9 Spirited Christmas Party Ideas for Celebrating With Friends

You've got the family gathering planned and prepped, but now you need some creative Christmas party ideas for celebrating with your friends. From a large crowd to your tight-knit circle, a few festive ideas will have you all rocking around the Christmas tree. 

Your mom might host the best Christmas cookie exchange of the year. But you and your friends are a bit more competitive than that. So, host a Christmas cookie competition to discover who among you is worthy of the cookie champion title. If there are friends in your group who aren't about the baking life, they can be the taste-testing judges. 

Christmas pajamas, The Holiday on repeat, and sleeping beneath twinkling lights have no age limit. Invite your girlfriends over for a Christmas slumber party complete with holiday snacks and sharing seasonal secrets. 

You've heard of progressive dinners — a fun evening of enjoying each course of the meal at a different location. This is the Christmas decorating version of that. 

Get together with your friends and plan a day of Christmas tree decorating at various homes. Maybe you help your bestie put her artificial tree together. You can check out your friend's new house and help untangle lights. Stop at your work pal's place and hang a few ornaments and a tree topper to close out the evening.

Secret Santa is fun and all, but a stocking exchange is a new twist on the Christmas party classic. Set a limit with your friends and spend some time stuffing a stocking with all sorts of goodies. Everyone could choose a theme for their stocking, like candy, fashion, or self-care. Once you're all together, exchange the stockings and cheer for everyone as they reveal their little gifts.

Some of us have reached the age where our grandmother's knitting parties seem much more appealing than a night on the town. Since Christmas is a cozy and crafty holiday, we may as well embrace our longing for staying in and going to bed early. Hosting a night of ornament making, wreath crafting, or scarf knitting sounds like a relaxing way to celebrate Christmas with friends.

This is the party for all the Christmas fanatics you know, especially the competitive ones. Christmas trivia makes for an exciting party as you and your pals pair off into teams to see who knows more about the most wonderful time of the year.

There are many potential angles to a Christmas costume party and, since you're planning everything, you get to decide what your angle will be. Whether you decide on classic Christmas icons, Christmas movie characters, or dressing as your favorite holiday food, this party will inspire all your friends to get creative. 

You've already got a ton of holiday parties to attend, and you're trying to figure out when you're going to tackle all the Christmas tasks in between.  Your solution to a busy holiday season is to have friends over for a Christmas card and gift-wrapping night. You'll have extra hands for addressing cards, cutting paper, and making bows. Everyone pitches in, and everyone gets their stuff done — it's a win-win!

Christmas bingo is a popular option for holiday celebrations, but this one mixes things up a bit. Invite friends over for an evening of watching beloved Christmas movies and playing bingo as the stories progress. You could make bingo cards specific to certain movies or just general bingo cards featuring common Christmas movie details like a snow day, decorating a tree, or having hot chocolate. 

Getting together with family during the holidays is usually a given. It might take a bit more planning and effort to get all your friends together before Christmas Day. But it's well worth the effort to celebrate with the people you love doing life with. Make your plans and party like you all just opened the best gifts under the tree on Christmas.