It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and it’s your turn to plan the annual holiday party. It’s a lot of pressure, we know—but don’t fret! Whether you’re planning a fun office party, a classy dinner, or a traditional yuletide soirée, we’ve got six great Christmas party themes to get the snowball rolling.
1. The Nutcracker Christmas Party
We’re kicking off our Christmas party theme ideas with a classic. For ballet and theater lovers or fans of all things sparkly, a Nutcracker Christmas party will be a surefire hit. While you don’t have to stick with whites and pinks, this pretty take on The Nutcracker is great for baby showers, bridal showers, and birthday parties that fall during the holiday season.
🎨 Color Palette
Use various hues of pink, silver, white, gold, and cream. You can even mix in red to keep a classic Christmas feel.
🩰 Special Touches
Set out bowls with mixed (shelled) nuts surrounded by statuesque nutcrackers. Decorate with frills, tutus, sparkling tinsel and garland, glitter, and ballet slipper decorations. Sweet treats like petit fours, macarons, and themed cookies complete the look.
🎶 Entertainment Ideas
Ballet dancers can provide a live performance of an act or two of the famed ballet. You could also hire a string quartet or other classical ensemble to play songs from the famous score for the party.
2. Candy Land Christmas Party
Who doesn’t love candy? The game Candy Land was introduced in 1945 and has had over 20 versions launched since. Every generation, from the youngsters to your grandparents, can relate to and have fun with this Candy Land Christmas theme. Or, with a few small tweaks, turn this theme into a Willy Wonka Christmas!
🎨 Color Palette
Choose any combination of bright colors or pastels that your heart desires.
🍭 Special Touches
Cellophane-wrapped balloons with white sticks as handles (giant lollipops), gumdrops, ribbon candy, gingerbread houses, and candy canes. Offer party favor bags of candy and colorful games like Twister and Candy Land!
🎈 Entertainment Ideas
Give each guest a festive creation from a balloon twister, or have a face painter provide fun designs for kiddos and adults that match your Candy Land Christmas theme.
3. Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
The ugly sweater Christmas party has been a popular theme for several years, and there’s no doubt why—it’s a ton of fun! What other time do you get points for being the worst at fashion? Ugly sweater parties can be a hit in any crowd, but we think they’re especially entertaining for holiday office parties.
🎨 Color Palette
Stick with your traditional Christmas decoration colors like kelly green, bright red, gold, and silver. Don’t be afraid to create an abundance of mismatched plaid or other holiday prints; after all, it’s supposed to be ugly.
🍪 Special Touches
Set up a cookie decorating station with cookies in the shapes of mini sweaters! Set up a hot cocoa bar that will pair nicely with your cookies. Give out awards for your ugly sweater contest and invite guests to bring white elephant gifts for a silly swap!
🎤 Entertainment Ideas
There could be hidden talent behind those ugly sweaters! Hire a karaoke DJ for a Christmas song sing-along. Or, set up a holiday roast with a stand-up comedian to have your guests rolling with laughter.
Bonus: Let the photos take care of themselves! Book a photo booth for your Christmas party guests to get their ugly sweater selfies on.
4. Winter Wonderland Party
A winter wonderland theme works for almost any holiday party. With such a beautiful aesthetic, it’s a great choice for formal or sophisticated Christmas parties. This theme is especially perfect for winter engagement parties or even wedding receptions!
🎨 Color Palette
White and silver are classic choices for a winter wonderland theme. If you want to throw in a bit of color but still stay on theme, then throw in splashes of champagne, rose gold, or light blue.
❄️ Special Touches
Frosted and/or clear crystal, white Christmas trees, polished silver, candles, snowflake confetti, metallic ornaments, tinsel, fake snow, ice sculptures, and white string lights can all help create a beautiful wintery atmosphere for your Christmas party.
🎻 Entertainment Ideas
Set a sophisticated soundtrack with a harpist or violinist. For a bit more swing, hire a jazz band for an upbeat but classic background holiday ambiance.
5. Favorite Holiday Movie Party
If there’s one thing that can bring everyone together during the holidays, it’s a Christmas movie! Choose your group’s favorite flick and create your theme around it. Whether it’s Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or A Christmas Story, get creative and center your food, drinks, and decor around memorable moments or characters.
🎨 Color Palette
The classic red and green is a good start for this theme, and you can mix in colors that are appropriate based on the movie you choose. Draw on the characters’ costumes and the setting to pick out other accent colors.
🎄 Special Touches
Create themed food, like green desserts for The Grinch or dipped marshmallows for Cotton-Headed-Ninny-Muggins treats from Elf. Hang signs with favorite quotes or play trivia games based on the best moments in the film. You could even go all out and get a life-size cutout of the main character!
🎞️ Entertainment Ideas
Book a costumed character from the movie to visit the party and take selfies, pass out gifts, or greet guests as they arrive. Take the guesswork out of party activities and set up an inflatable screen for a special screening of the show itself!
6. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town Party
It isn’t Christmas if the jolly old elf doesn’t make an appearance. So why not theme the party around the iconic man in red? You can adjust it to be more classic and vintage, like Coca-Cola Santa, or bright and light-hearted from the cartoons you loved as a kid. Another fun twist would be focusing on a Santa’s workshop theme with crafts and activities—perfect for a kids’ Christmas party!
🎨 Color Palette
Red and white to match the famous Santa suit should be your base when planning out your Christmas party decor. Round out the aesthetic with black, gold, and green accents to add some contrast.
🎁 Special Touches
Wrap several small gifts for Santa Claus to hand out, or order personalized Santa Sacks® to make your little ones feel extra special. Provide felt beards and hats as party favors so everyone can get in on the Santa fun!
🎅 Entertainment Ideas
Book Santa Claus himself for a special home visit to pass out gifts and read the naughty and nice list! If he can’t make it or needs a little help for a larger crowd, send in Mrs. Claus to lead storytime, cookie decorating, and more.
7. Margaritas and Mistletoe Party
It’s time for a Christmas fiesta! Toss out that recipe for baked ham and shake up the holidays this year. After listening to stale holiday playlists and braving the cold for shopping, your guests will love this vibrant take on a holiday party. This Christmas party theme is perfect for corporate events, engagement parties, and celebrating with friends.
🎨 Color Palette
Lime green, bright red, and yellow. The bright colors of the Southwest lend themselves perfectly to this Christmas party theme!
🌮 Special Touches
Set up a build-your-own taco and margarita bar. Or you could skip the cooking altogether and hire a food truck to park nearby with tasty party entrees! Bonus points for a taco truck. For interactive fun, hang a pinata filled with Christmas-themed candy!
🎺 Entertainment Ideas
What’s Christmas without a lively rendition of “Feliz Navidad” or other favorite Christmas songs? Book a mariachi band or Latin band to set the mood for the festivities.
😠 Looking for an outside-the-holiday-gift-box ideas? If you’re dealing with a group of Grinches or Scrooges, throw an anti-holiday party that will have your guests laughing and maybe even begrudgingly getting into the Christmas spirit.
Whatever Christmas party theme you choose, we’re sure everyone will have a blast. It’s not about what we do but who we do it with. So, enjoy your time together during this wonderful holiday season. We wish you a very merry and happy holiday! 🎄
Book something awesome for your Christmas party! Find all kinds of holiday musicians, performers, and event services on GigSalad.
Megan is the Director of Customer Experience at GigSalad and has gained 9+ years of insight on what makes a great event on both sides of the booking process. Her favorite things include books, true crime podcasts, coffee, hiking, puns, and making people laugh.
I’m a comedian. With gigmasters.I’m interest in joining gigsalad!
Hi Lamont! We’d love to have you! You can set up your profile here: https://www.gigsalad.com/join and if you need any help at all, feel free to give us a call!