Back in 2012 when the world was going to end, my friends and I decided to throw an end-of-the-world ugly/tacky sweater Christmas Party on the night it was all supposed to go down – December 22nd, 2012. We had a great time, and it was one of the last times we “raged” like college students – most of our party time nostalgia goes back to how rowdy we were in 2012, so that was the last chance we got to show it that year.

Funny enough, the party became an annual thing, but it has evolved a lot from that first rager-style party, to a more sophisticated dinner/gift exchange situation with close friends. This year, it was my turn to host, and I really love to host events at my house and entertain my friends. The best part is, last week during my office Christmas party, I won a $300 gift card, so I was feeling all types of ready to splurge on this party. Let’s look back at what I put together for this fun night!

The invite! 😉

First of all, I decided not to put up a tree this year (again) because I’m leaving on the 23rd to Colombia, so there was no point in doing that, but that also meant I had to go the extra mile in creating the Christmas ambiance. Also, there were 11 of us total, and I was not going to move the big tables like I did for Friendsgiving two years ago, so with my newly acquired raffle gift card, I purchased a folding plastic table from Costco, which we already had one of. I also got an extra two chairs, since I had 10 at home. So sit down set up? Check.

This is crazy but, from previous set ups from other events years ago, I have two hollow cardboard columns in the garage that were already covered in red and silver fabric, so that decided my color scheme for the party. I brought out the two columns and put them by my mom’s room to block the door, and added a table there which would be where the gifts would go for the exchange. I didn’t put  up a big tree, but I did have a small white tree I used to use in my office cubicle, so I decided to add that to the table.

I made “snow” out of packing peanuts! Also included the candle favors with a little ribbon ❤

Within my fabric collection I found a piece I did not even know I had, which was long enough to cover the length of both tables stretched out lengthwise, and it was a beautiful red with silver polka dots, keeping the theme cohesion throughout.

For the silverware/cups/plates – I got the nice-looking plate set from Costco that is white with a silver rim and looks almost like china from afar, but it’s plastic. I got silver plastic cutlery, festive napkins, and for the cups I ordered these acrylic stackable stemless flutes from Amazon that were the hit of the party!

For the food, since it was 11-12 of us, I decided to get Olive Garden’s buffet catering for 10 people (there’s always more food than necessary), and it was perfect. No cooking, they deliver and set up, all for $115.

The delivery guy from OG did the buffet line set up and they included the trays, tongs, even brought plates, napkins and cutlery for all!

For the final touches, I got some white and red roses to create thin centerpieces, using some silver leaf stems I had from decor in previous years, and I also got a small candle favor for everyone that smelled like gingerbread cookies!

For the gift exchange, I set up our Secret Santa on Elfster (an amazing one-stop shop platform that does all the sorting work for you), and everyone walked out happy with gifts they had included in their wishlists. I’d say this Friendsmas was a total hit!