When living in an apartment, it’s a little harder to plan a holiday party since you have to consider the amount of space you have and the number of guests and activities you can comfortably fit into that space .

Why not take some of the party-planning stress off of yourself by designing a party theme that’s so much fun that your guests won’t even notice the close quarters? But make it easy on yourself too! Here are a few examples of themes you might consider:

Love that ugly old sweater

Like the time-worn holiday decorations we pull out every year, we probably all have an old, ugly Christmas sweater tucked away somewhere. We know we should give it away, but our favorite aunt gave it to us and we can’t quite part with it.

Why not unpack that sweater and wear it proudly? Host an ugly-sweater party! Ask your guests to break out their ugly holiday sweaters and wear them, too. Add a little more fun by holding a contest to see who has the most creative/festive sweater, and, of course, the ugliest one!

The elephants come out to play

Everyone loves a cheap and cheesy gift, right? Why not throw a party with a white-elephant-gift-exchange theme? Invite your guests and ask them to bring something from home that they’d be willing to give away. Remember, the cheesier the better! The gift exchange works this way guests choose a number from a hat to see who goes first. That first person picks a gift, opens it, and shows it to everyone. Then in turn, the guests choose to either unwrap a new gift or to steal a previously unwrapped gift. If a gift is stolen, the person who had their gift taken from them gets to unwrap another unopened gift. The game continues until all the presents have been opened.

It’s all a crock

Maybe you’d just like to have some friends over for dinner, without the added commotion of Christmas sweaters or party games? But the thought of making dinner for everyone in your small kitchen isn’t exactly appealing. You don’t need to go to all that work! Just have each of your guests bring a crockpot dish to share. Maybe some of them could bring a mini-crock, filled with an appetizer or a dip. Others could bring a full-sized crockpot filled with their special chili, or a delicious, hearty soup. There might even be someone who’s willing to whip up a tasty dessert in their crockpot. All you’ll need to provide is some warm bread and cold drinks.

With all the guests bringing dinner, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the party, too. And when they all go home, your kitchen will be just as tidy as it was before they arrived and there won’t even be one pan to wash in your sink!

Holiday entertaining can be fun and easy, even if it is in close quarters. So, if you have an idea for a great apartment party theme that we haven’t thought of, let us know. We all love holiday parties!