Christmas is officially upon us and the celebrations are well underway. Have you already battled your way through 12 pubs, embarrassed yourself in front of your boss at your work party and spilled wine all over your Christmas jumper? Maybe it’s time for a more grown up Christmas get-together.
There are plenty of old-style classic Christmas celebrations you can organise that can feel like stepping back in time.
Have you considered having a Christmas get-together with your group of friends but not going to a pub? A nice idea is to have an old-fashioned Christmas party. Here is how you can plan the perfect one with all your friends.
Picking the right location is the first obstacle you have to conquer. Pick a friend’s house or someone’s college accommodation, ideally, you’d have the place to yourselves and not have younger siblings or parents interrupting your festivities. Wherever you pick, make sure it’s full of festive decorations to get everyone in a joyful mood.
Pick a date that suits everyone. To do this, you’re going to need to plan way in advance because of how busy everyone gets around the holiday period. Planning in advance also means you have enough time to delegate jobs and make sure everyone does their equal share. Just because it’s taking place in one person’s house doesn’t mean they should have to do all the work.
If you want your party to include a dinner, get everyone to bring something when they come. You can have anything from your usual turkey and ham Christmas dinner to lasagnas and mac and cheese. You can get a takeaway if no one is too keen on cooking but if you do make sure it’s eaten at the table.
The table needs to be perfect; we’re talking everything from candles and fancy centrepieces to cloth napkins. Personalised placemats are also a lovely addition to the night. Ask your parents to borrow their fancy plates or nice wine glasses to really make the dinner feel special. You could also play some soft Christmas music in the background to get everyone in the Christmas mood.
To fully embrace the old-fashioned style Christmas, everyone should get dressed up. How often do you see your friends properly dressed to the nines? Christmas is the perfect time to showcase some of your fancy outfits that your college friends mightn’t have seen yet.
After the meal, organise some fun festive games. Create your own Christmas at Downton vibes by playing a game of Charades or Pictionary. Or if you think your friendships can survive it why not play some board games. Monopoly is always fun. Another cute idea could be all of you singing Christmas songs or Christmas carols together. In between you can all tell your favourite Christmas stories.
As the night goes on you and your friends could cosy up on the couch and watch some of the best old Christmas movies. It’s A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street and A Christmas Carol are three possible ideas of vintage Christmas movies you could watch.
Some homemade eggnog or better yet mulled wine would be a lovely touch treat to have while watching the movie. Or if you wanted an alcohol-free night you could whip up some lovely hot chocolate, make sure you have whipped cream and marshmallows to put on top to make it taste even better.
Sometimes it’s nice to try something different and Christmas is the perfect time to do it.