8 Theme Ideas for Your Holiday Party

Ugly Sweater Party

Chances are, you own at least one hideous holiday sweater that stays buried in your closet. Maybe an aunt knitted it for you and you only sport it out of guilt when she pays the occasional visit. Well, nows the time to break that baby out. (If your wardrobe is free of such a fashion nightmare, consider heading to the thrift store and shelling out three bucks on a secondhand sweater. Theres usually plenty to choose from at stores like K-mart and Wal-mart, too.) Tell your friends to don their most repulsive sweaters and join you for a party. Invent prize categories, get your guests to vote, and present awards to those wearing the ugliest sweaters. Be sure to take pictures!

Cookie Exchange Party This ones a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Invite your friends to a cookie exchange at your place, and tell them to bring a dozen treats for other guests along with a few extras for sampling. Make sure they include copies of their recipes for guests. Then just let people mingle and discuss their culinary creations.If youre counting your calories this holiday season, ask friends to bring in healthy snacks insteadwhether they are hor doeuvres or desserts.

White Elephant Gift Exchange Tell your guests in advance to each bring one white elephant gag giftsomething inexpensive or humorous. (You can set a cap on spending, or even forbid guests from buying anythingtell them to bring in something from home.) Have your visitors drop their gifts in a pile as they come in. Later on in the night, let them draw numbers from a hat to establish the order in which they will pick their gifts. After the first person has picked and unwrapped his or her gift, the second guest in line has a choice: she can either choose a wrapped gift, or opt for the first guests unwrapped present. Continue until all the gifts are gone.

Caroling Party Prepare booklets of traditional Christmas songs and invite your friends out for an old-fashioned neighborhood caroling session. If youd rather stay in, just gather everyone around the pianoand if youre more interested in hearing your friends renditions of newer songs, consider investing in a karaoke machine so they can sing All I Want for Christmas Is You to their hearts content.

Gift Wrapping Party Heres how to make a menial chore fun: Invite your friends to a gift-wrapping bonanza. Instruct them to bring a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, and at least three rolls of wrapping paper. When they arrive, set a festive mood with seasonal music, wine, and a buffet of snacks. Then have everyone start wrapping. Theyll get a chance to share each others wrapping paper and ribbons for more variety, and boring tasks are always better when good friends, food, and drinks are involved.

Christmas in July . . . in Reverse

Tis the season to get the winter blues, but you can provide your friends an oasis from the winter weather with a holiday beach bash. In addition to the usual Santa and reindeer decorations, put up luau dcor: beach balls, inflatable palm trees, and leis. Tell everyone to sport their best Hawaiian shirts, and serve maitais and mojitos (dont forget those miniature umbrellas!). It goes without saying that Christmas with the Beach Boys is a must.

Winter Wonderland Line your walkway with snowflake luminaries and hang white icicle imitations from the eaves. Decorate the interior with twinkling blue and white lights, tinsel, blue and white glitter, paper snowflake cutouts, and artificial snow. Serve hot chocolate with peppermint Schnapps, and give personalized tins of mints as party favors.

Feliz Navidad Fiesta Decorate with a red, green, and white color scheme and hang strands of red chili pepper lights. Place miniature cacti on the tables. Put some mariachi music on the stereo and serve margaritas and homemade Mexican food (tamales, quesadillas, nachos, enchiladas, or whatever your heart desires). Later, entertain your guests with a piata game.