Holiday cocktail parties are one of the most popular ways to celebrate the holidays in a less traditional style. It’s a festive gathering with friends or family where the guests are offered a great selection of cocktails paired with simple foods in a decorated holiday house. But how does one go about planning a cocktail party? We have laid out the basics for you!

The Cocktail Bar

Planning the drinks is obviously the most important part of a holiday cocktail party. First, let’s start with a few options:

1. You can either go for a fully stocked bar, or a cocktail menu. We recommend the second because it saves you money, and it gives people the chance to try something new! Because: what you serve is what you get.
2. Alcohol free options: Mocktails are all the rage. And your non-drinking guests will definitely appreciate you taking the effort to cater to their needs as well.
3. Your basic tools: based on the cocktails you choose you need to have a basic cocktail bar set. If you already have some tools at home, make sure to buy the ones you don’t have yet!

Have you made your decisions? Good! Now on to the fun part: the menu.

We have made a cocktail recipe booklet in collaboration with Cocktailicious listing all our holiday favourites. In the booklet you’ll find 7 delicious recipes, including ingredient lists, needed bar tools and a description of the preparations. 

The food

Because the drinks are the main event, the food options don’t have to be very elaborate. Simple foods, such as finger food, tapas dishes or snack plates will do. We have listed some examples of simple menus:

1. Tapas menu: grilled garlic shrimp, patatas bravas, assorted skewers
2. Snack plate menu: a cheese platter with assorted cheeses, a charcuterie with sliced meats and a plate with bread and dips
3. Finger food menu: mini quiches, mini pizza’s and crisp potato bites

Once you have chosen your menu, make sure to get all the ingredients you need and start prepping in time. You don’t want to be busy with the food when you could be serving cocktails!

The decorations

The two most important steps are finished, so now it’s time to start setting the scene. Decorating the house for your holiday cocktail party creates a festive vibe: your guests will instantly feel relaxed. You can keep up Christmas decorations around the house, decorate your bar with holly and string up Christmas lights to create a cosy atmosphere. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! If you want to up your game, you can also choose to have a theme and dress code. 

The planning

Last but not least… the planning tips! All good parties require some good planning skills. For those of you who don’t possess that particular skill, we have made a checklist:

1. Guests and invitations: think about the number of people you want to invite and send our festive invitations.
2. Arrange sleeping accommodations for your guests if necessary.
3. Make sure you have enough glasses for the different cocktails (especially if you don’t want to be washing them in between serving).
4. Depending on the group size, consider asking a bartender. This can also be a friend or a cousin who steps in to help. If it’s a small group, you can probably tend to the drinks yourself.
5. Do a test run of the cocktails you have chosen beforehand so you know what you’re doing.
6. Have a cocktail and don’t forget to enjoy yourself!

Take a look at our collection of cocktail products to make the best cocktails at your party!