Christmas Games and Party Ideas

Every season we celebrate Christmas by hosting lavish holiday parties and having close-knit get-togethers with friends and family. It is a joyous time of year for all involved and should be celebrated and enjoyed with love in your hearts and good cheer all around. Unique, fun games and creative party ideas will create lasting impressions for many years to come. One thing that should be kept at the forefront by Christians celebrating the joyous season is the truth behind many of our age-old traditions. Christians also need to be diligent in remembering who we are celebrating and why.

The blessed opportunity to teach about Christ the Savior, his remarkable birth, amazing life and sorrowful death comes easily at this time of year. There are a plethora of Christmas party ideas and Christmas party games on the internet. You many ask your local church for ideas as well. While planning these celebrations and/or gatherings, this may be the opportune time to discuss with family and friends the truth about why we celebrate in the fashion that we do. A simple examination of our existing Christmas traditions will reveal that our current customs have their origins in ancient pagan rites and rituals. This may come as a shock to many who have just accepted our customs for what they are.

What may surprise many who are not history or religion buffs is the well-known tradition of putting up the Christmas tree. Most people, most Christians for that matter, decorate a tree during the Christmas season with out knowing that this is actually a representation of the resurrection of a Pagan god. The Yule log is yet another Pagan symbol. It represents the Pagan god once again and it is placed on the fire to symbolize his death. His resurrection comes when they [the pagans] would cut down an evergreen tree and bring it into their homes. The tree is still green and alive in winter’s bleakness and therefore symbolizes life. They would decorate the tree with little round, red berries and such. This is most likely a representation of their sun god as the pagans were sun worshippers. All of this took place in the winter time when the days were shorter and plant foods were scarce. The Pagans also performed this ritual to ensure that their god was pleased so that spring may come again.

There are many other Christmas customs, party games and traditions that actually have origins from before the birth of Christ. In fact, you may find other Christian celebrations with the same Pagan backgrounds and origins. What Christians need to do is to find ways to keep Christ at the center of all of these activities. By learning about our customs and traditions, we can then find ways to maintain the Savior’s part in these celebrations and keep him at the forefront. Discussing this information with family and friends may be the perfect way to develop new family traditions, bring families and friends closer, strengthen bonds and all the while make sure that Christ is the emphasis of our time-honored traditions.

Throwing the Ideal Christmas Bash

Everyone wants to have the perfect Christmas party full of excellent food, good cheer and great conversation. The ideal party should be about what you want, not what your family did when you were a child, not what the neighbors have done or are doing and definitely not about pleasing everyone but you. It’s not about impressing anyone nor is it about trying to be someone that you aren’t. The latter three reasons will only make a miserable time for you. Below are some ideas to make for a great Christmas party all the while reducing your stress level.

Try to give yourself ample time to prepare. Begin three to four weeks in advance. This will give you enough time to plan the guest list, plan a menu, make a grocery shopping list, plan what kind of decorations you will want and/or a color scheme and of course, what you’re going to wear.

Remember when planning the menu that you are the host or hostess not the caterer. Plan for foods that are simple yet delicious. Try crock pot dishes or finger foods. This way you will not spend all your time in the kitchen and you can mingle with your much loved guests.

Steer clear of all messy foods and make sure that your choices are easy to handle. Most of your guests and yourself included will be dressed very elegantly. This is not a barbeque. You will not want hot wings down the front of a nice cocktail dress and neither will your guests.

Distribute your food selections throughout the house. Have different samples in different rooms to keep the people (and the conversation) flowing. Everyone knows there are some parties where all people do not get to mix because they’ve stayed in one area the entire evening. You might even want to leave a place card by each set of delicacies to let the guests know what’s in other rooms.

Small touches such as a festive table cloth, pretty wreaths with candles, holiday decorated cookies and cakes make all the difference in the world. Your guests will appreciate the extra effort and this can be accomplished relatively inexpensively.

Remember, this is a holiday even for all to enjoy and share. One thing to keep in mind is that you might want to take a lot of photos of you with your guests. This not only will serve as a great memory for you but you can make copies for your guests and include them with thank you cards. You might even want to make personalized Christmas tree decorations using these photos. Many craft stores these days have excellent (and easy) kits for making personalized decorations.

The last thing you need to remember is that this is a time of joy and celebration. Don’t let your self become too stressed out while planning your party. If you do, in the end it might not have seemed worth it. Planning will take away most of the stress. This is your party for you and your guests to enjoy. Good food, good friends and family and a well-planned party will make for lasting memories year-round.