I love themes. They are fun and can really make an event…when you have time to go all out. But, the holidays are the busiest time of the year which means themes can feel overwhelming. So skip the ugly Christmas sweaters! And the white elephant gifts that no one ever really loves.
Stick with a classic and throw a good old-fashioned cocktail party to celebrate Christmas with your friends and/or family. We threw one and had a blast sipping our pretty drinks, snacking on an appetizer spread, and chatting with our friends to the tune of “the most wonderful time of the year.”
Here are our tips for a fun and festive cocktail party of your own:
Choose a couple fun cocktails to serve.
I put the roomie in charge of cocktails, but (obviously) had a very specific vision. I wanted a sweeter pomegranate cocktail and a lowball gin-based cocktail—because I think gin tastes like Christmas trees and how festive is that?
Here are the cocktail recipes we settled on that you should try yourself:
For a pitcher
2 cups Pomegranate Juice
1.5 cups Vodka
1 cup Grenadine
1 cup fresh Orange Juice
½ cup lime juice
For a glass
1.25 oz. Tangueray
2 oz. Cranberry Juice
2 oz. fresh Orange Juice
*Ryan juiced a bunch of oranges before the party (if you have a juicer, take advantage!) which made a huge difference in these cocktails. Fresh orange juice is divine, so go that route if you’re able.
Besides sugaring glass rims, I also dressed up the drinks with pomegranate seeds, rosemary sprigs, and sugared rosemary that I made by dipping plain rosemary into simple syrup and rolling in sugar. I made the sugared sprigs in advance to save time.
Pro Tip: If you don’t have lowball (or highball) glasses and are in the market for some affordable ones, head to T.J.Maxx. I was impressed with the price and styles available. My tall glasses, though, are Project 62 glasses from Target.
Pick appetizers that you love and that are easy to make.
At our house, we eat pigs in a blanket for dinner periodically. I’m obsessed and they make me feel so nostalgic! Since they’re easy and tasty, I threw some together for the party. I use little smokies to make mine which made them the perfect finger food for our guests. I also spritzed them with Pam and sprinkled on poppyseeds before they cooked to fancy them up a bit.
All hail the great charcuterie board. The roomie and I made them constantly when we first started dating and now love building them for our friends. This one turned out great! We threw together some of our favorite meats, cheeses, crackers, and jams, and it honestly got eaten so fast that I didn’t even get a bite! Is that a sign of true hosting success?
Since our party started at 7:30, I wanted to serve something sweet to the crowd that may have just eaten a big dinner. I chose cream-cheese stuffed strawberries! They were crazy easy to make and I crushed up the remaining homemade sugar cookies our neighbor had brought over and dipped the tops in that (YUM). The red and white looked Christmas-y to me.
Add in little personal touches.
I ran around central Iowa trying to find a sprig of mistletoe (not a fan of the kissing balls) to hang up in time for the party. It was definitely a hit so the search was worth it!
I’m also crushing on our cocktail accessories like the little gold stir sticks, plates, and pretty napkins I found at Target and the fancy gold cocktail shaker I snagged from T.J.Maxx. Anything that shows off the thought you put into the night always seems to make guests feel special (in my experience).
Don’t forget the music! And lighting.
Pandora’s Christmas Traditional station is my favorite for holiday background music. It was perfectly charming while our guests ate, drank, and socialized.
‘Tis the season for twinkly lights, so make sure your party has plenty. I had a mini tree and my full-size tree all lit up for the night, but also had my dining room fixture dimmed a bitand only my lamps onin the living room. Ambiance=perfect.
What cocktail would you serve at your own holiday party? And how do you normally celebrate the holidays with your friends?