Begin the holidays by stretching your creative planning skills. It will challenge you, and your guests will remember their experience for years to come.
My mother was the ultimate Hostess. There wasn’t any occasion Mom would shy away from entertaining. All the memories of the different parties with her delicious homemade food, dazzling drinks, and exceptional hospitality. I remember one special holiday dinner. Our entire Denver family accepted the invitation; therefore, there was not adequate space at my parent’s large dining room table. We added two more tables, covering most of the open concept dining and living room. Before children, all the extended family gathered for special occasions – my cousins and their spouses, aunts, uncles, and my grandfather.
That evening I believe there were at least 20 of us—what a fun time. After dinner, the gift exchange began. The funniest gift was wrapped and presented to my grandfather. At that time, he was about 80 years old and probably didn’t weigh 110 lbs. My cousin gave him a whoopie cushion. When he opened the gift, he was puzzled and didn’t know what it was. My cousin explained that it was a cushion for him to sit on. So he proceeded to sit on it – there was no noise. The laughter in the room was deafening – at which time he looked around and questioned why we were laughing. My cousin then demonstrated, and the roar got louder when we saw my grandfather begin to smile!
These types of gatherings are priceless. I know we’ve all missed them greatly with the COVID-19 Pandemic and social distancing and seeing our frail loved ones suffer and die from this horrible illness. But I hope and pray that this Pandemic will soon be history, and we can begin to get back together with our family and friends.
IDEAS
Listed below is a list of the best holiday and party ideas you might try during the holidays of 2021.
- Throwback party – Gather your friends to have a 1970s, 80s, or 90s themed party. You may want to add the mirrored disco ball to embellish those disco moves. Any questions, I would be glad to share my experience as the three-time winner of the disco dance competition in college.
- Tropical Escape or Luau Party – Get out those grass skirts and leis and serve up some tropical drinks to enjoy. Don’t forget the pineapple and the game of Limbo.
- Holiday Happy Hour – Have your guests each bring their favorite appetizer and drink to share.
- Wine Tasting – Invite your friends who enjoy wine. Ask them to bring two of their favorite bottles of wine – one for the tasting competition and one to share later. Also, suggest they bring an appetizer that pairs well with their wine.
- Movie-Themed Costume Party – One of the best costume parties. A significant movie theme that stands out right now is “Marvel’s The Avengers.” Examples are: Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and others.
- Ugly Sweater – This party entices more laughs and the best pictures to share. You might have one in your closet or you might locate one at a second-hand store, or Amazon sells new ugly sweaters online.
- Decorate the Tree – Invite your guests to bring an ornament to decorate a tree (to be donated to a family in need) and then a decoration to exchange with the other guests. Bring snacks like popcorn, cookies, fudge, and hot chocolate.
- Holiday Cookie Decorating or Cookie Exchange – If you have children, the cooking decorating party is a lot of fun but messy for the Hostess. For adults, you can have an exchange in which each guest brings five dozen cookies – wrapped in one-dozen packages and a dozen for guests to sample. Many cookie exchanges also like for you to attach your cookie recipe to your wrapped packages.
- Christmas Gift Exchange – You can either bring wrapped gifts to exchange with other guests or decide to bring a gift to donate to a shelter or group.
- International Food Themed Party – This party is enjoyable as guests bring a dish to share from their culture or history.
- White Elephant Gift Exchange – (Pick a theme – like gag gifts, books, recycled gifts, beauty products). Ask each guest to bring a wrapped gift. Then anonymously gather all the gifts together. Everyone draws a number, and the person with #1 begins the game by choosing a gift to unwrap. Then the person with #2 has the option to choose an unopened gift or steal #1’s present. If #1’s gift was stolen, then they get to select another unopened gift. The game continues – but an opened gift can only be stolen twice (meaning the third person to get the gift gets to keep it).
- Holiday Cards for the Military, Domestic Violence Shelters, and Orphanages – The Hostess or guests bring blank cards to be decorated and embellished with a nice note included in your handwriting.
The holidays can tend to be a stressful time with all the events and parties going on. That’s why it is crucial to plan early, get those invitations out with RSVPs so you can get everything lined up for the gathering. I’d like us to remember, especially this year, to include those who are alone or haven’t been invited to share in the holidays’ festivities. They might have lost their spouse or best friend this year, or they could have moved to a new area. I have learned that we should always have an empty chair to include someone else.
LINKS TO MORE PARTY IDEAS
If you want more information on party ideas, I’ve included a couple of links for your convenience.
I wish you and your family and friends a blessed holiday season.
All my best,
Julie
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I’ve hosted many cookie exchanges which are GREAT FUN!
Some cool ideas here!
Great ideas Julie!!