Sweet Kids Christmas Party ideas

I love being inspired by such creative individuals, such as the creator of the ideas seen here below, Chris Nease, designer and writer for www.celebrationsathomeblog.com. For this party, I really love the use of the kids aprons starting out as chair decor, tying the table scape together.

This same scene can be recreated on any budget, these ideas are meant to inspire you for your child's Christmas party, or even at the "kids table" Christmas day! Take the thought and run with it! I saw cute holiday straws at Hobby Lobby with the cutest holiday cups, perfect for milk and cookies, or hot coacoa and fudge.

Whatever spurs your interest, enjoy and get creative!

Kids Candy Coated Christmas Party

Are you ready for some inspiration for a kids Christmas party? If you're like me, the kids will be out of school for the next week leading up to Christmas and you'll need something to entertain them, right? This may just inspire you - I hosted a small gathering for my kids and a couple of friends. We called it a "Candy Coated Party" because it was all about sweet decor, and decorating their own "Christmas Trees" (ice cream cones), and cupcakes.
(click photos to view larger)

Each child had a place set with personalized aprons, "snowman" milk bottles, and candy cane napkin rings with a decorated cookie on a stick. They had their own dish of icing to cover the cones and cupcakes, and plenty of candy toppings to add on top. White cotton candy was the perfect "snow", while powdered donut holes were the perfect "snow balls."

The centerpiece was a trio of trees I made by hot gluing candy to white foam cones. Adding ribbons to the top, and cotton candy for a snow-covered base finished it off perfectly. Candy bouquets were made by filling a vase with foam to securely hold candy canes, lollipops, and cookies on a stick.

After the kids decorated their food items, they played outside in the (barely there) snow. Hot chocolate was waiting to warm them up, with a snowman Peep on the side. This is the time they were able to write their letters to Santa using the adorable free printables from The Two Savvy Sisters.
There were plenty of treats to take home in their 'take-out' boxes, as well as the personalized aprons. They all had a great time, and needless to say my kids didn't have an appetite for dinner that night!

Check out scenes from the party below:

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"The Ten Games of Christmas"

Via Beau-Coup

Fun Christmas Party Games for Your Child’s Party

We’ve made our list and checked it twice! Here are our favorite Christmas party games for all the good little boys and girls coming to your home this holiday season. Keep them busy while providing fun entertainment for everyone with these creative party games. In the spirit of the holidays, give out prizes for the winners and gifts to all those who participate

10. The Amazing Holiday Maze – Here is a great way to get your child’s party started. Purchase a ball of string or yarn for each child who will be attending the party, and tie a small prize to the end of each one. Hide the prize somewhere, and then unwind the ball of yarn completely around the room, passing it behind furniture, under table legs, and around banisters as needed. Tie a pencil to the remaining end of the string. Repeat this process for each ball of yarn that you have, crossing the strings amongst one another. When the children arrive, hand each one of them a pencil (with the string attached), and let them know that, at the other end of the string, there is a prize. They should wind the string around their pencil until it leads them to the end.

9. Mystery Stocking – Fill a stocking or sock with a collection of “mystery items,” then pass the stocking around the circle, letting each child guess what is inside. They may shake the stocking, smell it, or simply feel the shape of what is inside. We suggest filling the stocking with simple party favors that the children can keep (if they guess correctly). Consider including crayons or sidewalk chalk, wind-up toys, a toy car, small stuffed animals, a ball and jacks, or a pack of cards.

8. Holiday ABC’s – Give each child a piece of paper with the alphabet written vertically from A to Z. They must come up with a holiday word that somehow relates to each letter. You may want to set the children up to work in teams if it is too difficult for them to work individually. The first team to complete their list wins a prize. Some of the words they come up with may seem like a bit of a stretch, but that just adds to the fun.

7. Do You See What I See? – Have two children sit in front of the group, back to back. Give one child a holiday object (like an ornament), and give the other child a piece of paper and something to draw with. The child with the object cannot say what the object is, but he or she must describe the object so that his or her partner can attempt to draw it. The quality of the final picture obviously depends on how well it was (or was not) described. An alternate version of this game would be to give the two children two trays with the same objects. The goal would then be for the players to identically arrange their trays without looking at the other person’s tray or naming any of the objects.

6. Santa Doesn’t Say – Purchase enough Santa hats for all of the children at your party. Before they arrive, pin the name of a holiday character to the top of each one. Put a hat on each child’s head—without letting them see the name on the hat. Have the children move throughout the room, talking to one another, and asking questions to try to guess their identity. The first person to guess who he or she is wins the game.

5. Santa in Style – For this game, you will need several rolls of streamers in red, white, and black, a bag of cotton balls, and some masking tape. Divide the children into teams of 3 or 4 kids per team. Each team will choose one person to be Santa and use their given materials to create Santa’s costume. Do not supply the teams with scissors—it’s more fun to see how they make do without them. Let the Santas walk down the runway of your living room, and judge which one looks the best. An alternate version of this game would be to give each team a bag of items (suitable for either Santa or Frosty) and race to dress one member of their team.

4. Name that Holiday Tune – It’s the classic game with a holiday twist. Play a few notes of a Christmas song, and let the children guess the name of the tune. If you want to up the ante, you can ask them to guess the name of the artist as well. It’s best to find old versions of the classics, so the answers are not so obvious. After all, how many 10 year olds do you know who have heard of Bing Crosby?

3. Limbo with a Belly – This is one game where everyone really does enjoy being “in limbo.” Put a holiday twist on an old favorite by using a set of Christmas lights or a strand of garland instead of a limbo stick. Add a “Santa stomach” to each child for a little extra challenge. Then play some Christmas music. You just need a couple of large shirts, some pillows, and maybe a belt. The kid’s bellies will be shaking like a bowl full of jelly as they laugh in limbo!

2. Twelve Days of Christmas Relay – Everyone loves a relay race—especially when it centers on Christmas. Gather a collection of items to represent those named in the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” You can find pictures on the Internet and recycled Christmas cards, or grab some items from around the house (i.e. a plastic bird to represent the partridge). Just make sure that the kids all understand which lyric matches each item (and label them if necessary). Divide the children up into two teams (you’ll need a complete set of items for each team). Give each team an empty bucket, and place two buckets with the items at the other end of the room. At the word “go,” the race will begin, with each team gathering the items in the order of the lyrics—the first child grabs the partridge in the pear tree and brings it back to the team, the second child collects two turtle doves, and the game continues from there. The winning team is the first to collect all twelve items inside their bucket.

1. Gift Unwrap Relay – For this game, you will need several empty boxes and plenty of time to wrap the gift beforehand. Place a variety of holiday treats inside one box (enough for all of the children at the party) and wrap the box. Place the wrapped box inside a bigger box and wrap that one. Continue wrapping the box, layer upon layer, for as long as you can stand it. When the children arrive, have them sit in a circle. Play holiday music, intermittently stopping it and letting the child holding the gift unwrap a single layer at a time, until all of the layers are unwrapped and the treats are handed out. If you are short on boxes, you can wrap one box in several layers of paper. Also, you may want to consider having the children unwrap the boxes with mittens on their hands for an added extra challenge!

Vintage Pin-Up Girl Inspired Bachelorette/Birthday Party

Say, "Dolls", how about a bachelorette/birthday party with a vintage pin-up girl theme? Have a fun and classy evening in vintage style! It is simple to do, easy to prepare so you can make the most out of your night!

The theme is set by the Vintage Pin-Up Girl Invitations. Your guests will love actually receiving mail, and the invitations, shown below, are cute enough to frame. The designs are classic, vintage "Americana", with a sense of vintage sex appeal.

Every gal has a little pin-up girl in them, bring that out of your friends for your last single night! Ask your attendees to come dressed as pin-up girls to add a little more drama to the night. Vintage clothing is not hard to find, boutiques are everywhere. Check out what is nearest to you, in your search look for vintage pin-up girl clothing, rockabilly, psychobilly, etc, you are sure to find fun outfits.

Ask your hair stylist if she can give you a vintage pin-up glamor girl look, recommend your attendees to do the same. It shouldn't cost too much get this done, or you can do this yourself, if you feel so inclined of course.

Request the girls to meet at your house/hostess' house for some sweets and cocktails to get the party started. Cherries offer a simple and inexpensive theme. Serve up cosmos with cherries, cupcakes with a cherry on top, chocolate covered cherries, etc. Serve up Coca-Cola in bottles and have "Grease" tunes playing in the background to enhance the ambiance.

To go along with the vintage theme of the invitations, check out the matching soaps and lotions, in styles of Golden Girl, Red Hot and Starlet. They are fun and unique, and your guests will love the vintage art that matches the invitations, not to mention the lotions and scents are fabulous!

Your party of vintage looking starlets will surely get noticed wherever you head out to for your night. Have fun with it! Have everyone pick a vintage starlet inspired name, like "Bettie Page".

After your amazing pin-up bachelorette night, send your guests Thank You notes, as shown below, rounding out your event in the same theme as your party. You will surely have one memorable party, for many reasons, and the vintage theme will be "the cats meow"!

Office Holiday Party Planning Tips

How to Plan an Office Holiday Party

Annually offices celebrate the holidays by having a party. These kinds of parties boost employees' spirits and allow them to enjoy the company of their colleagues and share the holidays with them.

Most office parties happen in the workplace and usually start just after office hours. Some will last for at least 4 hours and will have presentations, games, raffles, and some kind of awarding ceremony for noteworthy employees.

Planner's To-Do

If you were given the task to plan the party, then you need at least a month to plan and prepare for the party. Take note of these things you need to take care of for the party.

Set the date. The first thing you need to decide is when the party will take place. Everything else will be planned around this date.
Decide on the venue. We know that you'll probably have it in the office. The question is where? At the workplace or at one of the company's meeting rooms?
Send save-the-date notice. As soon as you know the date and place to hold the party, then it's time to send save-the-dates cards to your officemates. It's a busy time of the year for everyone that is why it's important that you send the notice as early as possible.
Reserve with your suppliers. You need to make sure suppliers for your party are available to do the task you need them to do, on the date of the event. Since it's the holiday season, most suppliers will have their hands full with orders like yours.

This is an important time for you as the planner. The details of the party needs to be ironed out and you need ample time to finalize with your suppliers and to prepare. Ask another colleague to help you plan.

Food – ensure that the supply of food and beverage for the duration of the event is enough. Plan for a wide variety of food to accommodate special dietary needs.

Decorations – take time in planning for the office holiday party decorations. Since you're holding it in the office, making it festive is going to take a bit more effort. Aside from the usual Christmas decor, you can also think of a themed party to make the venue look less like an office and more like a party place.

Program – all office parties have a program with which the party revolves around. So a well-prepared program will tell you if the party is good or bad. Your party should have fun games, entertainment, and good music.

Prizes – add some more excitement and fun to the party by giving out prizes for games as well as for raffles. This will also keep everyone from going home early.

Favors – office parties are not complete without some giveaway to commemorate the event. Some of the popular corporate party favors include personalized mugs, gift baskets withchocolate bars or some office supplies that has the company's name on it.

To create a successful office party, here are some things you need to know and consider when planning one.

What is the proper time to go to the party?
While you are not obliged to clock in or out at the party, it is still an office activity you are attending. Therefore, you must always make it a point to arrive on time.

Do I really have to attend the party?
Although it is not a requirement, attending the party shows that you are a team player and that you value your part in it. A good and valid excuse, though, will not be frowned upon as long as you give notice ahead of time.

What do I wear for the party?
If you are having a themed party, it is good to dress according to the theme. You can come as you're dressed at work, or bring a casual dress if you wear a uniform to work.

How should I behave at the party?
Enjoy at the party and don't think about work, but then don't also forget that you are still with your co-workers and inside company premises. It is best that you conduct yourself professionally and stay away from excessive eating, drinking, and partying.