Christmas Party Ideas: Games, Food & Santa
A Christmas party built around the one guest every kid actually wants to see — plus the games, the food, the decor, and a printable invitation to send before December fills up.
Chanel Hoole8 min read
the milk and cookies are non-negotiable
December has one thing every other party month doesn't: a hard deadline. The tree comes down, the relatives fly home, and a Christmas party either happens in the two or three free weekends before the 25th or it doesn't happen dressed as Christmas at all. That squeeze is the actual planning problem — not the theme, which decorates itself with what's already in the house, but fitting a memorable hour into a calendar that's already full of school pageants and work parties.
What follows covers the same four things every party on this site does — what to play, what to feed a room of sugared-up kids, what the table looks like, and what goes on the invitation — plus the one decision unique to this particular month: whether Santa himself is walking through the door, and if so, whose job that is.
Running the afternoon in the busiest week of the year
The order that works: something low-key for the first twenty minutes while stragglers arrive — a candy cane hunt is built for exactly this, since kids can drift in and out of it without missing anything. Once everyone's actually there, that's when Santa should knock, not at the start and not right before everyone leaves — a room that's still half-empty for the big moment is the single most common Christmas-party mistake, and it isn't fixable once he's already there. Food comes right after, while the excitement is still high enough that a plate of cut vegetables next to the cookies actually gets eaten. Close on something calmer — pass the parcel or a round of the left right game both work with a full stomach and a room full of coats already half on.
Who plays Santa, and the question every mixed-age room raises
A grandparent or an uncle in a rented suit is free, and for a party of cousins under about six, that's plenty — nobody's studying the details. The trouble starts the moment the guest list spans a wider range: an eight-year-old who's already suspicious will clock a familiar voice, familiar shoes, or a beard that shifts when he laughs, and will say so, loudly, in front of the four-year-olds who very much still believe. A background-checked Santa performer solves the specific problem a homemade one can't — he's never met these kids before, stays in character because it's his actual job, and a flat rate is agreed before he ever knocks. Keep the visit itself short: a few minutes of photos and one gift handed out per child works better than a long sit-down chat that invites exactly the kind of question a four-year-old shouldn't have to hear answered honestly.
The one thing every version of Santa needs, hired or homemade, is an exit that isn't abrupt. Kids old enough to help should get a job — handing out the last few gifts, walking him to the door — so the moment doesn't just stop; it winds down. And if a toddler in the room takes one look at the beard and dissolves, don't push it. A first Christmas spent watching from a parent's lap, at a safe distance, is normal, and a good Santa performer will read that immediately and back off rather than lean in.
Games for a christmas party
The Left Right Gift Game
One wrapped gift per person, a story read aloud, and a whole circle passing parcels left or right on cue — it's the rare Christmas game that needs a single adult to run and works exactly as well with six cousins as it does with twenty classmates.
Indoor Snowball Fight
Soft balls instead of the real thing, a room divided down the middle, and genuine shrieking within the first thirty seconds — it's the one game on this list built to burn off the exact kind of pre-lunch energy that otherwise ends up aimed at the tree.
Candy Cane Hunt
A scavenger hunt with one single-minded goal — find the candy canes — and it buys twenty genuinely quiet minutes while the youngest guests search every low shelf in the house, which makes it the right game for the window before everyone's actually arrived.
Pass the Parcel
Wrap each layer in leftover Christmas paper and tuck a small toy between them instead of the usual candy, and pass the parcel needs no other change at all — it's already the most Christmas-shaped game in the entire classic lineup, and it plays just as well after a full plate of food.
Christmas Freeze
Swap the usual playlist for carols and freeze the second the singing stops — nobody needs chairs, nobody needs cleared floor space, and it works in a living room already crowded with a tree, a buffet table and everyone's coats.
Gingerbread Face
Swap the plain sugar cookie for a gingerbread man and this turns into the one properly quiet five minutes of the whole party — everyone sits still, tips their head back, and tries to walk a cookie from forehead to mouth using only their face.
Food ideas for a christmas party
Hot Cocoa Bar
A slow cooker of cocoa on low, a row of mismatched mugs, and a tray of toppings — mini marshmallows, crushed candy canes, whipped cream — laid out for kids to build their own. It needs zero cooking skill and it's the one table nobody has to be reminded to visit twice.
Reindeer Food Trail Mix
Pretzels, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and a handful of gold candy stars, bagged up and labeled "reindeer food" for the drive home. It costs about as much as a bag of trail mix because that's exactly what it is, and the naming does all the actual work.
Santa's Milk & Cookies Table
A small table set just for Santa, with a plate of cookies and a glass of milk waiting when he arrives, turns his entrance into a moment instead of just an appearance. Let the birthday child set it up themselves earlier in the day — it gives them a job while the grown-ups are still setting up everything else.
Candy Cane Bark
Melted white chocolate poured onto a tray, crushed candy canes scattered over the top before it sets, then broken into rough pieces once it's hard. It takes fifteen minutes, needs no oven, and the uneven shards look more homemade than anything from a bakery box.
Gingerbread Decorating Station
Plain gingerbread cookies, a few bowls of icing in different colors, and a tray of sprinkles set out before anyone arrives turns fifteen minutes of a party into a sit-down activity that also happens to be dessert. Keep the icing thin enough to pipe from a sandwich bag with the corner snipped off — nobody needs a real piping bag for this.
Decoration ideas for a christmas party
A Balloon Winter Wonderland Arch
White, silver and icy-blue balloons twisted into a simple arch over the doorway or the spot where photos happen — it reads as a real design choice, not just party-store leftovers, and it's the backdrop that ends up in every photo from the day. A balloon artist can build one in under an hour if you'd rather not learn balloon-twisting for a single afternoon.
Paper Snowflake Garland
Folded paper snowflakes in a few different sizes, strung on fishing line across a doorway or window, cost nothing but an evening and a stack of printer paper. Let older kids cut their own during the party itself — it doubles as the quiet activity every Christmas party needs somewhere in the middle.
A No-Fire Fireplace Backdrop
Stockings pinned to a garland-wrapped mantel, or a cardboard-and-string version taped to a blank wall for anyone without a real fireplace, gives Santa somewhere obvious to stand for photos. Battery candles instead of real ones mean nobody has to supervise an open flame during a room full of costumes and wrapping paper.
A Table Runner of Fairy Lights
A strand of warm-white string lights laid straight down the center of the food table, tucked under a runner of red or green fabric so only the glow shows through, turns an ordinary buffet into something that photographs like it took longer than it did.
Two more things worth sorting before the big day: where to buy the plates, balloons and piñata and what the whole party is likely to cost
Hosting in New York, Chicago or Boston? Each city has its own Christmas entertainment guide: Christmas Party Entertainment Boston (2026), Christmas Party Entertainment Chicago (2026) and Christmas Party Entertainment New York (2026)
Printable christmas invitation
Free to download and print at home — write in the date, the time and the address, and it is done. It prints cleanly on ordinary paper at A5 or half-letter, two to a sheet, and it works just as well sent as a picture message if you would rather not chase a class list for addresses.
The christmas invitation
One card, blank where the details go. Drop your email and it's yours — print as many as you need, nothing to pay.
Hire a Santa performer
Everything above assumes you are running the afternoon. You do not have to. A Santa performer arrives in costume and in character, runs the themed games, handles the child who is frightened and the child who wants to be the star, and gives you an hour to put the candles in the cake — which is usually the difference between hosting the party and watching it.
Santa visits by city
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to book a Santa for a Christmas party?
- Yombu's santa-visits performers are booked at a flat rate rather than by the hour — see the santa-visits page for current pricing and availability in your city. It's worth requesting early: December Saturdays fill fastest, and Santa visits are confirmed first-come as requests arrive.
- How far in advance should you book a Santa visit for Christmas?
- Early November is realistic for a specific December Saturday — the same week every other family nearby is also trying to book the same few performers for the same few free weekends. A weekday visit or an off-peak time slot is usually still available much closer to the date.
- What age is a Christmas party best for?
- Three and up for most of what's on this page, though the Santa visit itself needs a little more thought below that age — a first Christmas with Santa is often watched from a parent's lap rather than sat on a stranger's knee, and that's completely normal. The games and food ideas here work across a wide age range in the same room.
- Should Santa be a family member or a hired performer?
- A relative in a rented suit is fine for younger cousins who aren't looking too closely, but a mixed-age room raises the odds that an older kid recognizes the voice or the shoes and says so out loud. A background-checked performer who has never met these particular children removes that risk entirely, and stays in character because it's the actual job.
- What if a child is scared of Santa?
- It's common, especially under three, and pushing it usually makes the next visit worse, not better. Let a frightened child watch from across the room or from a parent's arms rather than insisting on a photo up close — a good Santa performer will notice and back off rather than lean in.
Written by
Chanel HooleParty planning editor at Yombu
Chanel writes Yombu's guides to kids party entertainment — the planning playbooks that help busy parents pull off a celebration without the stress. She has spent years tracking what actually makes a children's party land, from the entrance an entertainer makes to the games that keep a room of six-year-olds spellbound.
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