You know Christmas is on its way when you walk into stores and see mince pies on sale and hear Mariah's 'All I want for Christmas...' playing. Well that time has definitely arrived, so it's certainly acceptable to start planning some Christmas parties! You may think that planning a party will require a lot of effort and money. But do not fear, as help is here! Here are the seven ways to throw the best Christmas uni party on a student budget!
Stream Those Xmas Hits
A playlist of all the Christmas classics and cheesy childhood pop tunes is an absolute essential for a successful Christmas party. Get a playlist going on a music streaming site like Grooveshark or Spotify, or even stream playlists from YouTube. Go for Spotify if you want an endless choice of music. Find a housemate or friend who hasn't used their free Spotify free trial yet as there is always one. All details can be found
here!
Poundland Decorations of Course
You can easily deck out your whole house with Christmas decorations for a fiver if you head to Poundland. Get some tinsel, fairy lights, cheesy Christmassy table cloths, and buy a can of fake to spray your surfaces and walls with to create the ultimate Christmassy home setting. You could even buy some Christmas crackers and scatter them all over the house for all your guests to enjoy. Nothing like laughing and cringing over those awful jokes inside the crackers...
Christmas Catwalk
If you're holding a Christmas themed party, it seems only fair to make sure the theme of dress is Christmas inspired too. Encourage people to dress up in Christmassy attire: woolly jumpers, anything with the Christmas colours (green and red), fancy dress as an elf or Santa, the list is endless!
Definitely Mulled Wine
Mulled wine is a classic Christmas beverage to serve at parties and is so easy to make. Nothing beats a Jamie Oliver recipe so check out his mulled wine recipe here. You can also buy some instant mulled wine packs to save the mess. You can get hold of these in any supermarket and order them off Amazon. Bucks and fizz and any other cheap wine are also just as good.
Living Room Dance Floor!
Push all your sofas and chairs to the back of the room and cover with throws that you don't mind getting dirty - expect some drink spillages. You want to be playing all the cheesy tunes to get everyone going so turn your living room into your own little club.
DIY Hot Tub (Oh Yes)
This is for the ambitious party throwers... How does drinking mulled wine in an outdoor hot tub sound? This can easily be done in your garden!
1. Go to a charity or second hand furniture shop and buy two super cheap but strong sofas that are of similar dimensions2. Find a suitable spot in your garden where the hot tub would fit. Make sure the ground is flat and sweep away any stones or sticks that could burst or tear the hot tub.3. Buy slabs of wood to create a box around the sofas. You can attach the wood to the sofas with screws, nails and even glue.4. Fill the holes with some polyurethane foam sprays to prevent any leaks through the hot tub.
5. Apply a load of bearing straps to go round the hot tub and don't hold back with these. The more straps you have, the more secure it will be.6. Buy a large rubber sheet to completely cover the hot tub. This is the most expensive piece of equipment, but is the easiest part of the DIY hot tub process!7. You will need proper equipment to keep the hot tub consistently warm and bubbling, but this will be fairly pricey. So keep it simple and student budget friendly by filling the hot tub with warm water with a hose, and then top it up throughout the night with more warm water when it gets cold.
You can find pictures of this amazing idea and a more in-depth guide
here.
Outdoor Log Fire?
Get a little campfire in the garden going, and get everyone to huddle round and drink some mulled wine. Fire bricks or regular bricks from a building store (or skip!) will set the ground and small walls to that you don't end up with a big black hole in your lawn. A BBQ is a good host too.
Kick Out Time!
When you think the party is winding down and you want to get rid of the lurchers, stage a neighbour complaint or turn off all the power and they'll all shuffle out sooner or later...!
Have you got any other ideas?
