Planning a Christmas party on a budget isn’t really all that difficult to do. Of course, when looking at Pinterest, you might feel like you need to be the hostess with the mostess and pull out all the stops to wow your friends and loved ones. But trust me, you don’t have to do all of that.
If you choose one thing to focus on and create a Christmas party budget, you’ll end up throwing a holiday party that your friends and family will talk about for years to come.
I love throwing small get-togethers for friends and loved ones and I always manage to keep my parties sometimes under $50. But in order to do this, you have to keep things simple!
So, throw out all those ideas of grandeur because you won’t need them. You can keep it fun and festive while keeping more of your hard-earned money in your pocket.
Today I’m going to show you how to plan a holiday party on a budget that won’t leave you stressed.
Plus, I’ll share some other fun cheap Christmas party ideas centered around one theme. Now, let’s get started. Just follow these six easy and simple steps to host your cheap holiday party.
6 Simple Steps for Planning a Christmas Party on a Budget
1. Create your Christmas Party Budget
The most important step in actually pulling off a festive and cheap holiday party is to create sett a budget. You need to break down your budget into categories such as the following:
- Food
- Decor
- Drinks
- Entertainment
- Venue
- Favors (Optional)
For help on creating holiday-specific budgets, check out how to create a Christmas budget in six easy steps.
2. Cheap Christmas Party Venue Ideas
The most affordable way to have a Christmas party on a budget is by hosting your party at home if space allows.
Perhaps you could go for some rustic scenery and have a bonfire party in your backyard, roasting marshmallows and drinking hot cocoa.
If you don’t have space at home and your budget allows, you can rent rooms at your community meeting center, community recreation parks, or local churches.
3. Cheap Christmas Invitation Ideas
When planning a Christmas party on a budget, save money by forgoing traditional invites. You could always send an e-vite. However, if you really want to send a paper invite, how about making your own. Or use one of these free Christmas party invitation templates created just for you.
4. Holiday Party Decorating Ideas on a Budget
1. Christmas Party Food Toppers/Val Event Gal 2. Free Christmas Printable Place Cards/Sustain My Craft Habit 3. DIY Twine Napkin Holder Centerpieces/We’re Parents 4. Decorative Christmas Swag/Gardner’s Path 5. Ornament Garland/Jasper and Willow 6. Homemade Christmas Scent/Ally’s Sweet and Savory Eats
Another great and cheap Christmas party idea is to create your own party decor.
Use Christmas decor that you already have on hand. If you don’t have any existing decor to use this year, go to the thrift store or a local yard sale.
Once Christmas is over, purchase clearance holiday decor to use next year. Here are 17 cheap Christmas decor ideas to help you get started.
By choosing simple and cheap holiday party decor, you will save a ton of money that can be used in other areas of your holiday spending.
5. Cheap Christmas Party Food Menu
Cheap holiday parties can still have great food! Keep your Christmas party menu simple. Opt for simple hor ‘d oeuvres or just serve family style meals or host a potluck.
Another idea is to just serve dessert or sweet treats along with adult beverages. Ask your friends to bring their own bottle or purchase drinks in bulk at a club store.
Purchase things like bottled water, holiday candy, and soft drinks at the Dollar Tree. Also be sure to use Ibotta so you can save money on holiday food and liquor. Check out some of these holiday food and drink ideas below:
Cheap Christmas Party Food Ideas
1. Vegan Potato Dauphinoise Gratin/Rhian’s Recipes 2. Vegan Roasted Garlic Herb Dinner Rolls/Foodal 3. Holiday Shaped Cauliflower Pizza Bites/Low Carb Yum 4. Berry and Cheese Palmiers/The Flavor Bender 5. Crockpot Spaghetti Casserole/Recipes From a Pantry 6. Cranberry Walnut Holiday Cheese Log/5 Minutes for Mom 7. Easy Sausage Rolls/The Flavor Bender
Cheap Christmas Party Drink Ideas
1. Holiday Fruit Punch/Fun Learning Life 2. Mulled Pear Juice/Recipes from a Pantry 3. Cranberry Apple Sangria/We’re Parents
Cheap Christmas Party Candy/Snack Ideas
- Candied Citrus Peel/Foodal 2. Christmas Meringue Cookies/Veggie Desserts 3. Christmas Jello/Cincy Shopper 4. Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods/More or Less Cooking 5. White Chocolate Cranberry Fudge/Dancing Through The Rain 6. Easy Buttery Shortbread Cookies/Mighty Mrs 7. Sweet Millet Balls with Berry Sauce/My Pure Plants
6. Budget-Friendly Christmas Party Entertainment
via Canary Jane
Finally, a Christmas party isn’t a Christmas party without good entertainment. Since we’re focusing on having a Christmas party on a budget, here are some great ideas for cheap holiday entertainment:
- Play a gift exchange game
- Play a game of Christmas Bingo
- Have coloring Sheets for the kids,
- Play these Christmas party games
- Be sure to create your own holiday playlist
Other Cheap Christmas Party Ideas
Another great way to have a fabulous Christmas party on a budget is to create a singular theme versus trying to do everything. You can quickly reign in your holiday party budget by sticking to one idea! Try one of the following — they are great cheap holiday party ideas!
via Craftivity Designs
- Hot Chocolate Party – here’s a list everything you’ll need to host one on a budget.
- Ugly Christmas Sweater Decorating Party
- Christmas Cupcake Party – here’s a list of everything you’ll need to host on a budget.
- Christmas Painting Party
- Pancake and PJs Christmas Party
- Cookies and Cocoa Party
- A Cookie Exchange Party
- Gingerbread Cookie/House Decorating Party
- Have a soup party!
And this is how you throw a Christmas Party on a Budget!
As you can see, you don’t have to spend a fortune on your holiday party this year. It’s so easy and fun to throw a Christmas party on a budget. Just make sure you stick to your budget and you can do that with some of these amazing ideas. Lastly, don’t be afraid of throwing a cheap holiday party. With these ideas, no one will be none the wiser and I’ll be you can pull it off under $100 too! Have fun!
Don’t forget to grab your free Christmas party invitation templates!
