GIRLSMAS: HOW TO CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH YOUR FRIENDS
This holiday season, I sat back and observed online the different ways friends came together to celebrate.
I loved seeing all the new trends, games, and activities that brought laughs, heartfelt moments, and lots of fun!
Girlsmas is a new one, for sure a play on Friendsmas, but with a focus on spending time with your girlfriends.
This blog post is here to help you plan your Girlsmas with ease! Check out these unique, creative, and practical ideas that will have you throwing a Girlsmas celebration you and your friends will never forget!
The Girlsmas Planning Basics
1| Create cute invitations
You could opt for a more traditional approach and purchase invitations or create them yourself.
If you do buy them, instead of going to your local big box store, try Etsy or an online crafter.
If you DIY them, you can use templates from websites like Canva or Photoshop.
And if you really want to get creative, consider making video invitations and editing them using apps like Capcut or Edits.
2| Set up festive decorations
Christmas decorations have become so versatile.
You could decorate more traditionally with the festive colors of red and green.
If you prefer a more elegant aesthetic, consider using neutral colors with subtle pops of silver and gold.
Or you can decorate based on a theme, such as Pinkmas, Candy Cane Lane, or Cocoa & Cashmere.
3| Have a fun dress code
There is something about coordinating or matching with your friends that makes a Girlsmas party so much more festive!
Girlsmas outfit ideas:
Ugly sweaters
Silky pajamas
Christmas-themed pajama sets
Adult onesies
Santa suit-inspired outfits
4| Gift party favors
The girls love a gift! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but make it something your friends will be happy to take home.
Bonus points if you wrap it or put it in a cute gift bag.
Girlsmas party favor ideas:
Customized ornaments
Hot chocolate balls + mug
Mini self-care bag: face mask, ChapStick, hand lotion, cozy socks, hand sanitizer, mini nail kit
Candle with candle holder
Holiday-themed treats
Relevant Blog Post: THE GIFT BAG GUIDE: 50 ADULT PARTY FAVORS FOR EVENTS, TRIPS, AND CELEBRATIONS
5| Provide good food
For this event, you can go two different routes depending on the vibe: comfort food or finger foods.
For a more chill and intimate gathering, comfort food will get you and your friends nice and full.
But if you and your friends plan to be up and moving, finger foods are always a good idea.
Girlsmas Party Food Ideas:
Pot roast with veggies and potatoes
Lasagna, salad, and breadsticks
Roasted chicken, mac & cheese, vegetables, and rolls
Dip bar (spinach artichoke, buffalo chicken, queso, crab, jalapeno popper, chorizo, s’more dip, taco dip, rotel, cheesecake dip, cookie dip, etc.)
Pizza
Sub sandwiches and sliders
10 Fun Girlsmas Party Activities
1| Enjoy a small gift exchange
This might be my favorite gift trend on the internet right now.
Friends get together at either a restaurant or one another’s house, and each person brings the same small gift for each friend.
The gifts can be anything, but they’re supposed to be small (interpret that as you wish).
Small Gift Examples:
Lip gloss
Candy
Face masks
A deck of cards
Hand lotions
Mini candles
Cozy socks
Kindle charms and stickers
Claw clips
Don’t forget to bring festive gift bags to take your goodies home in!
Social Media Examples:
2| Bake a celebratory cake for wins
This activity is all about sharing and celebrating wins amongst you and your friends.
First, bake a cake together (you could also buy it, but where’s the fun in that?!).
While it’s cooling, each of you will create mini signs filled with one to three things you’re proud of from this past year.
For the signs, you could use toothpicks with sticky notes, small chalkboard signs, or mini paper craft hearts.
Finish decorating the cake, set up a phone to record, and take turns saying your wins out loud while sticking them into your cake like a candle.
Lastly, cheer each other on!
Social Media Examples:
3| Host a holiday book exchange and mocktail night
If you and your friends are big readers, then this activity will be perfect for you!
Each friend brings a holiday-themed book wrapped like a present, along with ingredients to make the perfect mocktail to go with it.
Exchange the books using any method and then spend the evening crafting drinks and sharing your favorite books of the year.
Social Media Examples:
Relevant Blog Post: How To Host A Book Club With Friends (Book Recommendations Included)
4| Create the Christmas Tree Punch Game
This is a unique activity where you can win prizes and do silly challenges.
To make it, glue green solo cups to a foam board in the shape of a Christmas tree.
Then fill the cups with prizes and prompts of things to do.
Lastly, cover the cups with cut-out squares of tissue paper and then secure with a rubber band.
Cup Filling Ideas:
Gift cards
Money
Candy
Small beauty accessories
Scratch off-tickets
Prompt: take a shot
Prompt: do 25 jumping jacks
Prompt: rap a verse from your favorite song
Prompt: act like another person in the room
Prompt: perform a dance
Make it even more fun by placing a tiny ornament in a few cups, and if someone gets the ornament, they have to switch whatever they got with someone else.
Social Media Examples:
5| Cookie decorating
This is a classic activity that always brings the holiday cheer.
Bake or purchase cookies in Christmas designs like candy canes, gingerbread men, Christmas trees, presents, etc., and then ice them as if you were painting a picture.
You could also opt for traditional circle cookies and decorate them with fun toppings like sprinkles, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and other small candies.
Social Media Examples:
6| Play classic games
We love a game night! And while there are so many new games out on the market, there is something about playing these classics that will always be timeless.
Classic Game Examples:
Pictionary: friends take turns guessing a word or phrase based on a picture another friend draws.
Charades: friends take turns guessing a word or phrase based on the acting of another friend.
Board games
Monopoly
Scrabble
Life
Scategories
Clue
Card games
Uno
Spades
Rummy
Phase 10
Poker
7| Host a Christmas relay race
The internet is booming with tons of DIY and Minute-to-Win-It-type games, customized perfectly for Christmas. I picked out a few that I think you and your friends would really enjoy!
Christmas Bow Scoop
Fill a table with Christmas bows of all different sizes, and grab a big bowl and spatula (or ladle). Then each person gets a turn to be blindfolded for thirty seconds and tries to see how many bows they can scoop into the bowl before the time is up.
Candy Cane Hang
Get in teams of two and give each team a long piece of ribbon. Place three to five candy canes in the middle of the ribbon. Then place a beer or soda bottle (or mason jar) in the middle of the floor for each team. The first team to work together and get all the candy canes hooked on the vessel wins.
Snow Blower
This game will be a battle between two friends at a time. Line plastic cups along both sides of a table and place cotton balls on top of each one. One person will be on either side and will use party blowers to push off cotton balls. First person to knock off all their “snow” wins.
Christmas Tree Collapse
Place green and red solo cups in the shape of a tree, then place a large ornament on the top cup. Using that top cup, collapse all the cups until you get to the end without the ornament dropping. If the ornament falls, you have to rebuild your tree and start over. The first person to finish without dropping their ornament wins.
Wrapping Paper Race
Sit two friends in a chair and roll out wrapping paper in front of them. On the count of three, the two friends will race to see who can bring the wrapping paper all the way in, using only their feet. The first person to do so wins.
Social Media Examples:
8| Watch Christmas movies
Movie nights will always be a go-to, but it’s even more perfect for Christmastime! The holiday movie list is endless and has something for everybody.
Christmas Movie Examples:
This Christmas
The Grinch (Jim Carey version, of course)
The Best Man Holiday
Almost Christmas
Jingle Jangle
Candy Cane Lane
Elf
Home Alone (all of them)
The Santa Clause
The Preacher’s Wife
Red One
9| Host a lively Christmas party
This idea is a perfect way for you and your friends to enjoy each other’s company inside, as if you were outside.
This party is the opposite of a chill hangout, where you’re just lying around in each other’s company.
Instead, this interactive Christmas party will have you and your friends moving and grooving!
Lively Christmas Activities Examples:
Karaoke: a sing-along classic, and make sure to add in some Christmas carols.
Line Dancing: Everybody may not be a dancer in your friend group, but they most likely know at least one line dance to get them moving and grooving!
The Wobble
Cupid Shuffle
Cha-Cha Slide
The Biker Shuffle
Boots On The Ground
Flex
Electric Slide
Cotton Eye Joe
Social media dances and trends: For those who love a good Tiktok or Reel challenge.
Talent Show: You might be surprised to learn some hidden talents your friends have. Ask each person to prepare something in advance (and this does not have to be serious) and have a blast!
10| Craft scrapbook frames
The holiday season also brings about the end of the year, and this activity is a great way to honor all the amazing things that happened while spending time with your friends.
Each friend brings five to seven favorite memories from the year in the form of a printed picture, magazine cutouts, anything really that can be used to represent the memory.
Have each friend contribute to bringing items to create a craft table.
Scrapbook Items Needed:
Frames
Scissors
Glue sticks and liquid glue
Hole punch
Pens/markers/colored pencils
Scrapbook paper/colorful paper/cardstock
Washi tape
Ribbons
Stickers
Gems
Stamps & ink pads
Paper crafts
Dried flowers
Girlsmas is all about spending quality time with your friends during the most wonderful time of the year!
Would you do any of these activities with your friends? Or do you and your friends have any other fun ideas you do for Girlsmas? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
