A step-by-step guide on how to plan a great Christmas party: The deal hunters’ edition

Looking to house a nice festive get-together at home, but not sure where to start?

Party planning is hard: It can be daunting to put everything together and, more importantly, terrifyingly expensive. 

Luckily, GrabMart’s FOMO Promo sale coincides with Christmas. Held every two weeks throughout the year, it gives 15% off storewide for selected merchants, as long as you spend a minimum of S$25. Certain merchants will also give 25% off their best-sellers or two selected items.

So if you want to plan the perfect Christmas get-together without stressing out and destroying your checking account, we’ve got some tips and deals to help you get everything pristine and memorable.

Step 1: Set up your house

Give your crib a glow-up

Tidy up your living room, put up a few Christmas lights and jazz it all up before your guests arrive. Flowers, balloons, trinkets — all great items to add some life to your living room and make everyone feel extra cosy and at home.

One fast way to brighten up your house is decking it out with greens such as the snazzy lotus sansevieria in a terrarium (U.P. S$64) from Ferns N Petals’ one-stop gift shop. Another is to appeal to the olfactory senses with a Yankee Candle set (U.P. S$25.30) from Madera SG.

Get ready to entertain

Look, talking is great and we love spilling tea, but there are more engaging ways to make the night memorable. Our recommendation: Snag some of the games and novelties from stores such as Madera SG and PartyForte at 15% off storewide on GrabMart.

Think casino-grade playing cards (U.P. S$16), magnetic dartboards (U.P. S$53.90) and even pinatas (U.P. from S$50.90) if you enjoy a rambunctious party.

Prepare door gifts

A little token of your appreciation — door gifts are an incredible way to show your gratitude and leave an impression.

It doesn’t have to be sizable, we think cutesy items such as the Christmas-edition little teddy keychain (U.P. S$7) or self-assembled Christmas brick works cartoon figurines (U.P. S$35) from Blooms: By M. would do the trick.

Step 2: Feed your guests

Make it a potluck

One hack we really enjoy abusing is making the party a potluck: That’ll ensure they bring their own favourite food and you don’t have to wrack your brains on how to please all their preferences. Plus, it’s more fun to see what everyone brings to the table!

You can then cook up a small portion or order some additional food delivery from your nearby favourites to add to the stash of goodies, if you think it’s not enough. Bonus points for saving time and effort to clean up your kitchen.

Finish with a sweet ending

What’s a party without some great desserts to round it off? While there are some classic Christmas party desserts, we say go for variety if you want fuss-free — especially with Annabella’s offering a crazy 15% off storewide so you can snag a plethora of sweets to end the meal. 

That way you can hit your guests with a slew of macarons (U.P. from S$13.80 for six pieces), brownies (U.P. from S$9.90 for four) and petite cakes (U.P. S$45.80) with flavours such as ondeh ondeh and cookies & cream.

Step 3: Serve after-meal refreshments

Build a fruit platter

Besides hearty mains, the small, wholesome bites are also an important aspect of a party. Some greens and fruits would make the perfect tidbits for friends to graze on afterward. 

You can make cute little fruit boards affordably by tapping on the irresistible 25% off bestsellers from Saladroom, Fruitland and Sayfresh. While you have classics such as green grapes (U.P. S$5.99 for 500g) and banana (S$3.55 for one bunch), more interesting options such as pomegranate (U.P. S$15) are also included.

Get everyone tipsy

If you want the Christmas spirit, you gotta break out the spirits for everyone. Well, not everyone — make sure the designated drivers are kept responsibly sober.

But for everyone else, the sky’s the limit if you head over to GudSht and browse through its selection. It has basically everything: From Chuga makgeoli (U.P. S$13) to Jim Beam (U.P. from S$20 for 200ml) bourbon and even the relevant mixers including soda water (U.P. S$2).

If you need more ideas on how to zhng up your house party, browse more on GrabMart FOMO Promo for more ideas.

The article is written in partnership with GrabMart. 

For more ideas on what to eat, read our stories on the best stalls to get your zi char fix and our gifting guide based on horoscope!

The merchants mentioned in the article are available on GrabFood and GrabMart. You can also enjoy free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.