First of all, we would like to commend you for taking up the responsibility of planning your own Christmas party program. We certainly do not want to miss celebrating this holiday season with our loved ones, especially since Christmas parties are where we get to express our gratitude for a great year.
However, a celebration as big as this can be demanding because it requires a lot of preparation. We know how tired you must be from setting-up your Christmas party, and now, you are nearly done! Let us help you plan your perfect Christmas party program through this guide, especially for our busy moms.
Before you proceed with the Christmas party program, make sure that you have already prepared the date, venue, theme, guest list, food, and decorations.
These are all necessary to ensure that you have the perfect Christmas party for your guests. Once you’ve settled these, you can begin planning the Christmas party program.
Schedule
First, let us discuss the options for the duration and time. The usual duration of a Christmas party program is three to four hours. But if you want to have a big celebration, you can up to six hours.
For a Christmas party program with children, we suggest scheduling it on the weekend. Make sure to start as early as 5:00 PM so that the children can go home in time for bed. If you do not have a weekend night free, you can schedule the party for a weekend daytime. You can start as early as 11:00 AM to cover lunchtime.
From here on, we present a standard Christmas party program flow. Please feel free to make necessary adjustments based on what suits your needs.
Assembly Time
Allow enough time for the arrival and settling of the guests. You can set aside 15 to 30 minutes for the waiting time. This period will be the right time to exchange greetings and quick catch-ups. During this time, continually remind everyone that you will start in a few minutes.
Invocation/ Prayer (Optional)
An invocation or prayer is common for a Christmas party program. In deciding whether to include this or not, you will also need to consider who your guests are for the party.
Welcoming Remarks
Use this time to welcome your guests to the party. You can give them a quick overview of the Christmas Party program. Make sure to keep this short for two minutes or less.
Activities for the Christmas Party Program
In coming up with activities, it is vital to consider the number of guests and the age group. If more than 20 guests are coming, you can opt for team activities. Meanwhile, if you have a broad age group, you can adjust activity rules to level the ground between younger and older guests.
During the party, clearly explain the rules of each activity. You can conduct a trial round to make sure everyone is on the same page. Aside from that, make sure to provide prizes for each activity.
You can divide the activities into two, which are before and after meals. We suggest allocating one to two hours for each of the activities in this Christmas party program. For this first part, the activities include icebreaker games and tasks such as arts and crafts and treats. Try to modify the activities to fit into your Christmas party theme.
Christmas Icebreaker Games
Christmas Charades
You can have a classic charade game where guests act out popular holiday activities or other holiday-related objects. For added excitement, form teams, where a team gets the point for every correct guess within a time limit. The first team to reach the target score wins.
Guess the Christmas Song
With this, you can sing or hum a line from a Christmas song. The team who can correctly guess the title first wins the point. By the end of the game, the team with the most number of correct guesses wins.
Christmas Stocking Relay
The goal of this game is to fill up the Christmas stocking with candies using a spoon on their mouth. To do this, you will have to place empty Christmas stockings at the end of the room. Each team has one stocking that they should fill up. One by one, every team member will walk towards the stockings with a spoon in their mouth, which carries the candies. The team who fills up their stocking first wins.
Christmas Arts and Crafts
Christmas Card Making
You can set-up a Christmas card-making station where kids can write their Christmas wishes to Santa. You can gather photos together and create a Christmas-themed collage or even a scrapbook for the adults.
Ornament Making Contest
Here, the guests can show off their creative side by designing Christmas ornaments such as wreaths. Prepare all the materials necessary to pull off this activity. You can formulate criteria for judging to determine who the winner is.
Christmas Treats
Christmas Cookies for Santa
This activity is a fun and collaborative activity for your guests, especially for families. With this, you will need to bake cookies ahead of time, which your guests can decorate. Prepare frosting and toppings that will serve as cookie decorations. On top of the usual, also include Christmas related sweets like candy canes.
Gingerbread House Decorating
Guests can work in teams in designing and decorating their ready-made gingerbread houses. You can prepare colorful icing and other festive toppings as decorations to make it merrier.
Meal Time
You are already halfway through your Christmas party program! Time to serve your guests’ meals. Set aside at least one hour for this part of the party. While your guests are eating, you can have a simultaneous performance to keep everyone entertained. You can hire a magician or ask talented family members to sing or dance.
You can also add a Christmas photo booth to capture fantastic memories from this Christmas celebration. It is easy to set-up one using Christmas decorations on the backdrop and a camera with a tripod. If you are doing this virtually, you can look for cute or funny Christmas filters for guests to try on.
Additional Activities for The Christmas Party Program
For this second part, the activities can include team-building games and other traditional activities during Christmas. Try to incorporate your activities with the Christmas party theme.
Christmas Team Building Games
Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Prepare a list of Christmas related items for teams to look for in the venue. The team that can complete the list first wins. You can add a twist by having them submit a picture or video acting out a holiday activity. Or even ask them to finish solving a puzzle.
Christmas Carol Pictionary Relay
This activity is a Christmas carol themed game of Pictionary. Each member should take turns to draw from a pile of flashcards. The team with the most number of correctly guessed drawings wins.
Christmas Family Feud
Divide your guests into teams. Each team is given a time limit to come up with three answers for each category. You will have to prepare a list of Christmas-themed survey responses. Then, you will present their answers and value them accordingly, and the team with the most number of points wins.
Christmas Traditions
Christmas Bingo
Most families host an annual bingo night. Why not do it on Christmas? You can swap the numbers for Christmas symbols by using online editing tools. For a twist, you can also play a Christmas themed human bingo. Instead of numbers, you can have Hallmark Christmas movie scenes to see if any guest matches them.
Christmas Mad Libs
Mad libs are also a well-known bonding activity among groups. You can easily search Christmas mad lib printables online. Then, provide each team with a printable so they can start the storytelling game. The team with the most entertaining story wins.
Christmas Carols
A Christmas holiday will never be complete without having everyone sing Christmas carols. You can either visit your neighbors or perform during the Christmas party program. For a twist, you can host karaoke by compiling your guests’ favorite Christmas songs.
Closing Remarks
During this time, you can give a more heartfelt closing message to the guests. You can thank them for a great year together. Make sure to limit your speech to a maximum of five minutes. You can also ask other guests to share a few words. And after which, it’s a wrap for your successful Christmas party program!
Tips For a Successful Christmas Party Program
To ensure that you have the perfect Christmas party program, consider some of the tips we have below.
Source: Unsplash
Ask Someone to Host
Although you are the party host, it will be challenging to oversee all the activities and still manage the program. You can ask other guests who are outgoing and witty to help you host the program. If it is a big party, you can have two hosts so that it will be easier to engage the audience.
Welcome The Guests at The Door
As much as you can, greet your guests as they come in. Let them feel welcome to your Christmas party by hanging their coats or offering to keep their belongings safe. You can spark a short catch-up conversation or lead them to party activities they can try while waiting.
Introduce Each Other
You can introduce your guests to each other, especially if they are not from the same friend or family group. Start with an ice breaker before heading into the main activity. Guests will have a better time at your Christmas party if they are comfortable celebrating it with other guests.
Create a Christmas Playlist
You can prepare a Christmas playlist familiar to everyone. There are numerous playlists available online, or you can create your own. You can also make sure that this playlist matches your Christmas party theme. Before the event starts, check if your sounding system is working correctly.
Play Christmas Movie
Like a Christmas playlist, you can also use Christmas movies as background entertainment to avoid dead air. These movies can even be great conversation starters for your guests. It would help maintain your party’s Christmas holiday vibe.
Limit Your Holiday Drink
If you are going to provide some drinks at your party, limit yourself to one or two. You need to be conscious or focused throughout your party. As the host, you are responsible for looking after your guests. Instead, you can help yourself with food and non-alcoholic drinks to re-energize for the rest of the Christmas party program.
Even after giving your closing remarks, guests will probably continue to stay and chat with other guests. To give a signal, you can start to turn the music down or to pack up and clean the room. Also, greet people on their way out of the venue.
Enjoy Your Christmas Party Program!
Try not to stress yourself out and enjoy your Christmas party by mingling with guests. You have been planning this Christmas party for days, and it is time to see it in action. You are with the people whom you love the most, so cherish this celebration with them.
Don’t Panic
As a final piece of advice, do not panic if your Christmas party program does not go according to plan. No one wants a perfect yet restrictive party. Ride the tide as you go, and you will indeed carry out the perfect Christmas party program.
We hope that we were able to equip you with all the knowledge you need to plan your perfect Christmas party program! Your loved ones would greatly appreciate your noble effort to bring them together for an unforgettable holiday celebration.
Managing a Christmas party program is already a handful. And it is made more complicated with your responsibilities as a mom. If you are looking for a community to help you through this challenging project, you can visit Preggy to Mommy. You will also find valuable advice on making pregnancy and parenting better for moms like you!
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