Sometimes winter birthdays can get lost in the shuffle with all the holiday and New Year celebrations. But not on our watch! Embrace the season with these unique winter birthday party ideas. The best part is you can make most of these work for adults, teens, and children!
1. Cheesy Costume Party
Who says costumes are limited to Halloween? Costume parties are fun all year round! You can keep it general or have your guests dress as their favorite winter or Christmas characters. Think The Night King from Game of Thrones, Elsa or Olaf from Frozen, or even John McClane from Die Hard. Encourage your guests to really get into it—the cheesier the costumes, the better!
🎊 Decor
For season-specific costume themes, stick with classic colors. White, silver, and blue for winter or red, green, and gold for Christmas. Another fun idea is to center your decor around the birthday person’s favorite colors, hobbies, and movies/TV shows.
🧀 Menu
For a truly “cheesy” costume party, there’s only one thing your menu needs—lots of cheese, of course! Charcuterie and cheese boards provide a perfect snack. Or, you can set up a fondue station complete with meats, cheeses, breads, and even desserts!
🕺 Entertainment
Add some star power to your cheesy costume party with a celebrity impersonator. They can mingle with guests, pose for photos, and judge a costume contest. For a live music option, a tribute artist or tribute band can play their parts perfectly!
2. Artsy Fartsy Part…sy
Break out the hot glue gun, acrylic paints, popsicle sticks, and glitter to do some arts and crafts for your winter birthday party. This is the perfect indoor activity for an art lover with a birthday during this chilly season. And it lets the guests make some fun party favors to use as Christmas gifts or ornaments.
🧶 Decor
Get crafty—literally! Hit up your local craft store or Dollar Tree to find simple items that can be turned into something beautiful and unique. It’ll be a blast to do and will provide some fun on-theme decor for your artsy winter birthday party.
🍭 Menu
An assortment of snacks and candies would be fitting for a crafty party. You can have a popcorn bar with all kinds of flavors and toppings and a candy and dessert buffet with everyone’s favorite treats. You can even combine your sweets and crafts and have everyone make gingerbread houses!
🎨 Entertainment
If your guests need a bit more direction, you can host a painting party with a professional instructor. These talented artists can walk even the least-skilled painters through the process to create a beautiful piece of art they’ll be excited to take home with them.
3. Elegant Snow Ball
For those wanting a classy winter birthday celebration, a “white party” is perfect for the occasion and the season. Your guests can come dressed in white suits and dresses, ready to dance the night away. This party theme can also be turned into a Frozen party for a child’s birthday!
❄️ Decor
Turn your venue into a winter wonderland with white drapery, linens, and flowers. Complete the snowy look with fake snow and snowflake decorations. Add silver and light blue accents to your white color palate for an extra pop. Make your guests feel like they’re dancing within a snow globe!
🥂 Menu
With everyone wearing white, make sure to avoid anything messy. Stick with simple, bite-sized hors d’oeuvres with no sauces and small, white-colored desserts like snowball cookies and mini-cupcakes in place of a birthday cake. And no ball would be complete without sparkling wine and champagne.
🎻 Entertainment
Create the perfect ambiance for your Snow Ball with live classical or jazz music. Hire a local string quartet to provide beautiful background music. Or, if you want people twirling on the dance floor, consider a jazz band.
4. Cozy Sleepover
For the low-key birthday boy or girl, you can’t go wrong with a lazy night in. You’re never too old for a slumber party with your besties. Break out movies or board games, grab some blankets, and tuck in for a night of relaxing fun. Whether your guests spend the night or not, make sure they know pajamas are a must!
🧣 Decor
Comfort is the name of the game for this winter birthday idea. Keep your decor simple and focus on the seating. Fill the room with large floor pillows and fluffy blankets. If you’re looking for a good color palate, stick with warm reds, oranges, and golds.
🍕 Menu
A pizza party is a classic choice for any sleepover. Set up a pizza bar filled with ingredients for your guests to craft their own mini pizzas. Serve breadsticks on the side and cinnamon twists for dessert. And don’t forget to have an assortment of snacks and candy for when the movie or games begin!
🎲 Entertainment
The fun activities will be the only entertainment you need at your cozy birthday sleepover. You can play interactive phone games like Jackbox TV, video games like Mario Party, or party board games like Wavelength. For a movie night, you can stay inside or rent an outdoor movie screen and take your pillows and blankets to the backyard. Just don’t forget the hot cocoa!
5. Simple Spa Party
With the short days and cold weather, winter can get a little dreary. Self-care is essential for surviving this sometimes tough season. Treat yourself and your guests to a day at the spa—all while staying at home! Set up relaxation stations for manicures, pedicures, facials, and massages. You can hire a professional mobile spa service to handle all the details for you.
🕯️ Decor
Clear out distractions and make ample room for everyone to spread out. Then set up candles or oil defusers with relaxing scents. When choosing colors, soft pinks and purples inspire a tranquil feeling, and light greens and blues are soothing and can reduce stress and anxiety.
🍇 Menu
Keep your refreshments light. Avoid high-protein and heavy foods that can make guests feel bloated. Stick with simple fruit and vegetable trays for a truly relaxing spa party. For dessert, dark chocolate is known to be a stress reducer. And, of course, pour a little bit of bubbly or sparkling cider as well!
🎶 Entertainment
Silence is often the opposite of relaxing for many people, so you’ll want to fill your space with soothing sounds. Play soft instrumental music or nature sounds over a speaker at a medium volume. If you wanna step your spa party up a notch, have live music from a flute player or harpist.
6. Happy Christmas Birthday
There are two types of winter birthday people—those who love sharing their birthday with the jolly holiday season and those who don’t. This winter birthday party idea is for the former. For that Christmas-loving friend, lean fully in on the theme and throw a spectacular Christmas birthday bash!
🎄 Decor
Well, this one is easy. You’ve probably already decorated for the holidays or at least have the decor on hand to use. Make it special to your birthday person with ornaments and other decor themed around their favorite things.
🍪 Menu
Go with classic holiday treats for this winter birthday party idea. Put out trays with an assortment of cookies, candy canes, and other sweet desserts. Don’t forget milk for the cookies! Set up an egg nog or hot chocolate bar for tasty drinks. Have Bailey’s and rum on hand for some extra Christmas “spirits.”
🎅 Entertainment
There are lots of festive entertainment options to choose from for a Christmas-themed birthday party! You can have Santa or elves deliver the birthday presents or hire traditional Christmas carolers to sing Happy Birthday as well as all your holiday favorites.
6. Rockin’ House Concert
There’s nothing like sitting back and relaxing to a live music performance. Now imagine doing that in your living room! Hosting a house concert is the perfect way to celebrate a music lover’s birthday. You can bring the musician to you in person or have them perform live virtually to stream through your TV.
🎫 Decor
Turn your living room into the perfect concert space with low lighting from candles or twinkle lights. Then use the birthday person’s favorite music to choose colors for your decor—think dark for rock, earthy for country, and bright for pop. You can also create custom concert ticket invitations to send your guests with all your party deets!
🍺 Menu
Food doesn’t often go with concerts, but you know what does? Drinks! Serve a mix of beer, wine, and cocktails so everyone can have their beverage of choice. Hire a professional bartender to set up in your kitchen and keep the drinks flowing all night long.
🎸 Entertainment
For a house concert, you’ll want to keep things fairly intimate. A rock band might not be the best choice for such a small venue. A singing guitarist or small acoustic band can play a variety of genres and styles to create an amazing setlist for your winter birthday party.
If you’re looking for fun experiences rather than winter-themed party ideas, we have a few suggestions for that as well. Indoor activities like laser tag and escape rooms are perfect for winter birthdays. Or, take your celebration to the rink for an exciting ice skating party. Whatever you choose, we’re sure this year’s birthday bash is going to be unforgettable! 🎉
Need help with your birthday party planning? Find the best entertainers, musicians, and event services on GigSalad.
Heather is the Content Manager and a GigSalad veteran of 15+ years. She loves helping event planners create unforgettable celebrations and talent make a living doing what they love. When not at work, she enjoys reading romance and fantasy books, bingeing TV shows, playing board games, and spending time with friends.