Let’s face it: No great holiday party story in the history of ever started with the phrase, “so we headed home at 8 pm.”
The Christmas season presents a golden opportunity to engage with your community and create memorable events, but the competition is high — and so are attendees’ expectations.
To truly make your mark in the holiday season, you need to get crafty. Think elves popping out of cakes, burlesque angels singing to the heavens, and edible Christmas trees — that’s the kind of energy we’re bringing to Christmas 2023.
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In this article, we’ll guide you through a list of the most exciting and surprising Christmas party ideas and break down some inspiring examples from innovative event creators. So get out your Santa hats and get ready to create an epic event that will have your attendees begging to be on next year’s waitlist!
How to approach Christmas events in a unique way
Not only will an uninspired Christmas event leave your attendees unsatisfied, but it can also give the impression that you’re solely focused on making money off the holiday season.
Yes, it’s a bit of an open secret that Christmas is a very lucrative business, with Americans spending an average of $867 on presents in 2022. But, while people can accept that consumerism goes hand-in-hand with Christmas celebrations, they’re tired of brands trying to suck every last penny from their wallets.
Remember that Christmas is a time when people are looking for a chance to let loose and escape the chaos of their regular lives. They’re relying on you to create an event that’s unique and stays true to what they love about your brand.
For example, if your brand, like the Floridian Social, is known for its Art Deco-cabaret vibe and saucy burlesque events, throwing a generic ugly sweater party isn’t going to get loyal fans lining up at the door.
Don’t be afraid to add a bit of spice to your Christmas event — the more you lean into the festive spirit, the more people are encouraged to let go and join in on the fun.
Embrace outrageous holiday party themes that challenge the norm and inspire attendee participation. For example, Eddit Lockwood and the Great Dane’s Christmas event How the Drag Queens Stole Christmas is a holiday cabaret about six drag artists who “need your help to save Christmas!”
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7 incredible Christmas party ideas for event creators
Remember that the magic of Christmas is deeply rooted in childish wonder and blissful memories of family traditions and festive celebrations. Tap into that nostalgia with an unforgettable Christmas party that includes these magic ingredients: community connection, festivity, and an element of surprise.
Ready to get inspired? Check out these seven unique Christmas party ideas that will captivate the hearts of your attendees.
1. Elf left the shelf (for the dancefloor)
Difficulty: 🎄🎄
Effort: 🏋️ 🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Imagine this: You’ve transformed a three-level nightclub like Club 54 Lounge into a red and white wonderland with a giant Santa blow-up, giant candy canes, and glittering white snowflakes from floor to ceiling. In your party invitations, you’ve asked attendees to come dressed as their favorite elf characters such as Elf on the Shelf or Will Ferrell in Elf, for a dance party they won’t soon forget.
You’ve even created specialty cocktails that perfectly capture the spirit of the holiday season with elf-themed names like “Jingle Juice” and “Elf’s Kiss” and swapped paper tickets for candy-cane lolly bracelets — now that’s a party.
💡Unexpected surprise: Instead of playing the same tired Christmas tunes you hear at every nightclub (we’re looking at you, Mariah), take a cue from year-round Christmas bar Lala’s Little Nugget. Stick some mirror balls to the ceiling and play groovy disco music like Stayin Alive or Boogie Wonderland.
2. Christmas in the tropics
Difficulty: 🎄🎄🎄
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
This year, why not have a beach-themed Christmas party?
Host your event through the day while the sun is shining on a rooftop bar with a view like Reset, turn on the heaters and tell your attendees to wear shorts. Bring in small sand pits where attendees can make sandcastles, hand out red and green water guns, and have inflatable beach balls bouncing around the venue.
💡Unexpected surprise: To make your party even more spectacular, hire Santa Claus to come to your event. Have him wear sunnies, flip-flops, and sunblock on his face, and have attendees sit on his lap, just like when they were kids.
But instead of asking for presents, have a walkie-talkie attached to his suit so that attendees can whisper drink orders in Santa’s ear and get them delivered while sitting on his lap.
3. Santa’s interactive workshop
Difficulty: 🎄🎄🎄
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
There’s nothing more magical than Santa’s workshop — so why not bring it to life this Christmas?
Create an enchanting experience for children and adults alike with a physical workshop that captures the essence of the North Pole and gets their creative juices flowing. Use an outdoor area like Santa’s Workshop, North Pole, which has different stations and set up interactive workshop lessons that teach attendees how to make Christmas decorations and gifts, like Shop Made in DC.
You could even set up a hot chocolate bar and cookie-making station where kids can make gingerbread houses, and another station for kid-friendly holiday party games. For their parents, set up a dessert table and station for making their favorite holiday drinks.
💡Unexpected surprise: To add a bit more creativity, offer festive ideas for making weird and wacky decorations such as exploding snowmen or upside-down Christmas trees. These unique decorations will add a touch of whimsy to your event and capture the imagination of your attendees.
4. Santa vs. the Grinch bar hop battle
Difficulty: 🎄
Effort: 🏋️
Cost: 💰
Create the ultimate bar hop with a festive touch by dividing your attendees into Santas and Grinches. After attendees buy a ticket, create a short quiz that will determine which team they get put on based on their festivity level and announce the results on the night.
Set up the crawl to be a competitive game to see how many bars each team can visit in two hours. To keep things fair, each team must collect a gift from every bar to prove they’ve made it to each stop.
💡Unexpected surprise: At the end of your crawl, rent a wrestling ring and allow attendees from each group to wrestle in giant inflatable costumes. To make it more festive, instead of having them dress as sumo wrestlers, make one of the suits look like the Grinch and the other Santa.
5. Enchanted Christmas forest hunt
Difficulty: 🎄🎄
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Put a magical and enchanting twist on a Christmas by creating an interactive scavenger hunt in the forest.
Transform a wooded area into a magical land by attaching fairy lights to trees and laying out a white carpet that attendees can walk on. To make the Christmas treasure hunt even more enchanting, consider incorporating a storytelling element.
At each location, have a paid actor dressed as a festive character, such as Charm, the Magical Christmas Fairy, to narrate a short Christmas tale that ties in with the clue.
💡Unexpected surprise: At the end of the treasure hunt, host a cozy campfire where attendees can roast marshmallows and sip on hot chocolate while sharing their favorite holiday memories. You could even hire a local artist to play Christmas songs on guitar and have a sing-along to ensure guests have a wonderful time.
6. Nightmare Before Christmas ball
Difficulty: 🎄🎄
Effort: 🏋️🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰💰
If you’re an event creator who hosts parties that are more on the wild side, consider taking your attendees on a trip to a twisted Christmas land in another dimension.
Take inspiration from Tim Burton’s classic film The Nightmare Before Christmas and combine the haunting elements of Halloween with the fantasy of Christmas. For example, the Hallucination Before Christmas creates a fully immersive and sensory experience by combining creative light shows with clever props and decorations, such as gravestones and spider webs hanging from the ceiling.
Remember, Christmas can be whatever your party guests want it to be, so don’t be afraid to put a dark spin on holiday party activities, such as featuring a zombie Santa or Christmas wolves instead of reindeer.
💡Unexpected surprise: Hire acrobats to perform at your event dressed as festive spiders and create spider-potion cocktails made from black vodka and gingerbread syrup.
7. Winter wonderland
Difficulty: 🎄🎄
Effort: 🏋️🏋️
Cost: 💰💰
Celebrate the joy of Christmas and create a winter wonderland for your holiday celebration. Take inspiration from the pop-up bar Frosty’s Christmas Bar and deck out your venue from head to toe with Christmas lights and decorations.
Have Santa Claus doing meet-and-greets in one corner and Christmas-themed rides and vendors selling favorite holiday foods on the next.
But don’t limit yourself by just sticking to the Christmas theme. Instead, incorporate elements of your brand identity to appeal to your audience and create something unique. For example, Triangle Game Night is hosting a Charlotte Geek and Grub Market (Holiday Edition) with “30+ geeky vendors,” food stalls, and holiday-themed competitions.
💡Unexpected surprise: Build a snowball fight arena where attendees can throw snowballs at their friends and family. If it’s not snowing in your location — no problem! Rent a snow machine and set up a bouncy slide where attendees can race down on tubes and sleds.
Choose a Christmas party idea that delights and surprises attendees
Christmas parties are an event creator’s dream come true — it’s a time when people are ready and waiting to get wild and party the night away.
To create something truly magnificent, use our secret Christmas party recipe: Mix a handful of your unique brand identity with a hint of festive madness and season with community bonding.
Or simply choose one of the Christmas party ideas from our list, and we guarantee you’ll give attendees a Christmas experience they’ll never forget!
To amplify your reach and simplify the party-planning process, use an event promotion tool like Eventbrite. We can help you streamline every aspect of your event, from planning and promotion to ticket sales and post-event surveys.
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