46 Fabulous Christmas Party Ideas for Festive Gatherings

On Christmas Eve, designer Alessandra Branca hosts family and friends at her Chicago townhouse for a festive, dressed-up dinner party that lacks any sort of pretense. Branca, who maintains "red is life," leans into her favorite color in the dining room where she adorns her table with a red and black plaid tablecloth and blooming red amaryllis. Over the mantle, she drapes seasonal greenery with red ribbon. Red glazed walls in the dining room make for the ideal Christmas party backdrop.

“I start my amaryllis and paperwhites at the end of November, and let them flourish all over the house until the big show at Christmas,” says Branca. Rigato Papavero dinner plates and tumblers, Casa Branca

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Simple glass vases filled with red and white anemone and white amaryllis lend a feminine, floral note to Branca's woodsy, cedar garland. Tall glass hurricanes add height at either end of her Christmas mantel decoration.

During her childhood, designer Joy Moyler's parents were always hosting their friends for impromptu dinner parties. "My mother and father knew a lot of single musicians who, if they weren’t out touring, would come over for dinner at our house," says Moyler. "Musicians would get out their instruments and play. We’d roll up the rug so everyone could dance."

Today, Moyler carries that torch, continuing her parents' ritual by playing host with her husband to their musical and other artistic friends. "For Christmas, we elevate things a bit. We love crafting menus that honor those international flavors I grew up discovering and that we enjoy making to this day, but we never forget my grandmother’s coconut cake. And we bring out Nick’s
black lacquer stand-up bass!"

Deco-inspired plates designed by Moyler herself set the tone for the dressed-up dinner and inspired the plum, gold, red, black, and white palette for the party. Glassware, Saint-Louis, and NasonMoretti for Artemest. Silkbird Jacquard table fabric, Dedar.

This simple yet sophisticated place setting featuring white dinner plates from Royal Copenhagen and blue-rimmed chargers from Vista Alegre sets the tone for a beautifully casual evening.

Langham festoons the entry hall with boxwood greenery, tucking a wreath under the arch of his 19th-century French mirror, trimming a niche in the bookcases with garland, and hanging a sphere from the light fixture. The console, which transforms into a champagne bar for Christmas parties, is a reproduction Georgian piece from John Rosselli & Associates. The paint for the walls (Bird of Paradise), bookcases (Linen White), and bookcase interiors (Oasis Blue) is all by Benjamin Moore.

Event designer and consummate host Keith Robinson knows a thing or two about entertaining during the holidays. Here, he shies away from traditional green and red in favor of white flowers and taper candles, woodsy boughs of cedar, and pops of fragrant citrus for decorations that keep your house looking chic throughout the holidays.

Robinson's vintage porcelain setting and custom linens from Deborah Sharpe Linens evoke Christmas ornaments and ribbon. The flatware is Chistofle and the tumbler is Hèrmes.