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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Tampa chapter.

First, all good parties start with a menu. When throwing a party, I like to have a theme, and everything follows that theme. Generally, I start with appetizers, which can range from several things, but my favorite is the caprese snowman skewers, tree-shaped charcuterie boards, or Santa deviled eggs. Next, of course, is the actual food, and I think making shaped pizzas is fun for every holiday party. For Christmas, you can do a tree, snowman, or Santa’s hat; get creative! Last but not least is dessert, and honestly, you and your friends need to be baking the Pillsbury sugar cookies with the trees and reindeer on them. Little Debbie’s Christmas desserts are so good, too.

Next, you need a signature drink, and this could be anything from hot chocolate to apple cider punch to eggnog to a dirty Santa. Personally, eggnog is always a classic at my Christmas party, but I know not everyone likes it. You can also invent your own mocktails or cocktails and have them refer to the theme. For example, a dirty Santa sounds fun and festive when, in reality, it is just a dirty Shirley and very easy to make. It can also just be a regular Shirley temple. I prefer apple cider punch for Thanksgiving, but apple cider can also be done for Christmas. I personally prefer not to do hot chocolate as my themed drink (more on that later), but it is a great option.

Now that we addressed the two most important things, let’s move on to decorations. Now, you can keep it simple or go out on decorating. Personally, I just like to get fancy cups and themed plates and have a cute centerpiece. However, if you want to have garland everywhere and trees all over, go ahead; it really all depends on your theme. This year, I want to have a mini Christmas tree for my friends and me to decorate together; I want sparkly gold plastic cups and Christmas plates and an aesthetic log in the center of the table.

After that, we have outfits, now I don’t like to throw a fancy party but you totally can. I usually like to get my friends and me all matching pj pants, and then we all wear a shirt we have that’s the same color. If you’re throwing a classier Christmas party, you can create a Pinterest board with an outfit theme and send it to your friends so they know how to dress for the occasion.

So, the biggest part of a party is entertaining; I generally come up with fun-themed games. This year, my friends and I will be playing the What’s Your Elf Name game from Amazon and then probably just gossip and watch Christmas movies. Now, you can totally come up with your own games or play classic games or even entertain in a different way, but I like having something fun and interesting before moving on to basic entertainment.

Lastly, is my favorite part: favors! I’m a really creative person, so I like to do cute-themed favors when I host parties. This year, I either want to paint little ornaments, or I’m going to make hot cocoa ornaments for my friends to take home and make cocoa, hence why I wouldn’t have it as a signature drink. There are a ton of creative favor ideas for Christmas parties on Pinterest that you can always try out.

I hope this helped and you can throw an awesome Christmas party with your friends this season!

Haley Drury is a member and a part of the Social Media Team at the Her Campus at Tampa chapter. She writes articles. Her articles cover lifestyle topics focusing on books and the college experience. Outside of Her Campus, Haley is a sophomore at the University of Tampa, majoring in Marketing and minoring in Digital Media. She is currently ANAD Coordinater for her sorority Delta Phi Epsilon. Haley enjoys reading, film, and going to the gym in her downtime. She is often lost in a book and will stay up all night to finish it. Haley is probably rewatching or rereading the After series or looking for the latest installment or arguing how #teamJeremiah is the only team that matters.