This year I got into the holiday spirit early by hosting a Christmas movie watching party. A Christmas movie watching party is a fun way to enjoy some of your favorite holiday movies with those you love.Â
The Guest List
The first step for any party is creating the guest list. Because of the nature of this party, I thought it would be fun to make it a family-friendly affair. Our friends always joke that kids aren’t allowed at our house (because of all of our white furniture and breakable things), but we really do love our friends’ kids and enjoy spending time with them. Christmas parties are especially fun with kids, as they get so excited about everything. Their insatiable holiday cheer rubs off on everyone!
I originally envisioned the Christmas movie watching party as a great activity for the day after Thanksgiving. You could also host the party after you trim the tree or just to add some Christmas spirit to cold afternoon.
Food and Drink
One of my requirements for entertaining is make ahead or easy meals. Because I wanted something family-friendly, I set up a pizza bar. To make things even simpler, I swapped pizza dough for naan (Asian flatbread). Packages of two are sold in most grocery stores, and they are the perfect size for an individual pizza. My friend Marla turned me on to naan as pizza crust a few years ago, and I love it!
The pizza bar was self-service and perfect for kids. While I kept my topping selection pretty simple, the bar is easy to customize for your guests’ tastes. Â
The show-stopper of the evening, however, were the desserts! I created a Christmas cookie and candy board that the kids and adults were equally excited over. In addition to the sweet treats, I offered Williams-Sonoma hot chocolate for the kids and a special cocktail for the adults.
The cocktail I made was The North Pole from Half Baked Harvest. The drink was amazing, but, in the end, a bit labor intensive. It requires using a cocktail shaker, and I had a number of mishaps while tending bar. While I didn’t mind covering myself in a delicious boozy beverage, it’s kind of a hosting gaffe. In the future, I would make the drinks ahead and use a pitcher, as shaking cocktails to order makes entertaining more difficult.Â
Movies
Selecting the movie is the most difficult element of the party. There are just so many classics! I asked Hilary’s son, AJ, to choose. Fortunately, he selected Home Alone, one of my favorites, so I was happy. Determining how to watch the movie may develop organically. Originally, I pictured everyone sitting in the living room watching the movie together. At the actual party, however, everyone was having so much fun, we had the movie playing simultaneously in the kitchen and living room. This way, people could watch, talk, and eat.Â
Other fun ideas for selecting and watching the movies include:
- Asking guests to vote for their favorite movie when they arriveÂ
- Playing different movies in different rooms of your home
- Selecting the movie beforehand and planning the party around it
- I think this would be particularly fun with a movie like Christmas Vacation or A Christmas Story. Those films have lots of memorable lines, characters/costumes, and Christmas decor, that would be fun to reproduce for a party.
It’s easy to add a little something more to watching Christmas movies. Hosting a Christmas movie watching party is a perfect way to prepare for the holiday season and to spend quality time with friends and family.