The holiday season is right around the corner. It’s likely that you’ve already started thinking about holiday gatherings, days off from work, travel, and maybe even gift giving. If you’re the one planning the holiday party, you likely want to wow your guests. This holiday season, we challenge you to go beyond the traditional themes and set your event apart from the rest. Here are some unique holiday party themes that will bring fresh energy to your gatherings:
Glow in the Dark Holidays
A throwback to the college “highlighter party,” the glow-in-the-dark theme brings energy and a bit of nostalgic fun to the party. Set up blacklights, neon decorations, glowing snowflakes, and glow sticks to transform your space into a glowing wonderland. Ask guests to wear lighter colors so they can shine under the black lights.
For food and drink, an important ingredient is tonic water. Use tonic water in place of regular water in your Jello shots. For a glowing shrimp cocktail, marinate the shrimp in tonic water and lemon juice. Integrate white foods, like mozzarella and marshmallows, into pizzas, pastas, and desserts to glow up your refreshment table.
A Very Victorian Holiday
Turn your party into a Victorian winter wonderland that mixes Holiday Barbie with Charles Dickens. Decorate your space with rich fabrics, like velvet and satin, candelabras, vintage decorations, and real Christmas trees. Encourage guests to dress in Victorian-inspired outfits. You could even consider hiring carolers to perform!
For food, serve traditional holiday fare like roasted meats, mince pies, plum pudding, fruit cake, and gingerbread. For drinks, mulled wine, hot spiced cider, tea, and coffee add to the warmness.
Futuristic Winter Wonderland
Use the sleek, metallic colors of winter to inspire your decor and create a futuristic winter wonderland. Decorate with silver tinsel trees, holographic ornaments, LED snow globes, sparkly snowflakes, icicle lights, and glow-in-the-dark table settings.
For food and drink, grab some edible glitter to sprinkle on top of desserts and into cocktails. Cut finger sandwiches into spherical shapes. Serve foods on metallic platters. And integrate glow in the dark ice cubes into drinks.
Aprés Ski Lodge
Even if you’re nowhere near the mountains, you can bring the ski slopes to your party with an Aprés Ski theme. Bring the charm of a ski lodge into your home with faux fur blankets, wooden ski decorations, and cozy fireplaces.
For food, serve a charcuterie with plenty of fruits, pretzels, breads, meats, nuts, and cheeses. You can also set up a fondue station with cheese and chocolate fondue. For drinks, serve Schnapps-based cocktails, hot toddies, and spiked hot chocolate.
Holidays Around the World
Around the world, people celebrate the holidays differently. Whether it’s religious, cultural, or family traditions, there are so many ways to mark the holiday season. Reach out to your friends to ask about their favorite cultural traditions. Decorate different spaces throughout the party to represent various countries and cultures, highlighting unique customs, foods, and music. This is a great way to make your party educational and engaging for guests.
For food and drinks, serve an international buffet with traditional holiday dishes from around the world. Offer a variety of festive drinks, integrating spices and flavors from different cultures.
Tropical Holiday Luau
Mele Kalikimaka (or ‘Merry Christmas’ in Hawaiian)! Channel your inner National Lampoon and swap the snow for sand with a tropical holiday luau. Decorate a faux palm tree with twinkle lights. Hang flamingo ornaments throughout the space. Pass out Santa Claus hats, sunglasses, and of course, leis. Encourage guests to wear grass skirts, pack their flip flops, and turn up the heat to escape the winter chill.
For food, serve a spread of Hawaiian dishes like grilled pineapple, poké bowls, and roasted pork. For drinks, tropical drinks like piña coladas and mai tais topped with a little umbrella will keep the party refreshing.
Conclusion
Let’s face it… holiday parties can get a bit repetitive and stuffy. So why not make this year’s party different? With a little bit of creativity, some preparation, and good company, your holiday party will be a perfect way to celebrate the end of the year and enter 2025 with a fresh outlook.
Kadi McDonald is a freelance writer, marketing strategist, and proud Cleveland sports fan.
