Christmas Party Ideas for Families

December 07, 2020

4 Fresh Family christmas Party Ideas

When you do a big get together over the holidays every year it can become a bit stale. There’s only so many times you can down hot cocoa and eggnog while listening to Uncle Frank’s crazy, confusing, and oftentimes pointless stories. So why not freshen things up a bit with some fresh family Christmas party ideas? No more boring gift exchanges, or out of tune singing of Christmas carols or overplayed Christmas songs – just some fun, fresh, new ideas to make your next family Christmas party the highlight of your holiday season.

1. Murder and mystery…for Christmas?

Yes, you read that right. A Christmas murder mystery party theme is an entirely unique and fun experience that is unlike any Christmas party idea you’ve experienced before. When you work with a professional company like The Murder Mystery Company, the planning and details will be handled by a professional. If you host one of our murder mystery parties at your home or a venue, we’ll supply professional actors to host your event. And the size of your family doesn’t matter, you can have eight guests or 100 and we are happy to accommodate!

You and your family will have an incredible time as you work together to investigate the murder and uncover key clues. Guests act as sleuths and detectives as your family tries to get to the bottom of one of a mysterious and hilarious Clue-like mystery. Who will be the one to uncover the clues and crack the case at your holiday murder mystery party?

If your family is spread out, we also offer virtual murder mystery parties. Connect with your family over Zoom for a two hour online event that includes all the fun of our live events! Contact the Murder Mystery Company today to talk to one of our party planning specialists.

2. Christmas for foodies

Admit it, at some point you’ve become glued to Holiday Baking Challenge or some such food related holiday cooking show. It’s hard to avoid visions of tasty holiday treats dancing through your mind after watching world class chefs cook up amazing holiday food. If you and your family are fairly skilled in the kitchen, a foodie potluck Christmas party can make for a unique and memorable Christmas party theme.

You don’t need to look too far for inspiration, either. Popular cooking shows like Chopped or Guy’s Grocery Games provide fun cooking challenges you can incorporate into your dishes if you want to get adventurous. Here are some possible themes:

Holiday classics re-imagined. Rather than turkey, how about gourmet turkey burgers? Or waffles made out of stuffing?
Recipe raffle. Write up a list of required ingredients and courses and draw them out of a hat and assign them to your family members. What will Aunt Bonnie make when she draws “dessert” and “blue cheese”?
Dinner awards. Depending on how big your family Christmas party is, you can hand out scorecards and have people assign scores to their favorite dish, or their favorite among a certain course. Who made the best side dish? Who had the best appetizer? The host can hand out prizes to the winners once the votes have been counted.

There are an almost unlimited number of directions you can go with a foodie themed Christmas party.

3. Christmas movie marathon

Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Has your family had this debate? Trying to pick a single movie to watch on Christmas can be difficult considering the seemingly endless number of Christmas movies out there. But why settle on one? If your family has a love of movies, why not embrace it and have a movie marathon party built into your Christmas party? This way you can see a variety of movies and let people enjoy the classics, the dramas, the comedies, or whatever your family members want to see. Send out a list of classics in advance and let your family vote on what they want to see. To build out your list, you can use one of the many online list of best Christmas movies of all time such as:

But picking the movies is only half the battle. If you’re going to watch movies, do it in style! Some ideas for taking your movie night to the next level:

Rent or borrow a projector and movie screen for a real theater like experience
Make a movie snacks buffet – complete with popcorn (and popcorn tubs!), classic movie candies, and specialty holiday treats (candy canes, Christmas cookies, etc.)
Add comfortable seating for everyone involved – pile up bean bags for the kids and bring in an extra couch or a recliner for the adults for a luxurious seating experience!

4. Christmas cocktail party

If you’re having an adults only party for family and friends a cocktail party can be a unique spin on the classic family Christmas party. You can be a little extra glitzy with your decor for the evening when it’s just the adults in the family, so break out the fine glassware and serve your appetizers on the fine China – it’s time to live a little!

If you haven’t thrown a cocktail party before you’ll want to do a little research to figure out the basics that you should be stocking for the event. Simply Genie’s article on how to stock your bar for a cocktail party is a great place to start.

After you’ve got the basics covered, it’s a good idea to have a signature cocktail or two for the party. Sound intimidating? Fear not, you don’t need to be a mixologist to whip up a tasty holiday cocktail. Check out these links below for recipes and inspiration.

One thing to keep in mind when throwing a cocktail party is to remember the non-drinkers and designated drivers. These people are every bit a part of the festivities as well, so make sure you have plenty of options for them as well. In fact, a signature mocktail can be a great way to make them really feel appreciated, which is a good idea, as they’re likely to be taking some people home. Check out these links for some fun Christmas mocktails.

Why not try something unique

It can be fun to take your standard family Christmas party and take it outside the box. You can take just about any party idea and make it holiday themed. Why not try a costume party rather than a standard ugly Christmas sweater party? The possibilities truly are endless and we encourage you to be creative to make your next holiday party one your family will remember for years!