It’s the most wonderful time of the year! However, the most wonderful time of the year can also be the busiest and the least budget-friendly. The good news is you can still throw a fantastic and stylish Christmas party without breaking the bank. We have some helpful tips for hosting a Christmas party at home on a budget!
Create a party budget
The first step in hosting a budget-friendly holiday party is to set a spending limit for the event. If you don’t have a clear budget, you’re more likely to overspend. Use a free printable budget template to break your budget into categories—food, drinks, decor, and entertainment—and set firm amounts for each thing. Then do your best to stick to it!
🎁 Pro tip: When planning your Christmas party at home, track your spending as you go. If you cut costs on one category and come in under budget, take that extra cash and apply it to one of your other categories. Or use the remaining money to buy small gifts for your guests.
Choose your menu
Hosting a potluck at your party is a great way to keep your food and drink budgets low. Invite everyone to prepare a dish to share and have each guest bring a bottle of wine or beverage of choice. For your own contributions, we have a few Christmas party ideas for a tasty menu.
Festive Food
There are many tasty holiday-themed hors d’oeuvres you can offer your guests in lieu of a full meal. Create a pinwheel Christmas tree using a spinach wrap and ingredients of your choice, and decorate it with cherry tomatoes. Stay on theme and take a basic veggie tray up a notch by arranging the vegetables into a wreath shape with the dip in the center.
Decadent Drinks
A cranberry mimosa is a simple but stunning cocktail your guests will love that will also keep you within your budget. A couple of bottles of champagne, some cranberry juice, and crystalized sugar for the rim are all you need for this holiday treat.
For your younger guests or ones who prefer a non-alcoholic beverage, try an easy-peasy two-ingredient apple cider recipe. Just combine one bottle of apple juice and a handful of red hot candies and heat it in a crockpot or over the stove for a yummy, festive, budget-friendly beverage.
🍬 Looking for more food ideas? Get creative with these 18 unique twists on traditional holiday treats.
DIY some darling decor
The dollar store is your best friend when it comes to cost-friendly Christmas party decor. They have plenty of cute holiday options and items that you can use to create DIY decorations.
Creative Centerpieces
Grab some mason jars, tinsel or ribbon, and battery-powered lights to add sparkle to your at-home celebration. We also love using a sweet and simple burlap and ribbon combination to decorate a white candle.
Glittering Garland
Add some pizzazz to your at-home holiday party by making your own festive holiday decorations. Use twine and spray-painted pine cones to create a unique and sparkly garland that is perfect for hanging on your mantle, a railing, or an archway.
Another fun and easy craft idea is to use butcher paper to cut out oversized snowflakes that you can hang on your walls. Or, make smaller ones and hang them from the ceiling with fishing wire for a winter wonderland Christmas party theme.
❄️ You might also like: DIY Christmas Party Decoration Ideas That Are Easy and Fun
Add exciting entertainment
Providing some sort of entertainment is a must when hosting a Christmas party at home. There are lots of ways to incorporate fun activities that your friends and family will talk about through the new year.
Santa Surprise Visit
Wow your guests by inviting the personification of holiday magic to your Christmas party. You can book Santa to come to your house to pose for photos, tell Christmas stories, and deliver special gifts. For an extra magical touch, hire a Mrs. Claus to help bring shy kiddos out of their shells or provide additional entertainment for a party with a larger guest list.
🎅 Pro tips: Get expert advice from a professional Santa on how to have a smooth home visit from Santa Claus.
Great Gifts and Games
Take some pressure off gift-giving by hosting a white elephant gift exchange with a spending limit. This activity allows your guests to share presents and a few laughs! Then keep the laughter going with some interactive Christmas party games. Build gingerbread houses, throw on a cheesy Christmas movie and turn it into a drinking game, or play a little Christmas bingo.
🎁 Read this: Unwrap the Fun with These Christmas Gift Exchange Ideas
Lovely Live Music
Christmas music is a staple of the holiday season! If you’ve set a higher budget for your entertainment or have some wiggle room from under-spending in other places, you can turn your Christmas house party into a house concert. Consider hiring a singing pianist to lead your guests in a Christmas carol sing-along or maybe a classical guitarist to provide some beautiful background music.
🎊 You might also like: 10 Holiday Party Entertainment Ideas for a Festive Celebration
No matter your budget, you can throw the perfect holiday celebration by simply gathering together with the ones who mean the most to you. But we hope these Christmas party ideas help add some holiday magic to your budget-friendly shindig! 🎄
🕎 Create an inclusive celebration: If you have mixed company coming to your holiday party, include some Hanukkah traditions so everyone feels welcome!
Sonia is a Customer Happiness Agent at GigSalad and uses the knowledge she’s gained from helping both the vendor and client through the booking process to give her best event planning advice. When she’s not at work she enjoys the outdoors, a good book, trying new recipes, and spending quality time with her husband and their furbabies.