A red taper candle holder contains three red lit taper candles on top of a festively table with red and white plates, crystal wine glasses, and winter decorations, set for a German Christmas Party

Host a Traditional German Christmas Party

The Beauty of a German Christmas

Christmas in Germany is something special. If you tire of the frenzy of American shopping malls during the holidays, try visiting a traditional German Christmas market. It’s an open-air center of activity where craftspeople sell anything Christmassy that you can imagine. It’s a sensory delight and a really good way to experience the Christmas holiday. So this year, if you hold old Christmas traditions dear, have a German Christmas party!

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How to Throw a German Christmas Party

1. Create the Scene with Traditional German Christmas Decorations

Classic German Christmas decorations are beautiful! You can transform your home into a traditionally decorated German Christmas retreat by filling it with Christmas pyramids, Weihnachtsengel (Christmas angels), beeswax candles lit in windows, nutcrackers, wreaths, evergreens, fairy light strands, Christmas stars, and Weihnachtskrippe (nativity scenes). Here are some other festive finds:

Two painted wooden nutcrackers, a tall one wearing green and a short one wearing red, stand on a red Christmas tree skirt underneath a Christmas tree, perfect decor for a German Christmas Party
A beautifully simple Christmas tree decorated with gold ornaments and lit (fake) candles is fitting for a German Christmas Party
Photo by Erica Marsland Huynh

2. Prepare Christmas Market Food and Beverages

What better way to taste Christmas in Germany than by serving tasty things sold at Christmas markets! Unless you have an army of chefs on hand, you cannot possibly prepare all of the foods found in German Christmas markets. I’m sorry, I know. But you can make some of them! Choose from this thorough list of German Christmas market food and drinks and find a good recipe to tackle. Here are some of them in this list below, along with other delicious German recipes:

Top-down photo of a loaf of powder-sugared Christmas bread, partially sliced with a knife resting on top of the platter, and decorative white paper snowflakes arranged nearby
A loaf of stollen rests on an ivory cloth with a couple of slices laying down in front of it
Stollen photos by Jennifer Pallian and Yulia Khlebnikova

3. Set a German Christmas Ambience with Traditional Christmas Music

Christmas music is of course fitting for a German Christmas party. But more modern American Christmas songs won’t quite create that German atmosphere. So Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You doesn’t quite evoke a sense of German tradition, but you can’t go wrong with traditional Christmas music! Play a German Christmas songs playlist or a festive video of Christmas markets with instrumental Christmas music.

4. Add Evocative Scents

Transport your guests to a traditional German Christmas market with seasonal scents. Mulled cider, glühwein, freshly baked waffles, stollen…all the delicious things that lure you with so much as a whiff. You can recreate this air with a Glühwein-scented candle.

A Christmas market in Dresden is seen from a birds eye view, brightly lit with many stands and shops, a Ferris wheel, and a giant Christmas tree
A silver pot filled with Cherry glühwein and orange slices floating on top rests on top of a piece of burlap over a rustic wooden table with a bowl of cherries nearby, a perfect refreshment for a German Christmas Party
Photos by Pat Whelen and Hannah Pemberton

5. Plan German Christmas Activities

A festive craft you can do with your guests is to DIY your own German Christmas stars to hang in windows or from the ceiling. Your guests then have something to take home, too!

A fun way to stimulate topical conversation is to go around and have everyone share their favourite Christmas memory. This is a great way to learn something new about people, even those you know well! It also gives guests something to discuss with people they’ve only just met. Sharing Christmas memories is a special way to honor everyone’s unique holiday experience.

Checklist of Items You Need

Close-up photo of an angel Christmas tree topper with a gold halo and wings and white dress
Christmas angel photo by Karen Laårk Boshoff
This is a list of all of the physical things you need for this party:
  1. German Christmas decorations
  2. German foods and drinks
  3. Christmas music/speakers
  4. German Christmas-themed scented candle
  5. German Christmas star craft materials

Checklist of German Christmas Party Preparations

A glowing angel Christmas tree topper caps a glowing gold artificial Christmas tree with other gold and wooden decorations, against a black contrasting background
Close-up photo of several large soft pretzels - a fitting snack for a German Christmas party
Photos by Karen Laårk Boshoff and Wesual Click

1. First, establish that your efforts aren’t in vain by confirming that people can come on any chosen date:
  1. Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well. December is a busy time of year when people travel, host, or participate in any number of events. You’ll want to first choose several options for days you can host, and then get a feel for everyone’s availability well in advance.
  2. Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
  3. Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s)
  4. If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure calendar date for your awesome German Christmas party!
2. Then, proceed with the fun planning!
  1. Schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep (securing and/or making food/drinks, etc.)
  2. Create invitations with all of the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
  3. Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to prepare and set up)
  4. Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
  5. In your planned time slots, DIY any party supplies and decorations
  6. In your planned time slots, acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
  7. In your planned time slots, set up/decorate with any supplies and decorations
  8. In your planned time slots, prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)
3. Day of Party (in your amply planned time slot):
  1. Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that’s too fresh to do any earlier
  2. Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations you didn’t want up before
  3. Prepare ambience (audio/visual, candles/scents)
  4. Get dressed in your favourite Christmas party outfit
  5. Once everything’s ready, meditate or do your preferred self-care to get in a good head space if you aren’t already. You want to really experience the special magic of Christmas and feel grateful for the ability to celebrate that, rather than feel stressed for any given reason. You will be happier, and guests will pick up on your contagiously good vibe and get a boost of festivity and joy as well!

Fröhliche Weihnachten!

If you want to explore more fun Christmas-themed parties, check out these others:

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