“You’d see that today holds something special, something holy not superficial, so here’s to the birthday boy who saved our lives…so here is something you should now that is for sure, Christmas must be something more!” These Taylor Swift lyrics give us a clue about how Christmas is a special holiday for billions of people around the globe.
In this article, we are going to present you the best Christmas party themes and ideas. Some of them are going to be funny and some are going to be elegant and some of them might enrich your Christmas party with elements from different cultures. Our suggestion will include everything from theme décor to dinner theme.
Classical Christmas Themes
Winter elegance party
Make you celebration space look like a winter fairytale forest. Use different shades of white for décor. Apart from Christmas three, add some natural and rustic elements, like three branches and conifer cones. Serve elegant appetizers and prepare champagne for a toast.
Flower theme party
For this theme party, you will need a poinsettia, an unofficial Christmas season flower. The red color of this flower will give a touch of passion to your celebration space. Elegant appetizers and champaign stay.
Peacock theme party
If you want to add more color to your Christmas celebration, make the celebration space look like a peacock tail. As you know, the colors of peacock tale vary from different shades of blue to green and light brown. Use different colors for different items (table cloth, napkins, plates etc.).
Red and gold
Hark! The Harold angels sing, glory to the new-born king! Since the fact that Christmas is for many most and foremost the birth of the King as popular Christmas Carol says, you can use royal colors to create a sense of glamour and elegancy. Use blood red and royal gold for different items and put some golden candles and/or candle holders on the table.
Christmas tea party
If you are throwing a daily party, there is one good elegant solution. You can throw a Christmas tea party; the one British queen would make. Decorate your space in any of previous suggestions, but instead of appetizers and champagne serve guests with tea and cookies. Put some playlist on with traditional carols like Hark! The Harold angels sing! , Silent Night Holy Night or Good King Wenceslas to make atmosphere moreceremonial and classy.
Funny Christmas Themes
Movie marathon theme
Everybody loves Christmas movies! And what is the best, there are thousands of them of all genres and all decades! So, you may organize voting among your guests which movies are their favorite! After you count the voice, organize the marathon. Put the children movies first! Prepare some appetizers and tell everyone to bring what they want to! Since this is casual party, it requires casual outfits! All you have to do is to make enough space for everybody and all what guests have to do is to bring good mood and a bag of chips!
Make your own party
This is an excellent theme for all funs of creative activities, both children and adults. Like in previous theme, organize vote to ask guests what they would like to make. Those can be gingerbread houses, Christmas three ornaments, Christmas wreath, mistletoe, Christmas cookie…All you have to do is to provide materials and some appetizers!
Cocktail Christmas party
This is also creative, but adult theme for Christmas party. If you have enough amount of drinks at home, you can organize cocktail competition. Let every guest of yours bring his/her own cocktail recipe and make party a little bit spicy. In case that children are present at party as well, include a few non-alcoholic cocktails for them.
Cookies exchange party
Maybe instead of cocktail recipe, your guests may bring their own cookies with recipes. Let everyone give his/her best in both preparing and design. As results, you will have the full table of delicious cookies and tasty Christmas party. Also, your guests might learn some new cool things to cook.
Christmas Carols’ karaoke competition
Like Christmas movies, Christmas carols are not losing its popularity as time is passing. Thus, organizing karaoke show might be a good idea. Pick Christmas carols from all ages, those own and those little known. It does not matter if it is Mariah Carey or Bing Crosby, what matters is that your guests are having fun.
Ugly Sweater Christmas party
Let Christmas be one day in the year when ugly sweaters are not fashion no-no and when it is actually cool to wear them. Let everyone wear the most colorful sweater as possible. As result, you wont need Christmas decoration for celebration space – it will look like a giant Christmas three or at least wreath.
Christmas costume party
Another way to make your celebration space to look like a NY Christmas tea is to throw a costume party. Let everybody pick their favorite Christmas and Christmas movie character. Your party might look like a Christmas character encyclopedia – you will have everyone from Santa Claus to evil goblin.
Secret Santa party
Finally, we came to the most visible part of Christmas – presents. This year, you might make it more challengeable. Carefully make the list of your guests and organize pre-party meeting. Put the name in the hat and let everyone pick its secret friend. On Christmas party, put presents under the Christmas three. There may be a lot of surprises!
The nightmare before Christmas theme
As in Burton’s classic, Christmas may get a little darker tone. Unlike clumsy Jack Skellington, you will make it darker intentionally. Use a candle holder with Jack, Sally or Oogie Boogie face. Put candies into pumpkins with Jack’s face on it. Same style decoration you may use for Christmas three ornaments. Prepare food like caramel apples and checkerboard cake! Play some playlist with grizzly music!
Global culture Christmas Themes
Rio De Janeiro Copacabana theme
How about making a radical change for this year Christmas celebration? Drop all winter decoration and get the summer one! Imagine yourself swimming at Copacabana beach during Christmas season and bring some warm atmosphere to your guests. Decorate space with Brazilian and summer beach items. If you are making a mask party, your guests may even come dressed in Rio Carnival costumes. Prepare Pannetone (soft sweet bread baked with dry fruits and chocolate chips) and Rabanadas (French toast covered with sugar and cinnamon). You may play Amigo secreto (secret friend) with your guests!
Irish theme
Prepare mince pie and bottle of Guinness for Santa, as well as carrot for Rudolf, his faithful reindeer. Put the candles (known as The Wanderers Candle) at your windows to welcome your guests. Decorate space with a little of green and prepare traditional Irish food like spiced beef and deserts like Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, sherry trifle, yule log and mince pies. Also, the small crib where Jesus was born with candles is also common decoration in Ireland.
Spanish theme
¡Ande ande ande la Marimorena ande ande que es la Noche Buena! The Iberian Peninsula is full of customs for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Beside traditional Spanish colors (red and yellow), the Belén (representation of Nativity of Jesus) is an irreplaceable part of Spanish Christmas decorations. Put it in the main part of your celebration space. Other irreplaceable elements of Spanish Christmas are turron (traditional Spanish Christmas sweet) and mazapán (Spanish marzipan, the most famous one is from Toledo). To make the atmosphere more Spanish, put some playlist with villancicos, traditional cheerful Spanish Christmas music.
Italian theme
Decorate space with renaissance décor or décor in the colors of Italy. Nativity scene is must-have in Italian Christmas décor as well. You can make Italian wine and cheese tasting party. Just be aware that each sort of wine goes with specific type of cheese. If it is a costume party, your guests may wear the venetian masks. Also, prepare some Italian food and panettone, traditional Italian Christmas bread.
Russian theme
After “summer southern” themes, here is something for winter fans. To make Russian Theme Christmas, use as much white and winter décor as possible, especially around Christmas three to make it look like a forest from Russian fairytale. In Russia, Christmas Eve is a special eve. Put a straw under the table (symbol of straw from Nativity cave) and piece of iron where everybody will put their legs on while eating in order to keep strength and health during the year (since iron symbolizes strength and stability). Additionally, decorate space with candles (specially on windows), jingle bells (to protect house from even) and Christmas wreath (that symbolizes the light). Prepare as much dishes as possible (regardless if they are Russian or not), but what matters in this theme is that their number is exactly 12. The number 12 is considered a sacred number, since there were 12 apostles and 12 days between Christmas and Epiphany (Jesus’s baptism).
Greek theme
If you watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding and its sequel, you are aware how much modern Greek culture is rich with costumes. Put some traditional white-blue Greek in your décor. As in previous themes, use a lot of candles or any other source of light. In Greek tradition, light must stay all up to Epiphany (January 6th) to remove evil from house. Additionally, Greek Christmas decoration include herbs such as asparagus, thistle or hyssop hanged above the fireplace. Also, irreplaceable part of décor is a ship called καραβάκι (karavaki). Just buy a small or bigger model of ship and decorate it with Christmas light and various decorations. Some relate it with Saint Nicholas who is protector of the sailing and whose day (6th December) is traditionally beginning of Christmas decoration and some with long-century relation of Greek culture with sea. Either way, if you are a sea fan, this could be a perfect theme for you. Make some sea food or traditional Greek grilled meat called souvlaki for food and a good tiramisu for dessert.
Balkan theme
The northern fellow Balkans of Greeks do not lack in tradition neither. Decorate the space with a lot of decorative straw. The straw symbolizes the straw in the cave where Jesus was born. Also, if you have a garden, you can gather around the fire made of oak three called бадњак (badnyiak). The oak is a sacred three in folk mythology and fire symbolises the fire that warmed up Holy Family on that special night. Prepare a special bread cake called чесница (tshcesnitza) and put a coin inside. Share that bread among your guests and the one who gets the part of bread with coin will have the luckiest year!
Armenian theme
Many people have heard for Armenian culture through Keeping up with the Kardashians, but this culture has far more to offer then reality program stars. Together with Georgia, it is one of first states in the world that accepted Christianity, thus Christmas celebrations here are very ancient and colorful. Decorate space with the colors of Armenia (red, dark blue and dark orange) and or with some traditional Armenian clothes (if you can find some). Put candles everywhere! In Armenian tradition, there is never enough candles on Christmas, since that holiday represents light of Nativity. Some of traditional Armenian Christmas food includes poulgeur pilav, made from lamb and rice and a lot of sweets. The Armenians believe the more sweets your eat on Christmas day, the following year will be sweeter. So, if you are a candy addict, this theme might be right for you. Beside dry fruit and nuts, Christmas sweets include rojik – walnuts enveloped in grape jelly and hung on a string and anoushabour – a wheat-based pudding with berries, dried apricots and other fruits.
Egyptian (Coptic) theme
Now here is something for ancient cultures fans. You might be surprised, but Ancient Egyptians where among first people that accepted Christianity. In fact, you can still hear ancient Egyptian in the services of Egyptian (Coptic) church. So, although at first sight it does not seem that way, Egyptian theme might be a good choice for Christmas celebration. Decorate space with gold and desert send yellow. Make you and your guests feel like you are in the middle of Egypt. Prepare traditional food like fatta, which consists of rice, bread, and boiled lamb or beef and some sweets like kahk, which might bring Santa directly to your home. Yes, you read well. In Egypt, children believe that Baba Noel (Santa Claus) will give presents in exchange for this delicious sweet!
Ethiopian theme
Let’s go to another ancient culture. According to legend, Ethiopia is famous for being homeland of Queen of Sheba, who brought son of Solomon to be Ethiopia’s first emperor. So, if you are fan of ancient cultures, this is a good idea as well. In Ethiopia, during Christmas (or Ganna as they call it) Eve and Day everybody wears white, so this theme could be a perfect opportunity to organize white party. Decorate house with lots of candles and white decor. For appetizers, prepare traditional Ethiopian appetizer – ‘wat’ which is a thick and spicy stew that contains meat, vegetables and sometimes eggs, which is served on flat pieces of brad.
Christmas around the world theme
In case that you cannot decide which country to choose, you can make globe Christmas party. Pick a decoration and food from all cultures that you like. Put a label on food and decoration with fun facts about that culture and its Christmas celebration.
Bring-your-own-tradition theme
This theme is similar to previous, except that you are giving voice to your guests. Apart from present, each guest may bring something from his/her own tradition to Christmas celebration. It can be some décor, food, item, playlist or may come dressed in traditional clothes of his/her cultural background. It does not matter. Whatever he/she brings, it will make your party look like a giant Christmas three with ornaments from all over the world.
Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is a good theme party
We don’t know what are your Christmas wishes, but we hope we managed to give you some idea how to sense and enjoy Christmas magic. Always have in mind the true meaning of Christmas, but also never forget that that true meaning can also have a nice shape, where people will feel taken away and where they will more easily unite.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and we wish all your wishes to come true! May you find what you want underneath the Christmas three!
