Christmas Cheer on a Budget – 7 Ideas for Fun, Inexpensive Christmas Parties
Christmas parties are a great way to get loved ones together to celebrate the holiday season. But hosting a Christmas party can stretch an already thin budget to the breaking point. Here’s some ideas for festive holiday parties that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.
1. Open House
For a super-easy way to celebrate the holidays, hold an open house. Set the hours that people can drop by, and just have light appetizers and drinks to serve when they get there. This is a great alternative if you have a bunch of time-crunched friends!
2. Decorating Party
If your friends like to decorate, throw a decorating party. Trim the tree, or pick a decorating project that you can all work on together. If you have crafty friends, find a few Christmas craft projects that you can all work on and then take home and use.
3. Caroling Party
Know people who love to sing? Arrange a caroling party! Hit the road and bring some Christmas cheer to your neighborhood, then have the gang back to your place for hot chocolate or cider and some Christmas goodies.
4. Sweet Tooth Party
Ask each guest to bring their favorite Christmas sweet or dessert, and sit around and sample each one. you could even add in a recipe-swap, so each dish comes with the recipe that guests could then take with them when they leave. Serve a selection of coffee and tea along with it.
5. Christmas Potluck
If you want your guests to stay awhile, why not throw a potluck? Ask each guest to bring a festive dish, and then all you need to do is provide dishes and a place to eat. It’s a good idea to assign guests a category of food, like appetizers, mains and desserts, so you don’t end up with a whole table full of Christmas potato salad! Again, encourage guests to bring along their recipe, so they can swap and share with the others.
6. Cookie Party
This works best with a small handful of friends. Get a recipe or two, divide the ingredients among each guest, and get baking! You can chat and sip wine or cider while you bake, then have a taste test later. another great cookie idea is the cookie swap. Each guest brings a batch of cookies, and then everyone goes home with a sampling of cookies form each batch. You can pick up pretty Christmas boxes from the dollar store for everyone to carry their cookies home in.
7. Christmas Film Festival
Head over to the video store or even the library and choose one or two good Christmas movies. Ask your guests to each bring a snack item or appetizer. Set up the couch, throw a few pillows on the floor, turn down the lights and munch away while you watch.
Christmas parties don’t have to be expensive, or fancy, to be fun. All you need is friends and a little creativity to come up with fun get-togethers that everyone will enjoy and remember!