Ways To Celebrate Christmas With Friends

In the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle, it can be hard to slow down, savor the season, and connect with all of the people who mean the most to you.

And since our friends often feel like family, it can be especially meaningful to share the joys of the season with them.

If you’re looking for some fun ways to celebrate Christmas with your friends this year, we’ve put together the list below to help you make some merry memories (and maybe even start a few new traditions!).

Hosting a gingerbread house challenge is a great way to turn something you loved as a kid into a fun reason to get together with friends during the holidays. You could have everyone decorate individual gingerbread houses or assemble decorating teams. Consider creating prizes for the most creative, funniest, most festive, etc.

Regiftmas parties are perfect for post-holiday gatherings (and exchanging funny/unwanted gifts). Just instruct everyone to bring wrapped presents that are ready to be re-gifted. The re-gifting exchange can follow traditional white elephant party rules, or you could have everyone draw a name in advance, so they know who will be receiving their re-gifted present, and they can plan accordingly.

Connecting with friends doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes, in the midst of such a busy season, a cozy night in spent chatting and catching up is the perfect way to celebrate.

Grab your friends, your favorite Christmas mugs, and some snacks, and you’ll be all set. You could also make it a Christmas movie-watching party, or create a hot cocoa bar and have everyone bring their favorite topping to share.

A pancake and pajama party is the perfect excuse to wear your favorite festive PJs in public! You can keep this as simple as you’d like, and invite guests to bring a side dish to share. To make the gathering even more fun, you could award prizes for the most festive PJs.

Themed exchange parties put a fun spin on traditional holiday get-togethers. Decide in advance what your theme will be (cookies, wine, pie, etc.), and ask guests to bring something related to that theme. Consider having guests gift wrap containers of cookies/sweets, or dress up their wine bottles with cute wine gift bags or tags to make the exchange feel even more special. Items can then be numbered and placed under a tree, and each guest can draw a number to select the gift they get to take home.

There’s no way we could leave this popular party off our list! Ugly sweater parties are fun, festive, and the perfect opportunity to take some memorable photos with your friends. Don’t forget to award a prize for the “ugliest” sweater in attendance!

You’re probably familiar with the traditional Secret Santa gift exchange, but here’s a fun twist you can try: consider making a puzzle/game out of the exchange by asking friends to use their Secret Santa gift(s)/note(s) as clues for who the recipient might be. Then see how many attendees are able to guess correctly.

We hope these ideas put you in the holiday spirit and inspire you to plan something special with your friends this season. Have fun!