Whoa, ho ho! The sparkly lights are going up, your pals are reaching for the fizz and bae is quizzing you about presents – it must be Christmas, right? It’s the most fabulous season of them all, so your Christmas party has to live up to the hype the best way we can this year.

When you’re planning a party, you especially want to make sure it’s a cracker at Christmas. Need a bit of help? Don’t worry, we’ve got this.

This article is packed with ideas for a Christmas party to remember, whether you’re having to take things online with a virtual celebration or a get-together with your bubble of besties.
 

Planning and hosting a Christmas party

 

1. Food and drink – it’s not a party if there are no snacks and festive drinks

2. Games – remember…have fun and no wine-ing if you lose

3. Music – there is more than Mariah and Bublé

4. Decorations – Christmas trees, fairly lights and Zoom backgrounds

5. What to wear? – grab a jumper and get on with the fun

1. Food and drink

When you organise a Christmas party, it’s all about the food and drink – whether that’s snacks or a full meal. You definitely don’t want to be dealing with hangry guests do you? And those fancy festive tipples are your chance to really impress.

If you’re hosting a virtual Christmas party, you can still achieve what you’re hoping for. Whether you choose to get the food delivered to guests or simply share recipes so you’re all enjoying the same things, there are always ways around it! Where there’s a will, there’s a way…and you and the squad are all definitely willing this Christmas, right?

 

Christmas drinks

Ensure everyone can raise their glass to the season with a selection of drinks to choose from at your fabulous Christmas party. Mix it up with a wintery cocktail or mocktail, enjoy a glass of  bubbly under the mistletoe with bae, clink your glasses with your favourite Barefoot wine or perhaps make it a virtual cheers.

Why not be extra and design a drinks menu? Start with a welcome cocktail and add delicious options everyone will enjoy – remember not everyone likes the same things so it’s great to have a selection to choose from.

 

Cocktails and mocktails

Kick off the party in style with our Barefoot Christmas Frost cocktail. It features our delicious Jammy Red, raspberry liqueur, pomegranate juice and is garnished with sugar-coated raspberries. What’s not to love?

Love that idea? There’s plenty more where that came from in our bank of recipes. Here’s three more to impress your friends with over Christmas:

For a lighter alternative, our Wine Seltzers offer the perfect blend including some white wine, sparkling water and natural fruit flavours – all in a slimline 70 calorie 250ml can. Yes, 70 calories – you really can have fun this festive season without ruining your regime. Strawberry and guava and pineapple and passionfruit varieties are available.

To cater for those who don’t or would rather not have any alcohol, there are gorgeously festive options. BBC Good Food has two stunners – the faux fizz is packed with pear and apricot and bursts with sparkling water, while its pear and rose punch multitasks as a delicious centrepiece.

Barefoot Bubbly
What’s a Christmas party without a glass of bubbles? There’s something so festive about the pop of a cork and the first fizzy glug from the bottle. Change it up this year and go pink – the Barefoot Pink Moscato is a fab crowd pleaser.

Wine

Some people enjoy red, white and pink, some only like one or a couple – so it’s a great idea to have a selection available. That’s where Barefoot’s choice can help. Choose from six gorgeous reds – our smooth and velvety Cabernet Sauvignon is a Christmas fave and perfect to fit with red meat or spicy snacks.

When it comes to white wine, you’ll be spoilt for choice with our fun range of diverse bottles. We think our Barefoot Buttery Chardonnay is the perfect Christmas party tipple – and it’s the ideal partner for that turkey you’re going to be tucking into.

Pink wine might not always be the first thing you think of when it comes to Christmas, but it’s glam and fun – just like you and the girls – so, why not? Pair our White Zinfandel with your party cheeseboard which will have you saying “can you name a more iconic duo?”.

Christmas party food and snacks

Here are some of our favourite mouth-watering food and snack ideas for a Christmas party:

  • Canape selections – go for classic and quick antipasti on a stick with olives, feta, chicken skewers and mini pizzas. Or how about mozzarella, tomato and basil with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar? You can also opt for bites such as smoked salmon blinis with cream cheese or sour cream or mini brie and cranberry pastries.
  • Cheese board – wines best friend! Pack a grazing board with your favourite cheeses surrounded by a selection of cured meats, festive nuts, olives, stuffed peppers and other delicious Christmas treats. Alternatively bake a Camembert for a gloriously gooey centrepiece for dipping bread and handcooked crisps. If you have vegan guests, create a separate board with vegan cheeses and accompanied by nuts, crisps and other yummy bites.
  • Sweet stuff – Christmas is a time for sweet treats and that means mini mince pies, brownies, stollen slices, yule log and mini bowls of Christmas pudding. Even dieting Debbie needs some of this in her life.

2. Games

Why not sprinkle joy with some fun Christmas party games you know everyone will enjoy?

Charades with your huns around the fire is always a giggle, but what other games can you turn to this year that will also work for an online Christmas?

  • Christmas movie emoji cards – the quickest person/team to guess all the Christmas classics from the emoji descriptions wins! There’s plenty of these for inspo on Pinterest that are fire.
  • Christmas-themed name game – anything festive goes and the next person has to answer with the last letter of the previous answer. Elf? Festive, oh no back to ‘E’!
  • Who am I? – Grab your sticky notes, get a festive answer stuck to your forehead and try to guess from the clues given by your guests. Take this one in turns and let the giggles commence.

 

3. Music

The playlist of any Christmas party is what helps make the fun, so the music you choose is super important (no pressure). The good news is that if you’re busy planning the whole celebration, Streaming services have ready-made Christmas party music playlists for you to turn to – cheers pals! Get everyone to press play at the same time for the same vibe across your virtual get together.

Favourites to make sure you include to get everyone dancing are:

  • Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You
  • Wham! – Last Christmas
  • Brenda Lee – Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
  • Elton John – Step Into Christmas
  • Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody
  • Wizzard – I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday

Alternatively, whack on a Michael Bublé playlist and you’re set for festive vibes the whole night through! It is his season after all.
 

4. Decorations

When it comes to Christmas decorations it’s important to go all out to create a fabulous atmosphere. Even if your party is virtual, don’t just dress up the area behind your laptop or tablet camera – turn up the Christmas vibes to 100 and spread glitter and joy all around your space. If you’re online, you can take your guests on a virtual tour by going around Santa’s Grotto, formerly known as the house, with your camera on!

Think outside the box when it comes to decorating your space for your party – if you’re having guests over it adds the extra sprinkling of fun you need to make it a party to remember.

Here are some ideas to make decorate for your Christmas celebration and get the party started:

  • Dress up your front door with a massive bow so your guests feel like they’re entering a wrapped gift! Why not add a metallic fringed door curtain to an internal door to your main party space to make their entrance extra fabulous?
  • Line the ceiling of the main room with twinkly lights to add a sprinkling of magic.
  • Add fun baubles to your tree to act as a talking point – Paperchase has amazing options including a sloth in a Santa hat and a flamingo wrapped in Christmas lights.
  • Decorate your space with Christmas crackers for guests to pull – the hats, jokes and gifts inside will add more giggles to the party.

Whatever you choose to do, inject loads of fun and make sure your ideas will add something special to your celebration.

As a wine lover, you could even use your old bottles to make some delightful decs. Try these super-simple ideas (yes, you can do this!):

  • Clean your bottles up and pop a string of lights inside. Then, hey presto, you’ve got yourself a gorgeous lamp.
  • Paint old bottles in festive red and green – sticking glitter, stars, snowflakes or bits of holly on for added effect.
  • Clean bottles also make for cute candle sticks. Pop a candle in the top, wrap a sprig of festive foliage around the neck and that’s it. You’ll wish you’d thought of this sooner!

5. What to wear?

So, what to wear to a Christmas party? Well, only two things make for essential and fierce festive wear – sparkles and Christmas jumpers. Pairing a knit with Santa’s face on with a sequined skirt? Yasss queen! Be bold and go for it.

Even if it’s a virtual Christmas party and you’re celebrating online, don’t just dress up your top half for the camera – go all out. Slip on your glittery heels or your shiny shoes, shimmery skirts and trousers – especially if your party is going to involve some tunes and a dance. Fellas – it’s time for that special shirt/jacket combo – and maybe a sparkling bow tie for a festive finishing touch. Going for the fun yet comfy route because 2020 has been, well 2020? Christmas onesie, done and done.

We hope these Christmas party ideas have got you bursting with excitement and inspo for your celebration. Whether you’re getting together online or in person, ramp up the sparkle and cheers with a delicious glass of fizz, turn up the volume on the party tunes and have a dance with your best pals.

Dec 9, 2020