themed cocktails or mocktails? Nothing says party like fancy, fun drinks! All the drinks listed can be made sans the alcohol if needed.

Photo Collage of 20 Christmas inspired cocktails for your next adult Christmas party!
Every Adult Christmas party needs some fun and fancy drinks!
The Ultimate List of Christmas Cocktail Party Drinks:

If you’re looking to have a “theme” for your Christmas Party, here are some we have used in the past.

The Best Christmas Party Themes
  • Ugly Sweater Party A total classic for a reason. I am always amazed by the sweaters my friends dig up!
  • Christmas PJ Party – Another one where I am amazed by what is out there.
  • Christmas Character Party– Have all your guests dress up as their favorite Christmas characters.
  • Christmas Murder Mystery Night – Have your friends over for a night of whodunnit
  • 80’s Christmas– Have your guests dress up in their favorite 80’s Christmas wear
  • Swanky Christmas – Think old-school Frank Sinatra-esk vibes
  • Holiday Movies – It’s kind of like the Christmas character theme, but this is all about dressing as their favorite character from a Christmas movie.

With the perfect spread of great food, fun Christmas party games, the right playlist, tasty cocktails, a killer theme, and a group of your closest friends, you are destined to have a memorable night filled with

laughter, and memories that are sure to last a lifetime.

My most significant piece of advice is to make sure you RELAX & Enjoy the night!!  As the hostess with the mostest, it’s easy to get stressed out, hoping everyone is having a good time, has enough to eat, and that everyone is getting along! But remember to take a deep BREATH and ENJOY it!

In the grand scheme of things, nobody will notice that you forgot a decoration or your roast was a little overcooked! But what everyone will remember is the fun and the laughter! In the years that we’ve done our annual party, I can barely remember some of the themes and the little details I totally stressed over! But I have SOOOO many fond and fantastic memories of these nights and how much fun we had and the pranks that were pulled and inside jokes! These are the memories I truly treasure!!!

So plan the best adult Christmas party but don’t forget to have FUN!

Much Love,

Andie

Andie's signature

16 Comments

  1. Jenna M Wood says:

    I always worry about being too stressed out to enjoy the party I’m hosting. These are some great tips and those nut crunch bars look delicious! #client

  2. Becky Hardin says:

    I love this!!! I always are running around like crazy. Your break down will sure hope for our next party.

  3. Natasha Kravchuk says:

    This post gives me so many great ideas. I will be hosting a Christmas party at my house in a couple of weeks so this is perfect!

  4. This guide is so helpful! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed throwing a holiday party and you took the stress out of it for me; thank you!

  5. Jamielyn Nye says:

    Such great ideas! Now I want to host a Christmas party! So fun!

  6. Funnnnnn! So many great tips, thanks for sharing!

  7. Pingback: 6 Interesting Lists Of Pictionary Words You Can Use - CyberParent
  8. These are such great tips and ideas!! SO fun.. I can’t wait to implement them this year! Thank you for sharing!!

  9. 5 stars
    Love these tips! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed when hosting a party, sometimes it’s hard to remember to have fun! Will definitely keep these tips in mind next time I do some entertaining!

  10. 5 stars
    What fun ideas!! Thanks for sharing this! Will definitely be referring to it!!

  11. So many great ideas! Can’t wait for the holiday season this year, bookmarking this! Thanks for sharing.

  12. I absolutely loved these ideas! We are always hosting and throwing parties and I needed some new ideas because I don’t like doing the same things every year. This was so helpful, thank you!

  13. 5 stars
    Thank you so much, such great ideas! I just sent this to my friends too!

  14. I’m hosting this year, and I love your idea of a little gift for guests. Definitely including that and some of your party games. Thanks!

  15. I always try and have a unique Christmas party every year and this is exactly what I needed to make it so, this year.

  16. Such an informative and brilliant guide! We tried the Christmas Carol Pictionary and What Child is this, we had so much fun!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *