Holiday party ideas for work and home

Any of these ten can be adapted to your group. The sections below show how to run each one.

1. An office holiday lunch during work hours, with a cookie decorating table.
2. A holiday open house where guests drop in for cocoa and snacks.
3. A cookie exchange, an easy party to host because the guests do the baking.
4. An ugly sweater party with a contest and a small prize.
5. A holiday pajama brunch with waffles and a movie.
6. A tree-trimming party where every guest brings one ornament.
7. A holiday potluck with a bring list, so nothing is brought twice.
8. A gingerbread house build-off for families or teams.
9. A winter wonderland party for a group that celebrates different holidays.
10. A sit-down dinner for 6 to 12 guests, with a white elephant exchange after dessert.

Choose the format before the theme. It sets how many people you can host, how much work it takes and what the invitation must say.

Budget bands here are our rough guide, not quotes. An evening venue costs more than the same party at lunch in your own office.

Work parties go well when they fit inside the workday, don't depend on drinking and let remote teammates join. Pick one of these and build the rest around it.

1. A catered lunch in the office, during work hours, with a short thank-you from the team lead.
2. A team breakfast or brunch with a waffle or bagel bar.
3. An afternoon cocoa and cookie break with a decorating table.
4. A cookie or recipe exchange where each team brings one batch.
5. A volunteer morning at a food bank or a gift drive, then lunch together.
6. A gingerbread house build-off with teams and a room vote.
7. An outing: bowling, mini-golf, an escape room or a cooking class.
8. A games hour with trivia, holiday bingo or a snowman-building contest.
9. Kind team awards, like "Best desk plant" or "Calmest on a deadline."
10. An evening party in a restaurant's private room, with plus-ones if the budget allows.
11. A hybrid party: snack boxes mailed to remote teammates and a short video toast.
12. A new year party in January, when calendars are quieter.

At home, the size of your rooms decides the format. A dinner fits a small apartment, and an open house spreads a big guest list across an afternoon.

1. A holiday open house from 2 to 6 p.m., with a cocoa station and snacks that hold at room temperature.
2. A cookie exchange: guests bake one kind and fill a box with everyone else's.
3. A tree-trimming party: string the lights before guests arrive, and leave hooks by the tree for the ornaments they bring.
4. A soup and sweater night: two big pots of soup, bread and a fire on the TV.
5. A progressive dinner that moves from one neighbor's house to the next, one course each.
6. A late-morning pajama brunch: an egg casserole made the night before, then a movie after everyone eats.
7. An ugly sweater party: keep a few thrift-store sweaters by the door for anyone who comes without one.
8. A candlelit dinner for close friends before everyone travels.
9. A gift-wrapping night: guests bring the presents they still need to wrap, and you supply paper, tape and ribbon.
10. A game night with holiday trivia and one white elephant round.

Family parties work best in the afternoon or early evening, with one craft and one active game. Plan for short attention spans and give grown-ups a place to sit.

1. A cookie decorating station with plain sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles.
2. Graham cracker gingerbread houses, one per family, built on paper plates.
3. A pajama movie night: pick a short holiday film, so the youngest guests make it to the end.
4. An ornament craft table: paper snowflakes, salt-dough shapes or painted pinecones.
5. An indoor "snowball fight" with balled-up white paper or soft pom-poms.
6. A holiday story time or a short talent show where kids can join or watch.
7. A cards-for-neighbors table where kids draw cards for older neighbors or a care home.
8. A lights walk around the block, then cocoa and cookies at home.

Have a quiet room for little ones who need a break. Set the end time around bedtime, and say it in the invitation.

Use the theme on the invitation, on the table, in one activity and in what guests wear, and leave the rest plain. The last column names a matching InviteBird design from the holiday collection.

For the ugly sweater contest, our Christmas party games guide has the rules. For a work party, the winter wonderland and traditions potluck themes include everyone.

Match the food to the time of day and the format. Between meals, snacks and sweets are enough; over a mealtime, serve a meal.

For a potluck, give each guest a category so you don't end up with five desserts. Our potluck sign-up sheet guide has the categories and a printable list.

Make the nonalcoholic drink as good as the cocktail: a spiced cider, a cranberry spritzer or a cocoa bar with toppings. Then nobody has to explain their cup.

The Minnesota Department of Health says buffet food should not sit at room temperature for more than two hours. Keep hot food at 140°F or warmer and cold food at 40°F or colder. Swap in fresh small trays instead of topping up old ones.

Plan one activity for the first hour and one for later, and let the rest of the party be talking. Here are the classics in one line each; the full rules live in our Christmas party games guide.

• Christmas charades: mime a holiday word for your team to guess.
• Holiday trivia: teams pool what they know about seasonal songs, films and food.
• Name that carol: the first person to name the song scores.
• Holiday bingo: guests mark words as the caller reads them.
• Snowman-building contest: teams wrap one teammate in paper against the clock.
• Ugly sweater contest: a runway walk and a room vote.
• Cookie decorating: a calm table activity that runs all party.
• Karaoke: holiday songs for the ones who want the mic.

A white elephant exchange has guests bring one wrapped gift and pick or steal in turn. Set a price limit and decide the steal rule before you invite. Our white elephant rules guide has the full ruleset.

Secret Santa works better for small teams who know each other. Draw names two to three weeks ahead and set one price limit for everyone.

Some popular ideas don't fit every group.

• Drinking games at work: build the party around something other than drinking, as SHRM advises.
• An open bar with no ride plan: if alcohol is served in the evening, plan how people get home.
• Gift exchanges at work with no limit: make them optional and set one price for everyone.
• Religious activities at a mixed work party: keep them to the people who choose them.
• Late-night family parties: young kids do better with an afternoon start and an end time.
• Food with no labels: list nuts and other allergens next to every dish.
• Surprise costs: say up front if guests pay for anything.

Start about six weeks out, or earlier if an office party needs a venue or a caterer. Emily Post's timing table suggests inviting guests one month before a Christmas party.

Here is how the countdown works for one office lunch.

Send the invitation about four weeks ahead, and a week or two earlier for a busy December weekend. Say the date, the start and end time, the place, who is invited and how to reply.

For more lines by party type, see our Christmas party invitation wording guide. Our RSVP deadline guide helps you pick the reply-by date.

With InviteBird, start from a holiday design: the candy Christmas party, the pink Christmas party made for a cookie exchange, the holiday pajama party or the blue winter party. Send it by email, text (US & Canada) or a shareable link, and email reminders go only to guests who haven't answered. Invite up to five co-hosts by email, so a party committee shares one guest list.

Guests choose a meal for each person in their party as they reply, and an optional notes box you turn on collects allergies. For a potluck, guests claim a dish on a bring list instead. Design free, pay when you send — from $9.99.