Christmas Party Ideas That Will Make the Sleigh Bells Ring

These Christmas party ideas will help you plan the perfect Christmas party. Goodwill and peace towards all men will be thick in the air and as memory lane of old Christmas movies beckons, there is no better time to host a party.

Why not start a new tradition just for your children? Hosting a party for kids in some ways is easier than hosting a party for adults. Most children will be off of school around this time and generally don't have gift-buying or tree-decorating responsibilities to attend to. Follow the ideas outlined below and your kids will have a new Yuletide celebration to remember. Who knows maybe your party tradition will be carried on to your grandchildren.

Key Points of a Kid's Christmas Party

• Age group, age group, age group. Be mindful of the age group of the kids attending. Most 11 and 12-year-olds are not going to be impressed by a Santa-for-hire and some games will be too complex or flat-out boring for the 6 and under.
• Keep any food or treats allergies and religion safe and/or separate. Some of your child's friends may not celebrate Christmas but that doesn't mean they can't join in on the fun. Contact their parents if they are Jewish or Muslim or have allergies to nuts for example for an allergen, Khoser, and Halal-approved list of treats.
• Tweens and Teens will most likely want to throw their own Christmas party and will most likely only need your credit card for the party. It's important that you give them their autonomy but its important that you set limits to the types of parties and activities you find acceptable.

Successful Christmas Parties for Kids

There really is no magic formula that will guarantee success. It's important to let the plans get in the way of the party. The best party is one that evolves organically. Still have a plan and activities in place and simply let the party go on. That being said, here are some general guidelines and ideas to get you started!

Consider the Guest List Carefully

Knowing who will be coming not only allows you to customize games to their liking but will forewarn potential problems. For example: if Emma is deathly allergic to nuts, you'd better have something other than nuts or treats with trace nuts in them.

Another problem that can be sidestepped by knowing the guest list is the possibility of personality clashes. No one wants a fight or high tensions during the holidays. Thankfully because most children are on winter break from school so the chances of someone having their feelings hurt are low. For older kids know that social media will be in play and try your best to do damage control before.

Choose Age-appropriate Themes and Activities.

Teenagers like to think of themselves as sophisticated individuals and don't appreciate pandering to childish themes. Solve this problem by seeking their input. This lessens your workload and ensures success because the whole event is teen approved from the start. Tweens and younger children need the same consideration but will need more guidance.

Tweens and teens might like the idea of a crazy house party but their ideas probably won't align with yours. Let them come up with a long list of ideas and pick the ones you feel most comfortable with. Free reign is great, but not necessarily a good idea for successful parties. Children are easier because they are generally easy to please. One word of caution here: kids just want to play. For maximum fun, and minimum frustration for all concerned be sure to plan some unstructured time when the kids can just run and play. One or two games are plenty!

Keep it Simple

The last thing you need around the holidays is more stress so the final word for party success here is to keep it simple! When all is said and done the kids won't remember much about the décor, so why spend hours on it? If your teens want a certain look, let them do create it. Food can be as easy as soda, chips, pizza, and a few cookies. It is not cheating to buy this from a store; the kids won't care.

All you really need to do is provide a place to gather with a few things to keep guests from starving or getting bored. You can do that but don't overcomplicate it with unnecessary extravagance.

There, simple. Now onto the more exciting parts of party planning: games and themes!

Younger Children's Christmas Party Ideas

Gather the kids and have them decorate cookies or cupcakes. This is a fun activity that can last a few minutes to an hour depending on how many cookies you have prepared for decoration and the variety of items to be placed on top. Let them run wild with their imaginations. Don't be afraid to let them use frosting bags. They manage quite well with a little help.

When the cookies are completed let them wash and settle into a movie, or write a letter to Santa. What better way to get the kid's excitement to skyrocket than a surprise visit from Father Christmas himself? Getting a costume is not half as difficult as you might imagine. (Finding someone to wear it might be a bit trickier, but still manageable.)

Other Christmas party games & ideas for the younger set: A Christmas sing-along. Kids this young are natural hams and won't think singing is lame yet. Especially if they get to use or make instruments like: jingle bells they strung on a piece of yarn to make a bracelet, beans in a cardboard tube, or a simple drum made from an empty can or small box with parchment paper stretched across the opening. Ice cream sculptures of favorite Christmas characters might be messy but is also delicious and fun.

Christmas Party Ideas for a Tween's Party

For tweens, you will want plenty of big action. Take them to the mall and make a game from Christmas shopping. Break them into teams and give them a list of activities to accomplish and along with 5 bucks for the purchase of a gift. You can specify any number of crazy requirements for the gift. For example, they must purchase a gift with the colors pink and orange and the letter g that is not made of plastic.

Other ideas for tween-aged parties are going to be what they dream up. Most middle schoolers are going to have a firm idea of what they like and what their social circles look like. It makes your holiday experience and stresses a whole lot easier when they plan the approved party.

Teen's Christmas Party

A teen's idea of a party or activity is honestly going to be out of your hands. Most teens are going to want pretty much nothing to do with their parents for a party. This is a general statement of course, but it's important to know that they will probably be planning their own parties.

This is also around the time they are starting to show more interest in their crushes, looking for popularity or social clout, and really flexing their levels of independence. By this point, the only thing you might need to do is host a backyard bonfire or SMALL party in your basement. Some activities or party ideas probably won't align with your thinking on the matter, so instead of fighting with them, give them a list of approved ideas that you can compromise on. Though it might pain you to see them growing up, they are slowly becoming adults and it's important to respect their ideas and autonomy.

No matter what you end up choosing. If you plan, prepare, and go with the flow, you'll be sure to throw an amazing Christmas party!

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