From Start to End: Plan The Best Christmas Party This 2019

December is here and that means, this is the season to be jolly! As everyone would have already guessed, Christmas is one jolly celebration held in this month. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December every year in the United States. Malaysia, being a multicultural and multi religious country is not exempted as well. Christians in Malaysia also adopt the celebration in their culture.

Whether you are planning to celebrate this Christmas in a big way or small way, it is never easy to plan a fabulous party. However, all parties should always be memorable and fun! Here, we would like to share with you some guides to help you put up a great 2019 Christmas Party!

 

Budget

It is always important to allocate a set amount of budget for your Christmas party. We certainly do not want to overspend and it is crucial to keep aside some money for unforeseen costs or emergencies. After all, Christmas is the time to spend time with one another and to share gratitude among each other. Fun is the most important factor in all parties and it does not necessarily have to cost a fortune that would make you feel miserable after.

 

Theme

After you have allocate a certain amount of budget for your party, it is time for you to decide on a theme for the party. Every party has to have a theme that is fitting and helps to be the focal points of all the other experience that comes with the party. From dress code, to decorations, music, games, and drinks, all aligned if you have a theme.

Now, Google and Pinterest would be your best friends in this matter. There are so many themes and creative ideas for parties you can take into considerations. Some examples of Christmas party idea you could go for are something like Winter Wonderland, Movie Night, or even Masquerade Ball! With Frozen 2 movie released this year, even a theme related to Frozen would be great for Christmas!

 

Set the Venue, Date, and Invite!

The right venue for your Christmas party is the most crucial process. If you are having a close knit small party, feel free to have it in your home. If you are expecting more guests, look around the internet or your neighborhood for places to rent. Pick about three venues that you like and arrange for site visits. This is important as visiting the place gives you a great opportunity to feel how your party would be in the venue and even allow you to ask the manager or event planner for some details. Besides the cost, furniture, entertainment equipment, staff for the party, and decorations are some things that you should lookout for. Once you are set with a venue, don’t forget to fix a date and start booking! It is never too early to book. Plus, sending in invites early to your guests is so important as you would need the final number of attendees by the cut-off date to finalize the set up.

 

Food

What is a party without food? Food plays one of the biggest factors in making or breaking your party. There are many ways to source for food. Are you planning for a buffet with a standing reception, a formal seated dinner, home cooked meals, or pot luck? Even a barbeque would be fun! It all boils down to what you would want to do and finding the right caterer for your party. Never be afraid to ask around and choose your potential caterers. There are so many menus to choose from. One important thing to take note of would be your guests diet. A variety of menus with various options such as for vegetarians, vegans, and those suffering from allergies are important so that all guests get a fair share of food.

If you love to cook and plans to cook, here are some recipes you can try!

 

Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken (Serving: 4 pax)

Ingredients:

• 50g unsalted butter, softened, and extra for rubbing
• 2 Tbsp lemon thyme leaves, finely chopped
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 1.6KG Whole Chicken (1)
• 2 Sprigs fresh bay leaves
• 1 lemon, halved
• 600g baby potatoes
• 6 sprigs lemon thyme
• 1½ cups (375ml) dry white wine
• 100g watercress sprigs, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Mix to combine the butter, chopped thyme, salt and pepper and set aside. Carefully loosen the chicken skin with your fingers and push the butter mixture under the skin. Place half the bay leaves and half the lemon inside the cavity and secure the legs with kitchen string.
2. Rub the chicken with the extra butter, sprinkle with salt and place in a large lightly greased roasting pan. Add potatoes, remaining bay leaves, lemon and thyme to the pan.
3. Pour the wine into the pan and roast for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are golden and cooked through. Serve the chicken and potatoes with the watercress.

 

Quinoa Salad (Serving: 6-8 pax)

Ingredients:

• 1½ cups quinoa
• 1¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or chicken broth
• 1-2 teaspoons oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 3/4 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 2 pears, cored and diced
• 1/2 cup green onions
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 2 teaspoons honey, or to taste
• salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

 

Method:

1. Rinse and cook the quinoa.
2. Lightly toast quinoa in a non-stick pot over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add stock and bring it to a boil, reduce to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pot from heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
5. Once 5 minutes are up, transfer to a large bowl, fluff, and let it cool.
6. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add in onions and celery and cook till tender but not browned.
7. Add the onions and celery to the quinoa.
8. Add the pecans, cranberries, pears, and green onion.
9. Toss and mixed well.
10. Use a measuring cup, whisk olive oil, orange juice, zest, and honey,
11. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
12. Toss the salad with dressing, let it sit for 20 minutes for the flavours to soak in and enjoy!

 

Carrot Fruit Cake (Serving: 16pax)

You cannot have a full course meal without a dessert! Here’s a classic dessert for Christmas: Fruit cake!

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups chopped nuts
• 1 cup chopped mixed candied fruit
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup raisins
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-1/2 cups canola oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots

Icing:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons 2% milk

Method:

1. In a small bowl, combine the nuts, candied fruit, dates, raisins. Add 1/2 cup flour; toss to coat.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mix the remaining flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add to sugar mixture, beating until smooth. (Batter will be stiff.) Fold in carrots and nut mixture. Transfer to a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan.
3. Bake at 350° for 75-80 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency; drizzle over cake.

 

Decorations

You can’t have a party without extravagant decorations to light up the venue. Some red, white, green, and gold can be great colours for the party decorations. However, it is certainly not limited to these colours. You can always go bold with some silver, black, hues of blues and much more! Banners, balloons, candy canes, napkins, christmas ornaments are all beautiful for decorations. Not to forget, the central of all decorations, the Christmas tree. Apart from that, Christmas wreaths and flowers positioned in the room can make a wonderful and elaborate decoration to make the room more lively.

Here are some products from BloomThis Christmas Collection that we think would be great to incorporate into your party decoration:

 

Seraphine Wreath

This wreath has beautiful champagne roses and bright red hypericum berry which are a must for Christmas decorations. The white Matthiola on the other hand signifies purity and innocence. All in all these flowers are used to spread joy and love for the season.

 

Noelle

A pastel wreath meant to radiate festive joy, Noelle is made up of blue hydrangea , lilac eustoma, cotton flowers, Brunia berries, and Pink Avalanche roses. This wreath makes the perfect addition to any Christmas party decoration with its striking yet not too overwhelming colours. The pastel colours surely reminds you of the Winter snow.

 

Azrael

A mini Christmas tree made up with baby’s breath, pine leaves, and topped with the Star of David is a perfect depiction of this holiday’s festive spirit. Bright like a star, this little Christmas tree looks like it is sparkling from tiny bright lights. It would make a perfect addition on any Christmas table and would definitely brighten guests day.

 

Fun Activities

What is a party with no fun time. At this jolly season where everyone is finally able to get together, some fun activities and games played would make your party even more memorable! Importantly, games were created not only to have fun but also for us to bond with one another. Some games you can play during the party could be:

 

Marshmallow Stack

No Jenga? No worries! Instead of pulling out wooden blocks, you can try stacking Marshmallows and try not to make the building topple. This game requires strong amount of focus and teamwork. After all, marshmallows are so soft, you never know how they can hold up!

2 Truths 1 Lie

Quite a popular game, this fun and easy ice breaker game is great if you have a mix of guests that may not know each other well enough. Start off with this game and get the participants say funny and tricky lie! The guests will surely start to warm up and get along well with one another.

Snowball Throw

A fun and easy game for all ages. Get guests to pair up and have one aim marshmallows to the partners mouth. Make sure that it has to be caught by the mouth or you lose!

Charades

Another popular game in parties, this game requires you to “act out” a phrase without speaking, meanwhile, other members of the team has to try to guess what the phrase is. The goal is to guess as quickly and as many correct as possible.

Gift Exchange

What is Christmas without gift exchange. Christmas is all about giving and receiving. Get a santa or dress up as Santa to start giving out presents from the Christmas trees. This is fun for all ages and definitely brings joy to the little ones. If you can’t decide on what to buy, why not lookout for these flower bouquets or gifts as a Christmas gift?

Celebration

Just as its name implies, these flowers arranged in a heart-shaped box is great as a gift. This gift would even be perfect if you are thinking of exchanging gifts with loved ones to tell them “I love You” or in general, this gift box can also mean “Let’s celebrate!”

 

Esther

If you are lost on what to gift when you go for a Christmas celebration, even giving a plant such as Esther would be great. These flowers are surely to brighten up anyone’s home and give that big smile on the face, especially for flower lovers. The bright red flowers placed anywhere in the room can change the whole atmosphere of the room from dull to lively.

 

Music and Photo Booth

In this day of era, where photos are needed to be posted on social media accounts, setting up a photo booth at your party would be fun! If you are not looking into investing for this, maybe you can try setting up an area for your photo booth. A little DIY goes a long way. Hook up online stores for background decorations such as colourful metallic frails that can be stick on a wall, or even plain coloured cloth and balloons. You can even add on wreath or christmas tree in the background, make your own photo frame out of cardboard, or even use fairy lights just to bring the Christmas spirit in.

Last but not least, what are parties without music. After all, Christmas caroling is still a thing. Play up different genre of Christmas music to suit your environment and you are good to go. If you can’t make your own playlist, look up some ready-made playlists on Youtube or Spotify! Here are some you can look into:

• Christmas Hits
• Christmas Pop
• Christmas Acoustics
• Christmas Carols

 

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