With Christmas parties and the usual Christmas traditions being canceled this year, it’s still important to try and get as much joy and celebration as you can. One way you can do this and still follow the social distancing guidelines and restrictions is to host parties outside. While you still won’t be able to have hundreds of people round to your house, you could have a few close friends on a couple of occasions close to Christmas so that you get to see the people that matter to you and celebrate with them. Even with it being winter, you can have some perfect outdoor parties; you just need to be a little bit prepared, and here’s how.
Light A Fire
Outside parties are fun at any time of the year, and of course, you’re going to be colder in the winter, but then you can warm up with a fire. Get yourself a firepit or a chimenea, which will not only look good but keep everyone warm and give everyone something to sit around. A small fire creates the perfect cozy winter atmosphere, and you can toast marshmallows on it too, which is fun for everyone.
Let there be light
It goes dark so much earlier in winter, so even if you’re holding a party early on, you’re still going to need some extra outdoor lighting. You can make your garden look gorgeous by lighting pathways with candles in mason jars or hang small jars in trees with tea light candles, or get yourself some fairy lights and lanterns, which are really cute, inexpensive, and add to the ambiance. While these ideas are decorative, you may need some more light so that people can actually see, have a look and see where to place outside flood lights so that you have an area which is fully lit and there won’t be any accidents tripping over things in the garden.
Serve Hot Food And Drink
You’ll want to warm everyone up, and you’ll need more than a fire to do this, so get creative with your food and drink. You could have a station serving hearty food and drinks such as soups and stews or chili, and you could even serve them in thermos flasks. You could then set up a bar serving mulled wine, hot chocolate, or a hot apple cider for the drinks. Get everyone warm on the inside, and they won’t even notice that they’re outside in the cold. Maybe try some of these easy no bake sweet treats
Get Cosy
Another way to keep your guests warm is to provide them with blankets, which they can wrap around themselves and look cozy too. You could also offer a box of accessories for them to use, such as beanie hats, scarves, and gloves. If you have an outdoor heater as well, then now is an excellent time to use it.
Plan Entertainment
As well as sitting around the fire and toasting marshmallows, you could add some other entertainment for your party. Either plan some active games to keep everyone warm, or you could create an outdoor cinema. Having everyone settled around the fire with their hot drinks, blankets, and marshmallows, is the perfect way to watch a great movie – especially a winter one.