Holiday Party Ideas

December is here, and with that come holiday parties! Work parties, school parties and just about everyone you know is either hosting or attending some sort of holiday gathering. Why not put a twist onto this year’s traditional holiday gathering? Here are some Scoop suggestions for adding a little variety to this year’s holiday get-together.

Everyone has been to the traditional Cookie Exchange Party, and taken home dozens of yummy cookies. But, you could take it up a notch with a Holiday Recipe-Exchange Party. The hostess would collect each guest’s recipe prior to the event and make copies for everyone. Each guest brings their favorite holiday dish to sample. At the end of the evening, everyone would go home with a collection of new recipes that they have already sampled, and could be used through the holidays.  If you don’t like to bake cookies, check out Alpine Bakery or Best Dang Bakery as an option.

Remember waiting for Oprah Winfrey to reveal her “Favorite Things” list each year? Who says only Oprah can have favorites? Try hosting a Favorite Things party, where each of your guests brings a gift that is one of their own favorite things. It makes for a really fun gift exchange to see what everyone brings. You can surprise your guests by reenacting Oprah’s famous line, “Everybody gets one!” by purchasing something small to give everyone as a parting gift. Of course, serving food and drinks that reflect some of your favorites is a fun way to create the menu for the party. A table full of desserts sounds good to us!

A fun idea for a ladies holiday get-together is to do a gift exchange where everyone brings the same type of item. We have hosted a “Scarf Swap” the past couple of years, and women love it! Scarves are so popular right now, and typically fit into the price limit for a holiday gift exchange, so it makes for a really fun and easy way to host a gift exchange. You could also do it with bracelets, earrings, or any other one-size-fits-all type of accessory. It also makes shopping much easier!  We have some great recommendations where to find scarves and bracelets under retail therapy.  Don’t forget to check our Made OTP companies too for a unique gift.

Anyone who hosts a holiday party gets kudos from us! We know it takes a lot of effort, and you really can’t go wrong no matter what type of party you host. It’s all about being with friends and family and celebrating the season. And if you need some local suggestions for your family over the break, visit www.scoopotp.com. We wish you a joyous holiday season!