You already know the drill during the holiday party circuit: ugly Christmas sweater shindigs and secret Santa gift exchanges, but have you ever thought to channel your holiday cheer into more creative outlets? So here you can see some of the creative Christmas party themes you would never have thought of it.   

1. Jello Molds: Everybody has their own version of Jello mold their family made growing up. Now it’s time to spread the recipes and bring your own concoction in the party. Heard of Jello salad?

2. Socks, Socks, Socks, Socks: The theme, if you didn’t catch it: socks. Cozy up and throw on your coziest pair - high or low - and bring a pair of someone else, so you will each have a new set to bring home and wear while you hibernate for the rest of winter.

3. S’ mores, please: Take the party outside by lighting up a bonfire and making s’ mores. Nothing worse than running out of chocolate, so make sure to get enough to go around twice….or three times. Bonus points if you set up pretty Christmas lights on the tree surroundings of you. Magical!

4. Make it a masquerade: A masquerade is the easiest, least expensive way to get people to dress up in a costume without actually putting in any effort, and it’s a great icebreaker when friend groups are forced to merge. The more festive the disguise, the better.

5. Ladies only wine night: Look, men are great and all, but it is important to take time away from your family or crush or S, O. during the holidays and get some much-needed QT with your girlfriends. Instead of casual wine night in sweats and a t-shirt, per usual, make the dress code holiday cocktail attire and ask everyone to bring their favorite bottle. Then play a guessing game of who brought what. Choose correctly and you get to take home the bottle.   

6. Get in the holiday spirit: The holidays can be stressful, and one last thing anybody wants to do is worry about prepping for another Christmas party. Instead, give your guests the gift of zen with face masks and crystals to channel good energy and manifest goals for the new year. For an extra special evening, hire an astrologer to do a reading for each attendance and see what’s in store. 

7. The nightmare before Christmas ( party ): On this holiday don’t have to be all the treacle and ribbon. To tun Burto-ize the whole affairs, demand that your guests are arriving in Halloween costumes and carve up some spooky 

8. Holiday movie marathon: Honestly, you will be searching for holiday movies on Netflix anyway, so why not have a festive film fest? Just keep it to fewer than five films to avoid merry movie fatigue. And if watching an hour of movies isn’t execting enough for you and couch buddies, add some of the action with a drinking game. Take a shot whenever someone says “Christmas spirit” or whenever anyone in Santa Garh is on screen.

9. In-home a pet holiday party: We know that because of pets like nothing more than to be dressed up, why not throw a party to celebrating them and they’re adorable outfits? Imagine a gathering with multiple puppies dressed in Santa hats. If that’s not Christmas joy. We don’t know what is. There is one bonus point if you can construct a makeshift photo area complete with an instant camera so that you and your friends can take holiday-themed, square-worthy photos with your pet. Just think of all your photos opportunities for next year’s holiday card.