This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Milo’s Tea Company . All opinions are 100% mine.
It seems like every year, no matter how hard I try to keep things calm, we are booked solid from December 1st all the way up until Christmas. There’s school performances, our annual family “girls night” to see the nutcracker ballet, Christmas eve with our family, Christmas day with the in-laws and so many tiny things snuck in between. It’s like we barely have room to breathe much less have time to celebrate Christmas with friends.
Everyone talks about Christmas being a time for family, and it is, but I totally want that friends time too! One thing that we’ve found is that celebrating Christmas the week after with our friends is a great way to make time for everything we want to do – without stressing ourselves out or overcommitting.
One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that you don’t have to go crazy with traditional Christmas food to make a party. Quite honestly by the end of December I’m a bit sick of ciders and I’ve had about enough eggnog to last a lifetime. So instead, why not try something fast, easy and yummy so you can spend time on togetherness instead of stressing over the perfect meal plan.
For our friends-Christmas we almost always order pizza. No one wants to cook after having just made plenty of dishes or full meals for other events, so it’s a great way to eat something we all enjoy, without having to spend that much effort. Then, run by Wal-mart and pick up a couple gallons of Milo’s Tea. (You can Locate Milo’s near you here). Milo’s is the “North American Tea Champion”. With Rollback you can get gallons 2/$5 for a limited time. WIN. Especially when you realize that Milo’s is all natural, fresh brewed and has no preservative, no additives, no additives AND is a woman owned family business. Pretty fabulous all around I’d say.
After you have the essential food and drink for your party, it’s time to figure out what kind of party you want! Here are some ideas…
Game night – If you’ve been around this site for any time at all you’ll know that we jump at the chance to host or attend a game night every chance we get. Board games are a fun way to get everyone around the table, chatting and having fun. This is the route we choose every single year, but there’s other fun options if your friends aren’t gamers.
White elephant – There’s just something about gag gifts that I just absolutely love. White elephant parties
Buy a random gift costing $10 or less…the funnier the better! Everyone wraps them up and brings them to the party. After snacks are served, the white elephant gift exchange can begin. All the gifts are placed in the center of the room and everyone sits in a circle around them. Each guest draws a number from a hat to determine the order that they get to choose a gift.
The first person, then goes and chooses any gift that s/he wants from the pile and opens it in front of everyone. When they are done the person who drew the number two gets a turn. The only catch is that person two gets the choice between the already unwrapped gift, or any gift still wrapped and on the table. On their turn, instead of choosing a new gift they can “steal” the gift from anyone who opened a gift before them, causing that person to select a new gift instead.
The crazier the gifts the better! This one usually ends in lots of giggles, it’s always fun to see what people can find for less than $10
Traditional gift exchange – You don’t have to go crazy with the gifts, just do a traditional (small) gift exchange with your friends and spend the rest of the evening with your tea and pizza.
Christmas movie night – This is a great option if you all have kids. Choose a family friendly Christmas movie or two, get some popcorn and watch them together in a living room. For extra fun, every one can bring sleeping bags and camp out on the floor while you watch the movies!
Grinch party – If you are totally done with Christmas go grinch and do everything the complete opposite of Christmas. Try one of these grinch snacks and make everyone go home with the gift they brought for some one else!
Summer party – If you don’t want to go all the way grinch, you can still do something unexpected and hold a hawaiin luau! Iced tea (Find Milo’s for this), limbo for the kids, hot dogs and even grass skirts and flowers everywhere. No one will see it coming and that will make it twice the fun!
How do you do Christmas with your friends? Before during or after the big holiday? Would you try one of these fun ideas for a party?
Hazel Avery says
How is Christmas already here? Time just flies. These are such fun ideas. I also think it’s the perfect time, amidst the fun Christmas festivities, to get a fresh kitchen cabinet painting. We need one anyways, why not gift it for Christmas? Anyways, thanks for these delightful ideas.