Holiday Party: A Rudolph Themed Christmas Party * River City Belle

This year, we hosted our 8th annual Christmas party and we went all in for a Rudolph Themed Christmas Party. Like clockwork, we send out party invites to our friends and family at the start of the holiday season. Our Christmas cards and party invites always coordinate and serve as our loved one’s first clue of the party’s theme. This year, we purchased the design off of Etsy from JM Custom Designs.

This year, we celebrated Christmas with 37 of our closest family and friends. Due to the size of the party we ask our guests to bring food to share with the crowd! This limits the amount of food we have to provide, and everyone loves sharing their favorite holiday dessert or side dish.

For the second year in a row, we’ve hired a baby sitter to oversee a kids party in the basement. Last year, I was worried the kids wouldn’t like being seperated from their parents… but they had a blast! This year, the kids were ready to go to their basement party almost as soon as they walked in to the celebration. A few asked immediatley, if they were going to the basement.

Rudolph Themed Christmas Party

We always select our party theme a year in advance, this helps us cut costs as we are able to pickup party theme items on clearance! Between sale items and free printables we found on Pinterest, we hosted this party under budget.

Our annual party is our largest party, but it is also the most casual of our festivities. I tend to wear jeans and a themed t-shirt to the shindig and because it’s laid back, I make a minimum amount of food. This year, I focused my party food on drinks and a few on theme treats… and of course the traditional party cheeseball.

As a party hostess, it is always important to make sure to keep your guests hydrated! We supplied our guests with my signature shirley temples, misfit punch (grinch punch), and snow slide (white hot chocolate). Our drinks were served with a side of Rudolph Noses (marchino cherries) and Bumble Teeth (marshmallows).

Of course, we can’t forget Rudolph’s dirt covered noses (chocolate covered cherries).

In addition the the festive drinks, I made a few Rudolph party essentials. These reindeer snacks were made from Rolo candies, pretzels, and red M&Ms. I used a Pinterest tutorial, and they were a mess to make! But, they were delicious. I also whipped up party staples in the form of my traditional cheeseball and Santa brownie bites.

Jerad contributed to the food spread by purchasing 3 buckets of KFC chicken with all the sides. Every year, we argue over this chicken purchase! The buckets of chicken never match my table display… like NEVER. But, there is rarely any KFC items left at the end of the night. I guess you could say our crew is a fan of fried chicken.

Are you hosting a themed holiday party? If so, what’s your theme? I’m still brainstorming next year’s theme… A special thanks to, Dolled Up Design for posting these free Rudolph Printables that inspired our party food!