21 Christmas Party Theme Ideas to Spread Holiday Cheer

Christmas Party Theme Ideas for a Cheerful Gathering

'Tis the season for celebration, and brainstorming Christmas party themes is part of the fun. Whether you're hosting the annual office party, planning end-of-season classroom festivities, or hosting an intimate Christmas gathering for friends and family, themed parties help guests figure out what to wear and bring. Here are 21 of the best holiday party theme ideas to create a fun, memorable event.

21 Theme Ideas for Your Christmas Party

1. Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

Instead of inviting everyone to dress up in their most formal attire, show off your kitschy side by throwing an ugly sweater party where each guest wears the most hideous knitted monstrosity hidden in the back of their closet. Offer door prizes for the ugliest, most creative, and silliest sweaters. Send out funny Christmas cards or invitations featuring your family wearing a previous year's ugly sweater collection before your party to get everyone in the right mood.

2. Christmas Tea Party

Liven up a December afternoon with a Christmas tea party featuring pots of steaming tea, fine china, and tiered trays laden with cookies and sandwiches cut into seasonal shapes. Invite guests to wear dressy attire, and channel the elegance of another era as you sip tea and celebrate the season.

3. Christmas Movie Party

From black-and-white holiday classics to modern seasonal masterpieces, Christmas movies make a great party theme. Host an all-day, holiday movie marathon or put your favorite movie on repeat, and base the entire party around a single film. Set up a room with animated movies playing for the kids while the grownups spend their time arguing whether “Die Hard” really fits the holiday theme.

4. Christmas Baking Party

Turn your kitchen into a party zone with a Christmas baking party. Friends and family bring their favorite bread, cake, and cookie recipes to prepare and share while you provide cookie sheets and cake pans to simplify the baking process. Stock up on take-home containers, so guests can leave with a selection of freshly baked treats as party favors.

5. Christmas Tree Decorating Party

Decorating the tree can be a communal activity when you invite friends and family to help with the process. Put on some Santa hats and host an ornament exchange, or have everyone craft ornaments during the party to put on their own trees at home.

6. Black-Tie Christmas Party

Looking for an excuse to get dressed up during the holidays? A black tie Christmas party with a dress code, including formal tuxedos and ball gowns, gives you the perfect reason to break out that sparkly floor-length dress or deep red cummerbund.

7. Christmas Pajama Party

Christmas pajamas are notoriously cute, yet there are few opportunities to show them off. Give guests a reason to don that flannel pajama set or reindeer kigurumi with a Christmas pajama party. Make it an all-night sleepover to bring back those middle school slumber party vibes with fun activities like face masks and holiday movies.

8. White Elephant Christmas Party

The point of a white elephant Christmas party is to encourage guests to bring the gifts they'd never buy under normal circumstances, similar to secret santa. Every guest brings a wrapped present within the given price range, then everyone picks numbers to choose their mystery gift. Each subsequent numbered player has the choice of opening a new gift or swiping an already opened gift from another guest. In the end, everyone goes home with something, whether it's a silly snow globe, a five-pound bag of licorice, or a literal white elephant figurine.

9. Hot Chocolate Bar Party

Warm up the Christmas season with a hot chocolate bar party where everyone assembles to mix up the ultimate hot cocoa. Set up all the supplies on a kitchen island or a long table, then invite friends and family to prepare their own versions. Include candy canes or peppermint sticks, finely chopped toffee bars, caramel sauce, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, marshmallows in different sizes, and chocolate chips. Display Christmas cards behind the hot chocolate bar to create a pretty visual backdrop while guests make their drinks.

10. Christmas Around the World Party

Explore seasonal celebrations around the world with a party that showcases traditions from other cultures. Include ornaments and decorations from various countries, and invite guests to make and bring traditional Christmas treats inspired by their family history.

11. Formal Christmas Masquerade

Add an element of mystery to your Christmas party with a masquerade ball. Formal attire is a must, along with masks that help disguise guests' identities. Decorate with feather garlands, draped fabric, and shimmering lanterns.

12. Christmas Character Costume Bash

Forget the formal ball gowns and masks — this party is all about showing up dressed as an elf, reindeer, or Santa himself. Beware of guests who might want to don a Krampus costume or encourage the mischief by starting a game of tag where everyone else has to escape the scary Christmas creature.

13. Gift Wrapping Party

Wrapping gifts is a thankless task when you're doing the job solo, so host a holiday party for friends and family members to wrap and chat while taking care of this necessary seasonal chore. Provide plenty of wrapping paper, tape, gift tags, and decorative ribbons for every attendee, and serve up simple snacks to keep energy up during the wrapping session.

14. Christmas Game Night

Plenty of classic games have holiday versions, making it easy to host a Christmas game night party. From a Christmas-themed Monopoly challenge to a trivia night featuring questions about the season, there are plenty of festive activity options. For a twist on seasonal games, consider a murder mystery game with everyone playing well-known holiday characters or an escape room adventure that makes guests find their way out of Santa's workshop.

15. Winter Wonderland Party

Make your own white Christmas with a party that celebrates the beauty of a snowy holiday. Decorate with snowflake cutouts, faux snow, and icicle lights to create a gorgeous winter wonderland ambiance. If you're lucky enough to have actual snow in your area, you might want to bring everyone outside for a snowball fight. In warmer climates or during a dry spell, you can use fake foam snowballs instead.

16. Christmas Karaoke

Stock your karaoke machine with holiday hits and invite guests to croon along about last Christmas, the time they got a hippopotamus as a gift, or the ubiquitous desire to proclaim that the only thing they want for Christmas is you.

17. Classic Christmas Caroling

Sometimes it's fun to bring back the classics, and a caroling party invites guests to join in singing everything from Silent Night to Jingle Bells. Gather around a piano to sing your favorite songs with this perfect theme, or take your show on the road and go door to door throughout your neighborhood spreading musical joy.

18. Vintage Christmas Party

Go retro with a vintage Christmas party theme that celebrates days of Christmas past. Choose a specific time period and encourage attire that suits the theme, then research foods and desserts served during that particular era to keep things authentic. A Victorian Christmas theme might include wooden decorations and vintage holiday postcards strung up on twine, while a ’70s disco Christmas involves paisley printed tablecloths, shiny gold garlands, and retro recipes from Grandma's cookbook.

19. Nightmare Before Christmas Party

If you're not ready to let go of the spooky season and prefer to fold Halloween over into the Christmas holidays, host a Nightmare Before Christmas party where you can break out your giant spiders, black garlands, and that giant 12-foot skeleton you wish you could use more than one month a year. Invite guests to wear all black, but add hints of red, green, and holiday metallics to provide that hint of Christmas cheer.

20. Scrooge Party

If all the peppermint, jingle bells, and endless carols are getting to you, consider hosting a Scrooge party where all mention of the holiday season is forbidden. Everyone dresses in non-holiday clothing and relaxes for a night before heading back into the trenches for last-minute shopping and a whirlwind of holiday events.

21. Solstice Party

The solstice on December 21st is the longest night of the year. Traditionally a time of calm reflection and contemplation, this is a great night for a get-together focused on close ties and soothing activities. Invite attendees to bring a book to exchange with other guests, and set up your outdoor fire pit to encourage cozy conversations.

Christmas Party Game Ideas

Fun party activities make your Christmas party even more memorable. Whether you're hosting a formal party at a swanky venue downtown or gathering with friends and family in your garland-decked living room, these fun games are sure to get everyone in the holiday spirit for your festive night.

A gingerbread house building competition
Pin the nose on the reindeer
White elephant gift game
A Christmas cookie competition
Cookie relay race

Christmas Party Food Ideas

No party is complete without food, and Christmas party guests often expect something special. Sometimes your theme naturally inspires specific food ideas, while other party themes leave the options open.

If you’re thinking about what to serve guests at your next holiday party, potluck dinners are a fun idea for holiday gatherings. These parties let guests share favorite recipes and try a wide variety of entrees, side dishes, and desserts.

Formal holiday parties may include a full sit-down meal or serve-yourself buffet if held during normal dinner hours, but parties during cocktail hour or afternoon events may require finger food options. Charcuterie boards, cheese plates, veggie trays, and finger sandwiches are all great choices.

Whatever the venue or time, don't skimp on desserts at your Christmas party. Christmas pies and cakes are always a hit at holiday parties. Trays filled with Christmas cookies, candies, and pastries let guests try a few different treats when they're ready for dessert.