Christmas Party Planning: Style & Theme

If you haven't started already, it is time to start planning your holiday party. I love the holidays, because you have a great excuse to throw a party. The holidays can actually be a very stressful time, so it's nice to get every one together for a fun evening. 

 The Style

Before you do anything else, you need to decide the style if your party. You won't be able to plan your food, drinks, entertainment, or even invitations until you make this decision.

A holiday party doesn't necessarily have to be cocktails and canapes, here are some popular party styles to consider.

Sit-down Dinner

Holiday Brunch

Afternoon Party with Kids & Parents

Traditional Cocktail Party

Party with buffet or food stations

The Theme

Once you have picked the style of the party, it is time to consider the theme. Once a theme is chosen, you can move onto food, drinks, decor and invitations.

Now, when I say theme, I don't necessarily mean you need to have an exact theme, like Winter Wonderland (that is a good theme though!). Your theme could be as simple as Blue & White or Red & Green. Just make sure it's fun and festive.

Some theme ideas are:

Bavarian Alps

This is my best friend Jamie's theme this year, and she is going all out!

Red & Green

 Traditional, and you can easily reuse the decorations again.

Winter Wonderland or Snowflake

 Very simple and pretty, plus you can use the snowflake everywhere.

Blue & White

 Super fun and retro. Can border on tacky, but in a good way.

Ugly Sweater Party

I have a friend who organizes an ugly sweater pub crawl every year.

Ice Skating Party

Great idea for a families.

Gold

A personal favorite of mine. I am not sure if it's because if the pretty decor or the large supply of champagne. Probably a little bit of both.

If you are looking for more theme ideas, check out Pinterest where they have a whole section on the holidays.

Now that you have a theme picked out, you can move on to other aspects of the party. Check back on Tuesday for some great recipe ideas.