1. MAKE YOUR GUESTS FEEL WELCOME
Greet your guests warmly and offer a mix of beverages, including non-alcoholic ones, to accommodate everyone's preferences. Introduce them to other guests and start them off on a conversation — it's time for some festive mingling! It's also good to find out if your guests have any dietary restrictions ahead of time, so that you can plan the menu accordingly and make them feel at home.
2. TABLE SETTING
When we think of Christmas, a myriad of scents instantly come to mind — the smell of mulled wine, roasted turkey wafting through the air, freshly baked pecan pie and gingerbread. It’s no secret that food is the heart of the festive season, and with it, festive table settings.To start, pick a theme for your table setting — are you going for something more traditional, modern, rustic, minimalist or moody? Understanding your theme will help you pick out your color palette. For a more cohesive look, choose colors that are complementary — if you'd like some ideas on color combinations that augment each other, check out Canva's Color Wheel tool.
Next, create a variety of heights on the table using botanicals and candles, and don't forget to take out your favorite plates, bowls, serveware and drinkware. After all, if there's ever a time to bring out your finest tableware, it's Christmas!
HAND CARVED MANGO WOOD TRAY, EBONIZED MANGO WOOD VASE & SOOT CUP WITH SAUCER
3. MUSIC
Don’t get us wrong, Mariah Carey is a must-have, but in the event that you’d like other melodic options for your dinner parties, we’ve curated a Spotify playlist just for you and your hosting sessions. To us, a good playlist should create a warm and inviting vibe, without overpowering conversations in the room.
4. SIDE DISHES
We're pretty sure that your main dishes are probably well taken care of — so instead, check out our easy side dishes that you can easily prepare in 30 minutes or less. Not only are they quick and easy to make, but your guests are also bound to love these!
5. GAMES TO PLAY TO ENTERTAIN YOUR GUESTS
Christmas games are definitely a staple at our holiday parties! They're fun, interactive, and provide a way for guests to get to know each other better. Some of our favourite Christmas games include:
- Christmas Charades (team-based game) — This is a game of pantomimes, an appointed actor has to "act out" a phrase without speaking, while the other members of your team try to guess what the phrase is. The objective is for your team to guess the phrase as quickly as possible. Get some charades ideas for Christmas here.
- Christmas Trivia (team-based or individual) — Ready for some friendly competition? Trivia is a type of game in which players are asked questions about topics, and they have to get as many correct answers as possible. The topics don't necessarily have to be all about Christmas, switch it up with other themes on general knowledge, TV shows, or pop culture. You can either host a trivia quiz via Microsoft Powerpoint, or AHA Slides (the latter is free, and allows guests to respond directly to questions posed via their mobile phones). Here are some ideas for Christmas Trivia questions.
- Greed (gift exchange game) — This one's our favourite, but be sure to tell guests beforehand that they should bring a wrapped gift to the party, and give a dollar amount limit for the gift.
- Place all of the gifts in the middle of the room, where all the guests can see.
- Tally the number of gift-bringers, and put that many numbers into a hat or bowl.
- Have each participant draw a number and hold on to it.
- Have the person with number One pick a gift and open it, showing the gift to everyone else.
- Next, find out who picked the number Two. Person Two has the option to either steal Person One's gift, or take a new gift from the gift pile.
- If Person Two takes a new gift from the pile, the game continues to the person who picked number Three. If Person Two steals Person One's gift, Person One gets to pick a new present from the gift pile.
- Person Three can either take a new present from the gift pile, or take either Person One or Person Two's gifts.
- ...and the game continues until all the gift-bringers have a present each.
