We’ve all been in that awkward position. All of sudden, your friends are relying on you to not only throw a last-minute holiday party but to entertain them as well.
Luckily, throwing said last-minute party is not as daunting as it seems. You only need a few key elements: atmosphere, food, drinks and games. Best of all, these things can fit into a box.
We’ve all been in that awkward position. All of sudden, your friends are relying on you to not only throw a last-minute holiday party but to entertain them as well.
Luckily, throwing said last-minute party is not as daunting as it seems. You only need a few key elements: atmosphere, food, drinks and games. Best of all, these things can fit into a box.
Atmosphere is the most important part of throwing a party (next to drinks, of course). When setting up your party box, think of the kinds of parties you generally enjoy. If you’re anything like me, mood lighting is the way to go.
The proper look can be achieved by a single strand of white fairy lights. If you’re in a really festive mood, you can use multi-colored lights. For added fun, get the lights that have multiple settings to keep things interesting. Holiday decorations are always a nice touch as well. And a Santa hat is a necessity for any good party host.
Food is one party element that keeps everyone happy. For the party planner, think simple. Something along the lines of cheese and crackers, popcorn, s’mores, pretzels or, if you really want to get fancy, some of those Pepperidge Farms cookies. For the “stuck in Portland for the holidays” crowd, any kind of food should do, as most of us are poor, starving college students to begin with.
Ah, drinks. Drinks are arguably the most important part of any good party. An inexpensive holiday punch can be made with cranberry juice, ginger ale, sugar and a bottle of Captain Morgan’s Original Spiced Rum. For $15–20 you get quite a bit of punch that will make everyone very happy.
For the spendthrift, hot chocolate mixed with Kahlua or peppermint schnapps is an easy way to get a little holiday buzz going without a strong alcoholic taste or spending all your hard-earned cash. You can also mix bourbon with your preferred brand of apple cider, but use a ratio of 1-to-3 or 1-to-4 when mixing or you will compromise the flavor of the apple cider.
There is also classic eggnog. For those of us who like eggnog (sorry, vegans), mixing a little rum, bourbon or brandy, then garnishing with some nutmeg is a good and easy way to enjoy a wintery party surrounded by friends.
What would a party be without games? My personal favorite is the White Elephant gift exchange. For those unfamiliar with the title, it has also been referred to as Dirty Santa, Thieving Secret Santa, Parcel Pass and Christmas Swap Thing.
The rules are simple: Every guest must bring a gift. This can either be something brought from home or something purchased in a store, depending on the rules set by the party thrower. There is a price ceiling, usually $10. Upon arriving, guests should put their wrapped gift in a pile and wait until the game starts.
Every guest gets to choose a gift. To determine gift-choice order, numbers are drawn from a hat (or something along those lines—use your imagination). Depending on what the party decides, the order goes from the lowest to highest number or vice-versa.
Once an order has been chosen, each person takes his or her turn choosing a gift. The first person picks a gift, opens it and shows it to the rest of the company. Then, in turn, guests choose to either unwrap a new gift or to “steal” a previously unwrapped gift. If a gift is “stolen,” the person who had their gift taken from them gets to unwrap any unopened gift. And then the turn passes. When all the gifts have been opened, the game is over.
A White Elephant party is always fun when the gifts are out of the norm. Feel free to let your creative and/or perverted side come out. Usually, the more offensive a gift is, the more fun everyone will have.
Other fun and cheap party games include Pictionary with homemade drawing prompts, charades with silly clues, Twister (after everyone has had enough to drink, of course) and Scrabble. Any of these games can be tweaked into drinking games with a little imagination.
With all of these tips, making a “party in a box” should be a no-brainer. Just pack it with lights, snacks, drinks and whatever else you see yourself needing for the night. With your party in hand, getting through the “stuck in Portland for the holidays” gloom will be easy. ■
