How to Throw A Crafty Christmas Prep Party

Get together with your girlfriends to wrap presents and prepare for Christmas.

The holidays are supposed to be a time of joy, but let’s face it. Sometimes the holidays can be downright stressful! This year I decided to host a party with my girlfriends where we could get a jump on making Christmas gifts and check some things off our list early. It turned out to be such a fun night that I wanted to share the idea with you so you can host a crafty Christmas prep party too!

We had so much fun sitting around the table wrapping up presents, cutting out gift tags and tying pretty bows. It was so much better than doing all that stuff at home alone. 

If you would like to host your own crafty Christmas gift-making night, here are a few tips to make your party a success.

1. Assess the “craftiness” of your group of friends. If they are experienced crafters, you can choose more advanced projects. If they can’t cut a straight line (we all have that friend, am I right?), choose simple crafts.

2. Assemble everything before guests arrive. You don’t want to spend your whole evening running into the other room to find the hole punch or tape or an extra pair of scissors. Gather all of your supplies well in advance and walk through making the craft in your mind to make sure you’ve thought of everything you’ll need.

3. Food! It’s just not a party without food, but don’t feel that you have to slave away in the kitchen all day to make your party a success. I put together a delicious and pretty food table without spending any time in the kitchen. I picked up some fresh baked goods from my local Fred Meyer bakery. 

I didn’t even make the spinach dip. I just scooped it into a pretty dish! I chose a few special beverages to elevate the evening, but no extra work on my part. See? That’s smart party prep right there!

Would you  have guessed that this gorgeous bundt cake wasn’t homemade? By placing it on a cake stand and topping it with fresh sugared raspberries and glaze, it suddenly looks like I am a contender for a spot on one of those Food Network cake shows. I call that a win, friends.

I also served sweet and salty popcorn, which took all of ten minutes to throw together. I popped a few bags of kettle corn and threw in chocolate candy and sprinkles, then drizzled it with melted white chocolate. Once again, by putting it in a pretty container, it seems fancy.

I love how our crafty little gifts turned out. I bought a bunch of pretty candles that smelled like Christmas. They are such a great gift to give to teachers, neighbors or co-workers, especially when they are all packaged up with cellophane and ribbon and a cute “punny” gift tag.

I also bought a wax warmer and wax melts. I filled a cute basket with shredded paper, added the gifts, then packaged it up with cellophane.

I’m telling you, cellophane makes everything seem like a more amazing gift. The gift tag on this present says, “It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!” Cute, right?

I’ve made all of the tags into a free printable for you, which you can DOWNLOAD HERE.

I’m very pleased with how the party turned out. We laughed, we ate, we crafted, and each of my friends went home with a few gifts wrapped, tagged and ready for giving. We all agreed that it feels really good to have some things checked off our lists so early in the season.