Holiday Party Ideas w/o Too Much Focus on Alcohol?

APayne2B

I'm having trouble transferring my parties into adulthood.  When we were younger, the focus would always be on alcohol, and once people started drinking, party activities kind of took off from there because everyone felt more relaxed.  I want to have a holiday party this year, and I plan to have a bar available, but our guests range in age from 30 - 60, so there isn't going to be a LOT of drinking going on.  How do we keep people entertained and having fun now that we're in our thirties?  I have this fear of everyone standing around my living room and staring at each other uncomfortably....

Adjudi-Kate

I've found that parties shifted focus from alcohol to food.  Back in my twenties, you would have a bowl of chips or a pizza as the only food, and ten cases of Natty Light!  Now, I look at gourmet magazines to find new appetizers to make and there is always a great spread of food. 

Usually having food and drinks is going to be enough to put people at ease, but if you are concerned about people being bored, you can have a couple activities ready, just in case.  Easy to learn games that many people can play at once are fun (like Apples to Apples or Rock Band).  Or maybe something like a cookie decorating station or S'mores station would be entertaining.  If it's a family party, old photo albums are usually a hit -  just set them out somewhere.  If you have cute kids, or there's someone at the party with talent, have them sing or play a Christmas carol for the group.  Or some kind of contest, like whoever can make the best tasting holiday cocktail.  Having an "event" at the party, like a gift exchange, or the unveiling of a special dessert, or the arrival of an unexpected guest, is often enough to make your party memorable and fun.  Especially around the holidays, your guests will be ready to have a good time, and you won't have to try too hard!

Lil'BlackDress

The parties I go to that have 30+ aged people still involve enough booze to get people mingling. They're just classier, wine, punch little apps.  Have music going that's loud enough so that it kind of takes away the feeling of awkward silences. Pass around some of the apps instead of JUST keeping them on a single table, it can help keep a flow.

Have some games lying open..even if they're just fun movie trivia cards lying on some tables.  You can have a list of how to make certian drinks too so that people can go and play bartender and try different things, it just adds a little excitement.

You should be fine, unless the people are a real bore they'll know how to entertain themselves. If they don't, I just wouldn't have them over again :I

Temp38995750004016

I agree, we still serve alcohol, just a better quality than in the college days. Better food, too. We've never had to do much to get the party rolling. Most people are pretty good at mingling and finding things in common with others.