Need some cozy Christmas party ideas for adults? I’ve got you covered. The holidays are always hectic. A laid-back gathering may be just what everyone needs to really enjoy this festive season.
But how do you plan a party like this? Here’s some inspiration for your theme, activities and food.
Cozy Christmas Party Ideas for Adults: Choose Your Theme
Before you think about games and the menu, start with your theme and decorations. Here are some fun ideas.
Tree Trimming
I love this simple idea of getting everyone together to trim (or decorate) a Christmas tree. You can serve snacks, jam out to music and have laughs while hanging ornaments and lights.
Send out invitations and keep the decorations casual. You can set up a little hot cocoa bar, serve cookies and cakes, and just relax while you decorate the tree.
Choose a simple color theme for this party. Plaid and red are a perfect combination.
Christmas Movies
How much cozier can you get than a night of Christmas movie-watching? Keep the dress code casual and fill your space with comfy spaces to sit and lounge. Have plenty of holiday-themed cozy blankets and pillows. Add fairy lights and keep the fire roaring if you have a fireplace.
Serve snacks like popcorn, pretzels and other finger foods. Set up a hot cocoa bar and settle in for a fun night of relaxation, laughs and treats.
Related: 23+ Mason Jar Gift Ideas for Christmas for Everyone On Your List
Favorite Things
Favorite Things is becoming one of the most popular cozy Christmas party ideas for adults. The concept is simple: everyone brings 3 of their favorite things (a.k.a. small gifts). Each guest can then take three things from the table.
Essentially, it’s a fun gift exchange.
You can serve cocktails and finger foods. Guests can mingle in between rounds of gift picking. Just set a price limit ($5-$10) for the gifts to make it affordable for everyone.
Pajama Party
Make your party super casual by having everyone come dressed in their pajamas. Create cozy sitting spaces with blankets and pillows. You could serve brunch food (think waffles or pancakes) even if your party is in the evening, or offer a buffet of snacks.
Fun Activities and Games to Play
Decorations and food are only part of the party-planning process. You need to keep your guests entertained. Guests will be chit-chatting, but you can create fun memories by having everyone participate in games and other activities.
Here’s some inspiration to help you plan your party’s activities.
The Sock Exchange Game
Here’s a fun gift swap game you can play. Have everyone bring a pair of cozy socks (like these) filled with small surprises. Guests can trade and steal until everyone goes home with something fun.
Keep the budget low ($10-$20 total) for the gifts. Make sure the socks are tied together to keep the contents hidden. As your guests arrive, number each pair and place them in a basket or on the table.
When it’s time to exchange, have each guest roll a die and select the pair with the matching number. Keep it going. The next player who rolls can either pick a new number or steal from someone who already has a pair. When someone has their socks stolen, they can roll again.
Continue until everyone has a pair of socks.
Keep all the gifts wrapped until the very end.
The Santa Beard Growing Contest
Here’s a silly, fun game to play with everyone. The goal is to get as many cotton balls on your face as possible to grow your “Santa beard.”
Start by setting up a big table topped with a big pile of cotton balls. Then, have each contestant slather their face in Vaseline. On the count of 3, everyone will rush towards the table and try to get as many cotton balls to stick to their face as possible with their hands behind their back.
Whoever has the biggest beard wins a prize.
Build Your Own Gingerbread House
This is one of my favorite cozy Christmas party ideas for adults because it’s a laid-back activity that brings out the kid in you.
If you’re a star baker, you can make your own houses to give to your guests to decorate. Here’s a great tutorial on how to do that:
Or you can buy gingerbread house kits for everyone. Play music, serve snacks and let everyone build their own festive houses.
Guess Who
Here’s a fun take on the classic Guess Who game. This time, you’ll use only holiday characters, like the Grinch, Rudolph or Frosty.
Each person will wear a Santa hat, and you’ll write the character names on notecards, which will be taped onto the hat so the person can’t see them. Everyone else will have to give that person clues to help them guess who they are.
Related: 25 Fancy Christmas Dessert Ideas for a Crowd
Binge-Watch Christmas Movies
Make your party fun and laid-back by watching Christmas movies together. Set up a cozy lounge space for everyone to gather and binge-watch with snacks. You can also have a separate space in the kitchen or another area of the house for people to socialize, so they don’t disturb movie-watchers.
Tasty Treats to Serve
You have your ideas and activities to play down, but there’s one more thing every party requires: food. Tasty treats keep people happy (no one should be hangry at Christmas) and are a great time for people to socialize.
You can start with one of my all-time favorites:
Hot Cocoa Bar
Hot cocoa bars are one of the cozy Christmas party ideas for adults that will make them feel like they’re in a Hallmark movie. Recreate this idea by placing out:
- Christmas storage jars (or something similar)
- Placing a hot cocoa sign on the table
Fill your jars with goodies, such as candy canes, peppermint, chocolate wafers and marshmallows.
You can add snacks here as well as a station for guests to prepare their own hot cocoa.
Cream Puff Wreath
Cream puff wreaths look magical. I would feel bad eating them, but it’s a simple “recipe.” You’ll need a 12” foam wreath, or any similar size that you can find. Amazon has a single pack that will do the trick.
You’ll also need:
- 100 toothpicks
- 3 packs of Mini Cream Puffs
- Powdered sugar
- Saran wrap
Start by wrapping the entire wreath in Saran Wrap. After making your cream puffs, use your toothpicks to attach them to the wreath. Cover the wreath in powdered sugar and any other goodies that you like, such as raspberries or small chocolate chips.
Parmesan and Paprika Cocktail Stars
How cute are these cocktail stars? You’ll need puff pastry sheets, plain flour, small eggs, milk, freshly grated parmesan cheese, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. And the recipe is as simple as laying your pastry on baking trays, cutting out stars with a cookie cutter and then brushing them with a mixture of egg and milk.
Grate your cheese over the stars on one of your trays and then your spices over the other tray.
Bake until golden brown (about 8 minutes) and serve when cool.
Cranberry Meatballs
Christmas cranberry meatballs with just a handful of ingredients? Sign me up. You’ll need just under 40 minutes to make these meatballs that are filled with holiday flavor. It’s easier to break the ingredients into two main groups:
Meatballs
- Small onion
- Ground pork
- Breadcrumbs
- Eggs
- Tomato ketchup
- Worcestershire sauce
- Parsley
- Salt and pepper
Sauce
- Cranberry sauce
- Ketchup
- Brown sugar
- Lemon juice
Fresh is better with this recipe, which requires you to mix all of the meatball ingredients together well and to shape them.
While you bake your meatballs, you’ll make your sauce in a large skillet and then mix your meatballs into the sauce.
Mini Tarts with Roast Beef and Gruyere
Mini tarts are always a fun way to make a fancy treat at your next party. You’ll buy your tarts at the local grocery store frozen instead of making them from scratch, unless you like baking and have the time.
You’ll fill them with a mix of roast beef, mushrooms, creamy egg, horseradish and Gruyère cheese.
It takes all of 30 – 35 minutes to make these. If you’re not a fan of the mushrooms, you can nix them, and these will still taste divine.
Stuffed Shells
Need to serve a crowd? Stuffed shells are always a crowd-pleaser and they’re so easy to make. You’ll need just a few ingredients:
- Jumbo pasta shells
- Ricotta cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Marinara sauce
Make the sauce yourself, or save time and buy a jar of quality pre-made sauce. Just cook the shells, stuff with ricotta and top with mozzarella and sauce. Bake until bubbly and serve. Easy!
Related: 23+ Best Christmas Side Dishes That Will Steal the Spotlight at Dinner
Apple, Brie and Honey Tarts
You can’t have a list of cozy Christmas party ideas for adults without at least one tart. This one is savory and slightly sweet.
The apple Brie filling is buttery with onion, dry white wine, apples, Brie cheese, Parmesan cheese, honey and fresh herbs.
Under a Tin Roof shares a recipe for a classic pie crust you can use to make these tarts, but you can use pre-made crust if you want.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, a cozy Christmas party isn’t about perfection, it’s about creating those warm, fun moments with the people you love. Whether you go for a pajama party, a tree-trimming night, or just a relaxed evening with movies and cocoa, the little details are what make it special. Use these cozy Christmas party ideas for adults as a starting point, then add your own traditions and personal touches. I promise, your guests will remember the laughter, the comfort, and the joy of slowing down together during the busiest season of the year.
