Merry Friendsmas
Friendsmas, the best friendship centered holiday after Friendsgiving.
The best holiday you didn't know you you needed to celebrate! What is Friendsmas, you'll ask? Quite simply, it's a Christmas celebration party exclusively for your friends. Why might you want to have one? Well, for one, most of us will want to be with our families on Christmas day, so hosting a separate celebration for friends makes sense. Or, for those who live away from home, Friendsmas might be what you do on Christmas day instead of heading back to see relatives.
Whether you’re looking to host a big neighborhood party with your folks, or a modern day gathering with friends, you’ll want to throw an impressive party everyone will remember for years. Friendsmas isn't technically Christmas. You don't have to follow any Christmas traditions, feel free to start your own. This is a holiday to celebrate friendship, so just get your friends together and do whatever will make you all happy.
If you want your Friendsmas party to be exceptional, this is not the time to skimp out on quality food, and unless you have an exceptionally large budget to feed everyone, a collaborative pot luck is your best bet. Enlist your friends to bring at least one dish or beverage to the party.
A Friendsmas doesn’t exist without a proper alcoholic beverage or five as well. Don’t get me wrong, food is very important, but beverages are the life blood of the party and sometimes the only thing to keep your guests at the party. If you can, recruit one of your friends to act as the mixologist for the party. Select at least 3-4 easy cocktail recipes or pick up a premade keg cocktail to keep on draft.
What’s a Friendsmas party without a few gifts changing hands? Ditch the Secret Santa routine and go for the White Elephant game. Be sure to determine a fair spending limit, no one wants leave feeling they were jipped or go home broke. Have everyone pick numbers out of a hat to determine the gift selection order and take turns selecting presents. Stealing up to two times is normally fair game, but make sure everyone brings something someone else will actually want to steal.
Whether it’s your turn to host Friendsmas or it’s a new tradition you’re looking to kick off, here are some of our top tips for throwing an epic Friendsmas bash!
Get out the tinsel
Decorations are an absolute essential. Choose a color scheme and decorate your table & venue with all things Christmas. Go for colorful napkins and funky plates. Introduce elements of humor with novelty decorations. Neon lights are an easy and chic way to introduce a party vibe into your home while still keeping things elegant. Neon lights have a very attractive, soft glow that will complement most interiors and will help get everyone into a party mood. To give people more space – and more of a chance to mingle – it's a good idea to decorate more than just the Christmas tree. By scattering colorful fairy lights, balloons and garlands, you'll be signaling to your friends that they can congregate in different areas of the living room. The more the merrier is our motto for Friendsmas.
Make it a dress up affair
Santa hats, red dresses, reindeer costumes… get your squad dressed the part for your Christmas function! Themes can be so much fun at a party and when you’re spending the day drinking with your friends, selfies are bound to happen. If you’re not big on themes, it’s still fun to pick up some Santa hats, reindeer ears and a few photo props to add something a little extra to the party.
Cute desserts
Something nice to have after the meal or as a gift for your guests at the end of the function.
Christmas tunes
Whether you love them or hate them, get people in the festive spirit with a Christmas playlist ready to go.
Entertainment
Are you going ice-skating before having dinner, playing games at home or settling in for a Christmas movie marathon? Once you know how long the party is going to last, you’ll be able to figure out what you’re going to do to keep everyone entertained throughout the party.
The best part about having a Friendsmas party is getting together with your crew before the busy season kicks into full gear. No matter what you do, being with your loved ones is going to be epic so don’t stress, just enjoy!