Holiday party ideas for adults, ladies night, or a Christmas dinner party at home. Our beautiful tablescape has peacock details, and I’m sharing recipes for entertaining. Use these tips to host a holiday girls night in.
Ladies Night Holiday Party Ideas
Celebrate Christmas with your girlfriends and create this festive party with blue, green and pink decor.
I’ve been anxiously waiting to share this Girls Night In holiday party with you guys. I couldn’t be happier with how it came together. Inspired by the blue and pink colors of the bottle labels, I went with a subtle peacock theme for this Christmas & cocktails dinner party.
I decided to take this party outside the typical dining room setting and bring it into the family room where our tree and fireplace are, so we could soak up all the holiday ambiance. The Christmas decor is completely different from last year and gives a playful, girly vibe to this party.
PARTY TIP: Get our BEST tips for decorating your Christmas tree and apply them to any color scheme.
There are a lot of photos to see below – I’m sharing design tips, a sparkling cocktail recipe, and an appetizer recipe, so take notes, Pin, and make plans to host your own girls-night-in Holiday party.
Christmas Party Ideas at Home
- Don’t get stuck in tradition – move the party outside the dining room and into the most decorated space you have so you can take advantage of the festive decor. Here, I set up a folding table next to the fireplace and Christmas tree in the family room. Ghost chairs and a floor length tablecloth are the perfect foundation for this dinner table setting.
- Blue and green are popular colors to decorate with for the season and I like to coordinate all aspects of the party, including the wine. Michelle Sparkling Wine fits in seamlessly. The blue from the Brut and Extra Dry, and the pink from the Brut Rose gave me an opportunity to add in a subtle peacock theme that’s whimsical and girly.
- Flowers are always on point for a centerpiece, but I decided to go with an urn full of ornaments instead. Adding cut tree trimmings as a “runner” adds that organic element, and a few peacock feathers tucked in is an unexpected touch.
- Place settings are a combination of gold chargers, everyday white plates and silverware, and vintage salad plates and glassware. Each are topped with a beautiful menu designed by Jen T by Design.
- A favor is placed on each plate, which adds more color and sparkle. In this case, I found compact mirrors for $1 each at Michael’s. They look great and are useful reminder of the party.
- The vintage glasses are sitting on coasters from Red Stamp. Some have a cute quote while others have a pretty graphic pattern.
- A tray of appetizers is passed before being seated. These apple butter brie bites are light and delicious. Get the recipe at the bottom of this post.
- Dessert was inspired by my trip last month. I plated an assortment of mini desserts including pastries, raspberry pie tartlets, and chocolate cake.
- Decorate the plate with a design made from chocolate or raspberry syrup {the kind you put on ice cream}.
TIP: The plates can be drizzled with the chocolate syrup ahead of time and refrigerated. Not only does this save time during the party, but the chocolate will firm up so it doesn’t soak in to the dessert {in case you don’t want to combine flavors}.
- Michelle extra dry Sparkling Wine is served in coups and pairs well with the sweet treats.
Christmas Bar Cart for a Holiday Party
- I rolled my bar cart into the room to serve as the drink station while mingling. I love the “cheers” sign by JenT by Design! It coordinates with the menu but doesn’t match exactly {you know I don’t like things too matchy-matchy}.
- Keep a bottle chilled in an urn and fill it with some tree trimmings and a peacock feather for a festive touch.
- Bottles are also given a little holiday touch with ribbon and mini ornaments tied around the necks.
- A few more ornaments are all you really need to dress up the bar cart for Christmas.
- I love sparkling wine as is, but it’s also nice to have options. Mix up a sparkling cocktail by combining 3/4 oz. Chambord with 6 oz. sparkling brut, and 3 dashes of orange bitters.
Get the recipe for these Brie Party Appetizer Cups here. These apple butter and brie bites are perfect for a pre-meal hors d’oeuvres because they’re small and won’t fill you up. The sweetness of the apple butter is a wonderful balance to the saltiness of the brie and bacon. They make terrific bites for a brunch too!
Carrie Rowe says
CUTE!!! I think my favorite detail is the CHEER banner in the frame. Great job!!!
Chris says
Thanks Carrie. Super easy to do!
Paula @ Frog Prince Paperie says
I’d love an invitation to this! Going to have to pin this for that sparkling cocktail recipe.
Susan Noble says
Gorgeous! Love your Dress. I absolutely love everything you do Chris the colors in this are exqusite.
Chris says
So sweet, Susan! Thanks! I loved doing non-traditional colors for it too.
Layne says
Super wonderful – I love this set up – everything is beautiful. I especially love the peacock touches!
Chris says
Thank you Layne. I didn’t want to go over the top with the peacock – just a few subtle touches here and there 🙂
Cristy Mishkula says
Gorgeous. Love the colors!
Chloe Crabtree says
What a lovely and fun evening! The apple butter brie bites sound wonderful, I am pinning that recipe for sure. Sparkling wines are my favorite, so how fun to share those with your friends. I love the idea of serving it in coupes instead of flutes for a change! Merry Christmas!
Chris says
Thanks Chloe. I love the coups too – so retro!
AmyBI says
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this post myself! Everything looks fabulous and I see some Michelle girl time in our future. Perfection!