Planning for you Holiday Celebration
INVITATIONS
Set the mood. Choose one of these Christmas party invitations to create and send your invitation.
GIFTS
Spread a little extra good cheer by giving gifts at your party.
Here’s how:
Host a gift exchange
Gift exchange keeps costs low and suspense high as people figure out who their Secret Santa was.
Give each guest a personalized gift
A small, thoughtful gift is an unexpected, and welcome, touch at any holiday party.
Personalize holiday gifts ideas:
A mug filled with hot chocolate mix: Choose your favorite recipe for hot chocolate, and put together bags of the dry ingredients. Write out the recipe, and attach the recipe to the bag with a ribbon. Place the bag in a holiday mug–no gift wrap needed!
A CD of your favorite holiday songs: Mix classics by Frank, Mel and Dean with pop hits like those in our Christmas party music section of this Christmas planning page.
Before any guests leave, put out your gifts near the front door. If you’re giving identical gifts, just wrap them and place them in a basket. If your gift is specific to each guest, put a prominent gift tag on each gift and lay them out on a table so people can easily find their gifts.
MUSIC
Set the holiday spirit with music
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1. |
Blue Christmas / Elvis Presley |
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2. |
Feliz Navidad / José Feliciano |
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3. |
Christmas Wrapping / The Waitresses |
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4. |
Little Drummer Boy / Bing Crosby & David Bowie |
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5. |
Happy Christmas (War Is Over) / John Lennon |
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6. |
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town / Bruce Springsteen |
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7. |
Do They Know It’s Christmas / Band Aid |
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8. |
Santa Baby / Eartha Kitt |
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9. |
All I Want for Christmas Is You / Mariah Carey |
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10. |
Last Christmas / Wham! |
FOOD
Snacky parties are easier on the cooks and the wallets than most other holiday parties. So break out the cocktail shaker and start cutting food up into bite-size pieces.
Keep the menu simple with olives, cheese and crackers and assorted nuts-include roasted chestnuts to really get into the spirit of the season.
For heartier snacks, add mini-sandwiches, meat or fish skewers or a cheese fondue.
Stock bar basics, or keep your sips simple by sticking with wine and a holiday cocktail.
