How to host a christmas party in a small apartment – 7 pro tips! 

When you think of the holidays, hosting a Christmas party in a small apartment might sound like too many people in a small space. The good news is that even if you live in a tiny apartment or small studio, there are a handful of simple ways to make a holiday party doable. Here are seven ways to bring the cheer and your favorite people together!

1. Bring yer own dinnerware

One of the easiest ways to cut down on clutter and simplify clean-up in a tiny apartment is to ask your guests to bring their own dinnerware to your holiday party. Forks, glasses, plates, napkins…everyone arrives with what they need and leaves with what they brought. (Even better, buy each guest a reusable bento box that they can use at your party—then send it home as a Christmas gift!)

This also helps reduce the number of dishes you and your guests need to wash afterward, so you can spend more time drinking eggnog and less time bumping elbows and accidentally smearing leftover gravy on your pants.

2. Prep ahead for hosting the holidays

If you’re aiming to host a Christmas party in your small apartment, here’s a fundamental rule to follow: “Prep prevents panic”. (Okay, maybe we made that up.) 

What we really mean is that the more food you can prep in advance, the easier it will be for you to host your holiday party. You’ll avoid stressful last-minute cooking mishaps. You also won’t have a bunch of people in ugly Christmas sweaters cooking and sweating in your studio apartment kitchen.

Another trick is to use the same dishes to cook and serve in. This minimizes the dishwashing later and keeps your counters a little less cluttered along the way. Look for heat-resistant cookware .

3. A few of our favorite space-saving tips 

Another key trick to hosting a Christmas party in a tiny apartment is to think about how to cluster people and preserve space. A few of our favorites:

• Spread snacks around your apartment. This helps guests avoid cramming together in one small area.
• Instead of having guests make their own drinks, prepare a couple of pitchers ahead of time. Less mess, more countertop room.
• Designate a room for coats and bags and shoes. And naps. Live in a small studio apartment? Use one of these privacy screens to hide stuff.
• Use festive drink tags. This helps avoid the classic “Where’s my glass…?”, which means you won’t have as many glasses floating around.

4. Be creative with seating in a small apartment

One of the first things you’ll want to do for party prep is to clear out space for your guests and make room for some jingle bell rocking. Consider cramming everything you don’t want out in the open into a single room. Don’t be shy about putting a sign on the door that says “Stay out. Mess in here.”

Make use of every seat. From desks to sofa tables, it’s all fair game. You can even set out seating place cards for your guests in each location to help make it clear what’s available to use. If you’re still short on seating, consider ordering some inexpensive folding tables or poufs.

5. Make it a progressive party

Another way to host a party in a small apartment is to not host it entirely in your apartment. 🙂 Share the load with your guests. If you and your friends all live in tiny apartments near each other, you can each choose a single course to host—appetizer, drinks, dinner, dessert—and move from one apartment to another. (If you need to drive, of course, keep it safe by designating a driver or getting an Uber.) You’ll only have one course to clean up when you get home!

6. Decorate and don’t forget the playlist! 

Decorate every space! When it comes to a holiday party in a small space, even the bathroom and your front door deserve a little love. Get cozy with things like these little copper Christmas lights for some of your Christmas party displays or go over the top in your bathroom with some extra Santa gear.

Now that you have everything you need to host a Christmas party in a small apartment, there’s just one detail left—your holiday party playlist. Weave in some new tunes, share some classics, whatever makes you feel festive.

A cozy holiday party to remember

Hosting a holiday party in a studio apartment or cooking up a storm in a tiny apartment kitchen might have seemed like a big feat. But now you have everything you need to host a party in a tight space. Happy holidays!