7 Winter Party Ideas That Kids and Adults Will Enjoy
There’s a lot to celebrate during the winter. Not only are there several holidays to keep up with, but with family and friends coming to town you have an even better reason to celebrate—the people!
Even so, with the sheer amount of holiday parties and all the tradition that tends to surround this time of year, parties can definitely end up blending together.
Here are seven party ideas for all to enjoy that will stand out this winter:
Snowman Party
Invite people over after the first big snow of the year for a snowman party. Build as many snowmen, snowwomen, snowpeople, and snowchildren as you can.
Divide up into teams and see who can build an eight-foot-tall snowman the fastest. Everyone enjoys building snow people, especially when they can go inside to a spread of yummy snacks and warm drinks.
Not only will you all enjoy your time building an army of snow people, but your house will be a sight to behold by the end of the party.
Snow Hill Derby
This exciting outdoor event might be your next winter tradition. Invite your whole neighborhood to the best local sledding hill and host a sledding extravaganza!
Mark out a starting line somewhere up the hill and a finish line at the bottom. A megaphone will be useful to communicate with a group of people. Something about a megaphone is just super official with racing-type events.
Aside from that, you just need to bring yourbest downhill snow vessel, and you can race the day away. Hot drinks at the bottom of the hill will help fuel people to race again and again.
Sledding is a free-flowing activity, but it can be extra fun and encourage people to get up on the hill if there’s a bit of structure to it. Host different event categories based on sled type, solo and tandem runs, and a couples race for the adults.
You can also award various efforts such as the silliest wipeout of the day, the individual who does the most sledding runs of the day, and whoever is most likely to win the Olympic bobsledding event.
You can make it as casual or structured as you like; whichever way you go will be a blast.
Bring-Your-Own-Mug Party
Warm drinks are a winter staple, if not an absolute necessity. A BYOM party is centered around your favorite people and your favorite hot drinks. With everyone bringing their own mug, you don’t have to worry about having enough (or cleaning up a bunch of mugs when they all leave).
- Hot Chocolate:Make it thick and creamy. Try out agourmet recipe, or simply make it from the packets! Don’t forget a bowl of mini marshmallows to top it off.
- Coffee:Need I say more? For coffee drinkers, coffee is always good, but there’s something extra special about it when it’s cold outside.
- Tea: Tea is a simple one—all you have to do is have hot water ready and an array of your favorite tea bags. Milk, sugar, honey, stevia, and agave are all delicious options for people to add as they please.
- Hot Apple Cider:A good hot apple cider is something most people don’t enjoy often enough. Try it with caramel; you won’t regret it.
- Gluhwein:Also known as mulled wine, gluhwein is a hot-spiced wine drink that warms you up with every sip. The German name translates to “glow-wine,” which is exactly how you’ll feel after your mug is empty.
Tropical Beach Bash
Take a break from the cold for a night and host a tropical beach-themed party. In the middle of Christmas-themed everything, a beach party will be something different. This party will pique peoples’ interest and break up their winter pajama party patterns.
Turn up the heat: Put away the eggnog and break out the tropical drinks! The key to this tropical beach bash is playing into whatever people might miss most about the summer.
That means you’ll want a bright color theme, swimsuits, flip-flops, cornhole while blasting The Beach Boys on the stereo. And, of course, you’ll want to hide all your holiday decorations. If you really want to represent the heart of summer, try replacing furniture withexciting pool floats to lounge on.
Although the winter holidays are dubbed “The most wonderful time of the year,” not everyone finds that to ring true for them personally. The winter season can be a difficult time for people who might deal with seasonal depression, extra stress or expectations surrounding the holidays, or any number of personal reasons.
A tropical beach bash in the middle of winter will give people an alternative setting to connect with people that could be a nice break from whatever they might find difficult about the holiday season.
Celebrate Around the World Potluck
People around the world not only celebrate a number of different winter holidays but with their own traditional foods as well. This potluck will touch on ways that cultures around the world celebrate with food, allow people to learn about different cultures, and maybe try a delicious holiday food they’ve never had before.
In order to make sure there is a diverse range of foods, compile alist of holiday foods from around the world and allow people to sign up to bring different dishes. Another option is to draw from a hat or let people choose a dish or dessert from their own heritage.
You can include holiday drinks as well! Here is aunique Austrian tradition for adults to try.
Mini flags from each country are a fun way to distinguish where each dish is from. Display it on the buffet table next to the dish with a card that says what the dish is and where it comes from.
Holiday Movie Marathon
We love our holiday movies. They help bring about that unmistakable holiday feeling. These nights are especially appealing if it’s freezing outside and you have a comfy couch and warm blanket to cozy up in.
But you don’t have to watch holiday movies alone! A holiday movie marathon is an easy way to bring people together and enjoy your favorite festive films at the same time.
Set out classic movie snacks and paper bowls for people to fill however they choose. This will allow them to store up and bring their bowl comfortably to the home cinema to munch throughout the film.
But there are so manygreat holiday films, how do you decide what to watch?
Here’s a fun way to decide: invite people to dress up as a character from their favorite holiday film and watch the movies that correspond with the most accurate costumes. This will put people in character and bring your holiday movie marathon to the next level.
Penguin Party
Penguins are iconic. They’re waddly and cute, and for birds that can’t fly, they never seem to complain about it. Instead, they make the best of it by swimming and gliding along on their stout tummies.
Although most penguins are in snowy environments all year long, it’s easier for people to get into the penguin mindset during the cold of winter. A penguin party is a perfect way to party with your pals.
Your penguin party should have black and white everything, with pops of orange. Think black and white cookies, dark chocolate cake with vanilla icing, blackberries, and pumpkin pie for elegant penguin dessert options. For entertainment, put on a black and white movie in the background and have a white tablecloth-covered table with dominos, dice, and checkers/chess.
As far as dress goes, you can do black and white casual clothing, festive penguin dress, or classy with formal wear. Whichever vibe you go with, a penguin party is a simple yet creative way to host a unique winter party this season.
Winter Wins
As the cold weather rolls in, you start getting excited about another year of holiday parties and spending time with the people that make the cold sting that much less. This year is the year to host a winter party unlike you’ve ever hosted before.
Give people a fun time to remember and show them how much you appreciate them this winter season by inviting them to your epic winter party.
Sources:
17 Decadent Hot Chocolate Recipes To Keep You Warm This Winter | SELF
