The holidays are often a whirlwind of activity beginning on Thanksgiving Day and lasting through January 1st… the average person has multiple events to attend, and, by the time that last holiday canapé has been sampled and champagne glass clinked and drained, you are often too pooped to participate in just one more party.
If you’re the host or hostess of a holiday get together, don’t let your invitation get discarded or be RSVP’d as “sorry I can’t make it” because it portends to be the same-old, same-old holiday gathering. This year show some ingenuity and create a party with pizzazz!
The holidays are a perfect time to get together with family, friends or co-workers. An intimate gathering at your home is one thing, but once you start getting together a guest list, you’ll quickly find that your holiday get together has morphed into a large gathering, so a rented hall might be more feasible. Your best bet is to reserve the facility early as such places book up quickly, especially if you desire to have the event take place on a Friday or Saturday and a date closer to the holiday. When choosing a holiday party venue there are many things to consider, the size of the venue, parking, public transportation, catering and much more. A top holiday party venue in New Jersey will be able to handle most of the details of your event, leaving you to enjoy the actual party. But prior to choosing a venue for your holiday party there are a few things you should consider, these are discussed below. Once you know the questions to ask the party planner you should get in touch with multiple holiday party venues in NJ to select the one that is best for your specific needs.
Costume party
You know whenever you go to an adults-only Halloween party, whether it is with friends and family, or at the local bar, it is usually a good time. Whether you rent or buy your costume, or make it up yourself, it is a chance for your creativity to shine through, and, even if that costume doesn’t end up quite the way you planned, it is good fodder for Facebook status posts anyway! Why limit the fun of dressing up to just Halloween? The adults-only connotation doesn’t mean women have to dress like a sexy French maid, or men like Agador, the “butler” from the movie “The Birdcage”… it certainly can be good, clean fun. Among the options to rent/buy or create would be familiar holiday characters like “Frosty the Snowman”, “the Grinch”, “Santa”, “Mrs. Claus” or an elf. Another suggestion would be an ice skater or an Eskimo. All these suggestions would be fun for couples to do and you can even make it a little naughty and have him and her cross-dress like Santa and Mrs. Claus! But, if dressing like a favorite holiday character is not your shtick, then use a little ingenuity and create a “food get-up” that is holiday themed like a candy cane, fruitcake or even a gingerbread man and woman. It would be very clever to go as a Christmas tree, complete with lights and decorations – just don’t plan on being the tree from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”. For a few more “costume” or “dress-up” ideas keep reading.
Themes
Continuing the idea of an adult costume party, why not encourage your guests to help create a fun atmosphere at your holiday party by dressing like your favorite political candidate – there are certainly enough of them to go around! Masks or wigs are available year-round at costume stores, and especially in advance of the 2016 election. The décor will be easy – red, white and blue. If you don’t think the costume party idea will work for you, one of the more-popular gimmicks at the holidays has been the donning and mocking of ugly holiday sweaters. Everyone has had one, and, probably hung onto it because their Great Aunt, who bought it, keeps asking to see a picture of you in it. Maybe, you bought that ugly sweater yourself on a whim, and spent a big part of your paycheck on it, and, now it is folded up at the bottom of a drawer and hasn’t seen the light in decades. Why not ask everyone to wear their ugliest holiday sweater and make a contest to see which one is the worst? To make it even more fun, ask them to bring along an old picture of them wearing that sweater back in the day?
A word to the wise
If your holiday party will occur on New Year’s Eve, be honest with yourself, and don’t create a costume party theme because New Year’s Eve is such a traditional event that most attendees will want to dress up in their finest duds, you know – those sweaters laced with Lurex that make you sparkle and shine or maybe even a tux.
Bring your own “whatever”
Everyone knows that BYOB stands for “Bring Your Own Bottle” or “Bring Your Own Booze” and, when you create a party with only adult attendees, you know adult beverages are going to be served. While you, “the host or hostess with the mostest”, will be sure to have libations on hand, why not have a holiday party that strays from the traditional bottles like wine or hard liquor and have a “holiday cocktail party”? On the invitation, include a request for each guest to bring his or her own favorite cocktail recipe along with the necessary fixing’s. Then, set up a cocktail station to enable guests to make their cocktails and share them and recipes with other party attendees. Go one step further, and tell your guest to create a fun and funky name for their cocktail creation. Be sure to have plenty of small disposable glassware on hand, so your guests can sample each other’s favorite cocktail drinks. You’ll want to create a few cocktails of your own, for starters, just in case, some of your attendees are more into wine or beer and don’t drink or make cocktails.
Here are two holiday favorites to get you started
Christmas Cosmo
- 1/2 oz. Cointreau
- 1/2 oz. cranberry juice
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- fresh 1 oz. vodka
Place all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass. Option: To garnish, float a few frozen cranberries after pouring.
or:
Peppermint Stick
- 1 1/2 oz. crème de cacao
- 1 oz. cream
- 1 oz. peppermint schnapps
- Shake well with ice, strain into glass
Now that you have a few creative ideas, go forth and get the date set and those invitations out, either by snail mail or e-mail. Get your creative juices flowing!
