The Christmas party I most enjoy designing for is the one that starts at eight. The school concert has happened, the kids' thing has happened, and somebody has decided that this year there will be a proper drink and a reason to wear the good shoes.
There are four looks below. Tap the one you like and it takes you straight to that set of designs. The rest of the page is how I would plan the night once you have picked.
Retro Santa
Mid-century and faintly tipsy. Warm red, cream and gold, with a martini in Santa's own hand.
See the retro Santa designs
Jingle & Mingle
Modern and light. A red satin bow on cream, or loose doodles and a disco ball.
See the jingle & mingle designs
Holiday Hoedown
Cowhide, cow print, hats and boots. Warm and rustic, in three versions of the same look.
See the holiday hoedown designs
Elegant Martini
Quiet and grown up. A snowflake martini in silver and ice blue, or a bear in black tie.
See the elegant designsTry it before you pay. Every listing has a free demo. Open the design, type your longest guest's name into it, and see how it sits before you spend anything.
You edit it in your browser, your details go in, the layout stays put, and you have a print-ready file the same evening. Printing it five times or fifty costs nothing extra.
How do you throw a retro Santa cocktail party?
Santa martini invitation
Santa with a martini. The loudest card of the four looks, and the one that tells guests to expect a drink rather than a dinner.
Shop the invitation
Welcome sign
Sets the tone at the door before anyone has a glass in their hand, which is exactly when a guest decides what kind of evening this is.
Shop the welcome sign
Bar menu sign
Name your two drinks on it and the bar stops being a kitchen counter with bottles on it.
Shop the bar menuLean into mid-century. Warm red, cream and gold, coupe glasses instead of anything modern, a bowl of maraschino cherries, and a bar menu with two proper old drinks on it. Whatever you need for the night, this artwork probably has it: the invitation, the save the date, the welcome sign, the bar menu, a custom sign and the tags all come from the same set, which is what stops the room looking like it was bought from six different shops.
These are separate downloads rather than one bundle. Most people take the invitation and one sign and stop there, and that is enough to make the night look planned.
See all 32 Christmas cocktail designsWhat is a jingle and mingle Christmas party?
Red bow
A red satin bow on cream. The prettiest card in the range, and the easiest one to build a soft red and gold room around.
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Doodle style
Loose lines, wavy frames and drawn cocktails. This is the friendsmas card, and it reads as an evening rather than an event.
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Disco ball soirée
The same set for a night with dancing in it. Pair it with a cluster of disco balls over the bar and the theme is done.
Shop the invitationJingle and mingle is the wording people reach for when the night is drinks and conversation rather than dinner, and this is the modern-looking corner of the range. It comes two ways. The red satin bow on cream is soft and pretty and easy to dress up. The doodle version is looser, with wavy frames, drawn cocktails and a disco ball, and it suits a party that ends with the rug rolled back. Same tone either way, different amount of sparkle.
Browse the whole Christmas cocktail collectionHow do you throw a holiday hoedown?
Cow print frame
A cowboy hat, a pair of boots and Christmas ornaments inside a cow print frame. No character on this one.
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Horse and rodeo
A horse on rustic cowhide, with rodeo styling and the same warm western palette.
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Reindeer in western gear
A reindeer got up in western gear on rustic cowhide.
Shop the invitationKeep the cocktail structure and swap the styling. Cowhide and cow print on the paper, a stack of hats by the door, bandanas instead of cocktail napkins, and a bourbon or a spiced whiskey punch as the signature drink. It is the warmest of the four looks and the one that works best in a big room with a hard floor, because the noise and the boots are part of it. The three cards above are the same look with a different picture on the front. Which one you use is personal preference rather than a decision, so take the one you like the sight of.
See the rest of the Christmas cocktail designsWhat works for an elegant black-tie Christmas cocktail party?
Tuxedo teddy bear
A bear in black tie on vintage plaid, holding a martini. Formal enough to carry a dress code, warm enough that nobody feels stiff.
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Snowflake martini
Silver and ice blue with a snowflake in the glass. The one to use if your December party sits closer to New Year than to Christmas.
Shop the invitation
Bar menu sign
A signature drinks sign that comes in both 5x7 for the bar top and 8x10 for a frame, so you can pick by how far away people will be standing.
Shop the bar menuGo quiet and let the glassware do the talking. Black, ivory and silver, or deep green and gold. Coupe glasses, tapers in brass, and a card that does not shout. Two artworks sit in this look: a bear in black tie on vintage plaid, which is warmer than it sounds, and a snowflake martini in ice blue and silver that carries a lodge or après ski evening as well as a city one.
All 32 Christmas cocktail templatesWhat colors and decor make a Christmas cocktail party?
Pick one dark base and repeat it everywhere. Deep green, oxblood red or near-black, then brass or gold for the metal, cream or ivory for the paper, and cedar for the green. Four elements repeated look considered. Nine elements scattered look like the leftovers of three different Christmases, which is the thing that makes a room read cheap even when you have spent money on it.
Light is doing most of the work at an evening party. Turn the overheads off, put tapers at three heights down the bar and the table, and add battery tea lights anywhere a sleeve might catch a flame. A room lit at waist height flatters everybody in it and hides the fact that you have not vacuumed under the couch.
Easy Christmas cocktail decor plan
What is the signature moment of a Christmas cocktail party?
The bar. It is where everyone stands, where the photographs happen, and the one surface worth styling. A console, a kitchen island end or a folded-down dining table will do. What makes it look like a bar rather than a kitchen counter is height: a printed menu propped at the back, bottles and a cedar sprig at the middle level, glasses and ice at the front where hands go.
AI-generated image, shown for inspiration.
How to build the bar
- The menu sign: name your two drinks on a printed 5x7 or 8x10 card at the back of the bar. It stops the "what is there?" conversation happening forty separate times, and it turns two bottles and a jug into a cocktail list.
- Batch the signature drink: mix it in a jug or a dispenser before anyone arrives and add the fizz at the last moment. You want to be in the room, not shaking one drink at a time for three hours.
- One good alcohol-free option: give it a real name on the same menu. Somebody driving, pregnant or off it for December should get handed a proper glass, not a fizzy water with a slice in it.
- Ice, twice as much as you think: a bag per six guests. Ice runs out first and it is the only supply you cannot improvise at 9pm.
- Garnish in one bowl: cranberries, rosemary sprigs, orange peel, olives. Guests will garnish their own and enjoy it.
And the table behind it
There is no place setting at a cocktail party, so the table becomes a second surface for food and light. Run a velvet or linen runner down the middle, set brass candlesticks into a line of cedar, and leave the ends clear for platters and stacks of small plates. Lift one platter on a stand, because height is what stops a spread looking flat, and keep everything below eye level so people can talk across it. Small plates, napkins and picks go at the end nearest the door so the line forms in the right direction.
Shop the menu card templatesWhat food and drinks work at a Christmas cocktail party?
Serve two drinks and six things that can be eaten with one hand. That is the whole brief. Anything needing a knife, a fork or a plate balanced on a knee will end up on the carpet, and anything needing you to be at the stove will keep you out of your own party.
| What | How much | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Signature cocktail | 2 to 3 drinks per guest over three hours | Batch it. A cranberry or pomegranate spritz, a spiced old fashioned or an espresso martini all scale up in a jug. |
| Sparkling wine | 1 bottle per 2 guests | Six flutes from a bottle. Keep it chilled and out of the way until the toast. |
| Alcohol-free option | 1 named drink on the menu | Spiced apple with soda, or a bitter orange and tonic. Give it a name and it stops being a consolation. |
| Small plates | 6 items, 4 to 5 pieces each per guest | Three cold and made ahead, two from the oven, one cheese board. Nothing that needs cutting. |
| Something sweet | 1 tray, late | Cookies or chocolate bark, brought out at the point people start looking for their coats. |
What do people do at a Christmas cocktail party?
They stand, drink and talk, and your job is to make that easy rather than to plan every minute of it. Grown-up parties do not need games, and a room of adults handed a quiz will politely ruin the evening. What the night does need is a shape: a moment where you say something, and a moment where it ends.
Three things worth planning
- A toast at the right time: about forty minutes in, once everybody has arrived and has a glass. Thirty seconds, not a speech. It is the moment a gathering turns into a party.
- A music plan: a playlist long enough to outlast the party, kept quiet enough for conversation for the first hour. Nobody has ever asked to hear the same twelve Christmas songs twice.
- A last-drink signal: put the sweet tray out and turn the music down. Guests read it instantly and you keep your Sunday.
What favors work at a Christmas cocktail party?
Send people home with one small thing that fits in a coat pocket. A small bottle of eggnog, a bag of chocolate bark, a jar of spiced nuts, or two cookies in a box. A printed tag tied on with a ribbon is what turns any of those from a leftover into a favor.
AI-generated image, shown for inspiration.
When should you send Christmas cocktail party invitations?
Send the invitation three to four weeks ahead, and send a save the date six to eight weeks ahead if your party lands in the second or third week of December. Those two weekends are the ones that fill first, and a save the date is what stops a guest booking somebody else's party over yours.
| When | What goes out | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 8 weeks out | Save the date calendar | Mid-December weekends are claimed early. A calendar card is enough to hold the evening. |
| 3 to 4 weeks out | The invitation, printed or sent digitally | Late enough that it does not get forgotten, early enough that people have not committed elsewhere. |
| 1 week out | A note to anyone who has not replied | You need a headcount to buy for. Two-thirds of your yes list is a normal December turnout. |
| 2 days out | Order or print the bar menu, welcome sign and any labels | Order the prints two days out and the last evening is ice and flowers. |
What supplies do you need for a Christmas cocktail party?
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A cocktail party needs less than a sit-down dinner does, because there is no seating and no courses. This is a short list on purpose. Five things make the room look like an evening, and the rest is optional.
The five things that make the room
- Red taper candles: eight hours of burn time covers a whole evening. Candlelight is the one change that turns a living room into a party.
- Brass candlestick holders: a set of three heights. A line of candles at one height reads as a dinner table, and at three heights it reads as styled.
- Battery tea lights: for the bar, the bathroom and anywhere a sleeve could reach a flame.
- Faux cedar garland: one length runs down the bar or the table, and it comes out again every December.
- Emerald velvet table runner: the fastest way to make a bare table look like it was set on purpose.
For the printed pieces
- Wooden easel stand: to stand the welcome sign up by the door.
- Tartan cocktail napkins: the small paper detail that stops a kitchen roll appearing on the bar.
Only if you are building a bar from nothing
Skip this group if you already own glasses. None of it changes how the room looks.
- Coupe glasses, a shaker and jigger set and an ice bucket: the three that get used all night. The jigger matters more than it sounds, because measured drinks taste the same at 10pm as they did at 8.
One extra, if your look is the doodle or the hoedown
- Disco balls hung over the bar for the doodle look, or a stack of cowboy hats by the door for the hoedown. One or the other, not both.
Print sizes at a glance
Invitations print as 5x7 cards or send digitally. Bar menu signs print at 5x7 for the bar top and 8x10 in a frame. Welcome signs print at 16x20 for a tabletop easel, 18x24 for a standing easel by the door, and 24x36 if the sign is the backdrop of your photo corner. Order any of them through Corjl Prints and the sizing is handled for you.
Where to print
The easiest route is Corjl Prints, which sits inside the same editor, so you order your signs without leaving the design and they turn up ready to stand up. For a premium finish on the invitations, Prints of Love (affiliate link) is a specialist stationery printer with lovely quality and free envelopes, and code marryful10 takes 10% off. I earn a commission if you order through it, at no extra cost to you. If you would rather print at home, 5x7 cardstock comes ready-sized for invitations and menu cards, with nothing to cut. 8.5x11 sheets are there only if you want to cut your own tags.
Order the prints two days out, pick up the candles and cedar whenever you are passing, and the last evening is about the drinks.
Christmas cocktail party FAQ
What is a Christmas cocktail party?
A Christmas cocktail party is a short evening party built around drinks and standing food rather than a seated meal. Guests usually arrive between 7:00 and 8:00 and stay two to three hours. There is no table plan and no courses, which makes it the easiest kind of party to host in a December that is already full.
How far in advance do you send Christmas cocktail party invitations?
Three to four weeks ahead. If your party falls in the second or third weekend of December, add a save the date six to eight weeks ahead, because those two weekends get claimed first. A week before the party, follow up with anyone who has not replied so you can buy for a real number.
How many cocktails should you offer?
Two, plus wine and something alcohol-free. One signature cocktail you can batch in a jug, one good non-alcoholic drink with a proper name, and a bottle of sparkling wine per two guests. Two drinks made well beat six made badly, and batching keeps you in the room instead of behind the bar all evening.
How much food do you need at a cocktail party?
Six items, four to five pieces of each per guest, for a party that runs two to three hours after dinner. Three cold and made ahead, two from the oven, and a cheese board. Everything should be edible with one hand, because your guests are holding a glass in the other.
What is the dress code for a Christmas cocktail party?
Put it on the invitation and people will follow it. "Festive cocktail" is the usual line and it means a dress or a jacket without a tie. If you want something more specific, say so plainly: black tie optional, dress in red and green, or bring your worst sweater. A guest who has to guess will turn up in jeans and spend the evening feeling wrong.
How long should a Christmas cocktail party last?
Two to three hours, with an end time on the invitation. Print 7:30 to 10:30 and most people will leave close to it. An open-ended party in December runs long, and everyone at it has something on the next morning.
What size should a Christmas bar menu sign print at?
5x7 for a card standing on the bar top, or 8x10 in a frame if the bar is across the room and people need to read it from a distance. Print on cardstock rather than paper so it stands up on its own, and set a welcome sign at 16x20 or 18x24 by the door.
Can you send a Christmas cocktail invitation by text instead of printing it?
Yes, it is the same file either way. Download the PDF if you are printing and the JPEG if you are sending it in a message or by email. For a December party with a short lead time, sending digitally is often the faster route. Here is how the digital send works.
Can you use these designs for a December bridal shower?
Yes. The red and green cocktail look works well for a winter shower, because it feels like the season without turning the bride's day into a second Christmas dinner. Keep the cocktail structure, swap the signature drink for something festive and low proof, and use the bridal wording on the card so guests know what they are coming to.
Which look are you going with?
Start from the invitation and the welcome sign, bar menu and tags follow it. All four looks live in one place, along with the save the date calendars for the parties you are planning further out.
Shop the Christmas Cocktails collection
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