Planning to throw a Christmas party this year? Then you probably want to make it the best one for your family and friends. But you might also be concerned about the expenses. Here is a quick guide on how to organize and host a budget-friendly Christmas party that will excite attendees.
Planning your Christmas party the right way
You likely have a vision of how the party is going to be in your head right now. But don’t get excited just yet. To be sure that it would go smoothly, you need to break and plan it down carefully.
The first thing you would want to decide on is the size of the party. How many people do you plan on inviting and how many do you think will show up? When you have a more concrete idea of the number of possible attendees, you will be able to set a more realistic budget for the event.
Fitting everything into your budget
You also need to decide whether your chosen party theme is doable. Think about the different things like decorations and food affect whether you can pull those off. Note that it doesn’t mean you have to forego your initial plans. Instead, find ways how you can fit that idea into your budget, such as:
- Use alternative decors: Look for lower priced decorations that would still work for the event.
- Use what you have: Look around your home to see what items you can use for the party, such as utensils or sound equipment.
- Trim down your menu: While you need to have plenty of food during the event, you can remove the ones you think will not be consumed that much.
- Get the right venue: Even the simple basketball court nearby can be a great place to hold your Christmas party and will be cheaper too.
- Go DIY: Instead of hiring services like catering or photo booths, you can just set up your own to save on costs.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help from your attendees since they will likely be more than willing to assist just to get the Christmas celebrations underway. Ge a list of the things they can help with and factor these into your budget. You can also ask for suggestions and ideas for the party.
Doing your Christmas party preparations
Once you have your Christmas celebration plans sorted out, it’s time to prepare everything. Organize all the tasks in terms of importance so that you won’t struggle with getting them done. When shopping for your party needs, for instance, you should buy the most important items first such as the food ingredients and the decorations. This way, you can determine which least important things to drop if you need to.
One specific task you also need to do early is making the reservations for things like the venue and the catering (if you decide to have one). Since there will be many Christmas celebrations during the season, the reservation slots for these things can fill up quickly. At best, make the reservations a full month before the event to give you enough room for changes.
Christmas party games
A Christmas party would be boring if you don’t have games and activities. When picking your games, choose ones that would suit your guests.such as:
- 20 questions game: This is great for a party with your work colleagues and lets them see how well they know each other.
- Minute to Win It: A skills games based on the popular TV show. Come up with unique challenges your guests can do while you do a Luis Manzano impersonation.,
- Christmas charades: This is a fun game for every age but you can make it match your particular group of guests with the choice of songs or movie titles to guess.
- Pinoy Henyo: The iconic game from Eat Bulaga is another fun game to add to your Christmas party repertoire. Make it more exciting by using words related to your guests.
Be sure to come up with different games for each year to keep your guests entertained. Choose prizes that will be to the liking of your guests. For adults, you can go with gift certificates or items they can use for everyday work. With kids, you would want to have a variety of prizes for different ages.
Make your Christmas celebrations meaningful
This might sound cliche but celebrating the spirit of giving is a great way to make your party more successful. Instead of the usual exchange of gifts, ask guests to bring donations for charity. In the case of monetary donations, make sure to tell them how the money will be spent.
Another way to go is to hold a Christmas party specifically for for poor families. Get together with your family and peers and invite the less fortunate people in your area. They will surely love the gesture while you and your friends will be delighted seeing their happy faces.
Have fun while throwing the best Christmas party
There is really no such thing as a perfect Christmas party. Even with careful planning and preparations, there will always be a hitch. But once you see your guests having a great time, you know you did well even on a small budget. So go on and start preparing for the Christmas bash you want.