The air has a chill in it and the smell of pine and roasting chestnuts floats along the streets.  A feeling of excitement builds from the crowds with children dressed up in their winter coats, hats and gloves.  Christmas is just around the corner.   A time for families, often separated by geography and the heavy demands of life, a Christmas party is one of the best opportunities to come together and celebrate.

It can be tricky coming up with an idea that will keep everyone happy but here we have come up with some of the best family Christmas party ideas to inspire you and keep a diverse mix of ages contented.  Whether you’re looking for a grand and luxurious celebration or something more cosy and intimate, there is something for everyone here.

Being able to gather all the extended family in one place for a long weekend or over Christmas itself can be one of the happiest ways of celebrating together.  Renting a large country manor house, castle or country estate is one of the best ways of hosting a family Christmas party under one roof.  These Scottish castles and English manor houses were built with entertaining in mind with spacious rooms, grand dining rooms and plenty of different areas to relax and soak up the Christmas spirit.  In spite of their size and grandeur, these castles and country houses can be very cosy with roaring open fires and fully decorated for a family Christmas.  One fine example is Corbalton Hall, County Meath in Ireland which has been lovingly renovated to a very high standard and is just 30 minutes drive from Dublin airport.

Renting a large house for all the family over Christmas combines the excitement of a vacation with the warmth of home.  We can organise catering services in all our luxury properties so that you can enjoy the festivities without having to worry about cooking for all the family.  We can also organise lots of activities such as clay pigeon shooting, guided tours of local cities, cooking demonstrations, whiskey/gin tastings and many others.

As we all know, time is precious and, often during the build up to Christmas, life becomes even more hectic.  If it isn’t possible to have a long weekend celebrating with family, hosting a one-day or overnight Christmas family party at a beautiful manor house can be a great alternative.  There is still the sense of grandeur and luxury without having to commit to a whole weekend.  Whichever country house you choose to celebrate in, can be decked out with beautiful Christmas decorations, creating a festive backdrop for your party.

You can begin celebrating as early as you like and start off with a champagne breakfast, perhaps in the great hall, followed by a lavish Christmas dinner in the formal dining room.  Activities can be laid on for your guests such as ice skating, a treasure hunt in the grounds of the country estate or perhaps a bespoke, private fireworks display to make this Christmas with the family completely unforgettable.

If there are children in the family, entertainers, magicians or storytellers can make the day really special for them and keep them occupied for hours.  Alternatively, setting up a movie in a cozy cinema room where they can watch some Christmas classics can be a fun family Christmas party idea.  Some of our country manor houses have the perfect cinema room for this such as Auchterarder House in Scotland, Corbalton Hall in Ireland, Farleigh Wallop, Hampshire Place and The Moult in England.

A perfect Christmas Eve family party idea and especially for active families, or those with children, an ice skating day out can be an ideal way to exhaust over excited children before the big day.  Depending on where you are staying, there are several outdoor ice rinks in wonderfully scenic settings to really bring on the Christmas spirit and festive mood.  Start off with a hearty breakfast, wrap up warm in woolly hats, scarves and gloves and then set off to the ice skating venue.  Often, outdoor rinks have hot chocolate stalls and offer festive treats to enjoy and warm up after skating.

Occasionally, some luxury country estate properties might offer private ice skating rinks on their grounds making your stay even more exclusive and fun.  A fun way to stay active and enjoy the outdoors together as a family.

Organising a night of Christmas carols and music is another great way to bring family together and enjoy the festive spirit of Christmas.  You can keep it low key and simple with singing carols around the piano at home or make it much more elaborate and organise a formal music night in a grand setting, perhaps in one of our luxury properties.

Most of these grand houses have the ideal space for hosting a small concert and the onsite staff are able to set everything up for an event such as this.  Perhaps you might like to have local choir members or musicians to perform for you or better still, involve any willing family members.  Provide song books with lyrics so everyone can take part and arrange for mulled wine, cider and Christmas mince pies to be served.  This is a lovely Christmas party idea for families that can be a joyous occasion of tradition and fun, all the while creating lasting memories for everyone present.

This will be one of the most popular ideas for a family Christmas party for those with kids in the family.  Cozy and simple, this is a very easy and fun way to spend a cold and wet afternoon, snuggled up with blankets and cushions, popcorn, hot chocolate and mince pies; dim the lights and prepare for a movie marathon.

With such a plethora of classic Christmas movies to choose from including “Mary Poppins”, “Nanny McPhee” and “Home Alone” there is something for everyone.  Romantic comedies and holiday dramas such as “The Holiday” with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law and “Indiana Jones” with Harrison Ford are all time Greats and a hit with all ages.

Many of our private houses and castles have their very own cinema room which can really add to the whole movie marathon experience.

To really get you in the Christmas spirit, there is nothing better than a trip to see the local Christmas panto with lots of “he’s behind you!” to keep the kids entertained.  The festive period is full of special performances in all the big towns and cities so it should be easy to find something that appeals.  Panto favourites, Allan Stewart, Grant Stott, and Jordan Young appear each year at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh with good old traditional pantomimes such as “Beauty and the Beast”, “Jack in the Beanstalk”, “Aladdin” and “Cinderella”.  These are also performed every year around the country with each performance creating it’s own take on these tales.  An ideal, family friendly, Christmas party idea.

A trip to the panto can always include lunch beforehand at a restaurant to enhance this family Christmas party day out.  After a performance to remember, head back to your private, luxury accommodation for Christmas drinks and a family dinner cooked by the in-house chef.

A Christmas cookery class can be one of the most engaging and fun family Christmas party ideas for ‘foodie’ families.  Our family friendly country manors and stately homes tend to have large, well-equipped kitchens which are ideal for running a cookery class for enthusiastic family members.  Hiring a professional chef to run the class will ensure it all runs smoothly and that lots is learnt.

A fun idea for all the grandchildren would be to learn how to make some festive treats like mince pies, yule logs and gingerbread houses.  Cooking is a perfect way for them all to bond if they haven’t seen each other since the Christmas before and they live in different parts of the world.

Of course, once the cooking is finished, everything that has been cooked and produced can then be enjoyed by the rest of the family.  A great way to combine learning with festivity.

Another super Christmas family party idea, that is suitable for all ages, is a Christmas crafts workshop.  The crafts can be tailored to suit the smallest children through to grandparents.

Our luxury properties have plenty of space to set up a craft station where family members can let their creative juices flow and create anything from Christmas decorations and wreaths to personalised stockings to await Santa Claus.  We can arrange for a professional craft instructor to lead the session, providing all the materials like ribbons, glitter, pinecones, greenery and paints as well as providing guidance and inspiration.  Put on the Christmas music, escape from the real world and just enjoy exploring your creative talents.

This is a really festive way to spend a cozy afternoon indoors and afterwards your creations can be used to enhance the decorations of your luxury Christmas accommodation.

A traditional Christmas Eve family party is a timeless way to welcome in Christmas Day itself.  For the kids, decorating the Christmas tree, opening one small present with siblings and cousins, putting a mince pie, a tot of whiskey and a carrot out for Santa Claus and his reindeer can really get the excitement bubbling.

For the grown ups, sipping champagne and watching the anticipation build with their children and grandchildren can bring so much pleasure.  A formal dinner, followed by Midnight Mass or a walk to see the Christmas lights is a wonderful way to relax and get into the festive spirit.

If you’re staying in one of our luxury properties, they all offer beautiful surroundings for such a gathering with large open fires, beautifully decorated Christmas trees and plenty of room for everyone to celebrate.

One of the best ideas for a family Christmas party is a good old traditional games night.  A little bit of friendly competition can be a healthy way to begin a family vacation with siblings and cousins, parents, grandparents and children.  Anything from a Christmas quiz and classic board games to an in depth scavenger hunt throughout the grounds of a large country house can be a wonderful way to get everyone involved and laughing and joking together.

There are plenty of Christmas themed games that can be included for the younger children in the family such as ‘Pin the nose on Rudolph’, Christmas charades or perhaps decorating a ginger bread house.  Adding a festive twist to whatever games you choose, can be a great way of enjoying a Christmas games night.

If you are hosting the party at a large property, we can make sure that there are rooms set up for different games so that your family can move from room to room and try out the different options.  A wonderful, inclusive Christmas party idea for families that appeals to every age.

The ultimate way to celebrate the festive season and enjoy Christmas as a family, is to spend it together in a very special setting.  Staying in a historic castle, grand estate or a picturesque country house gives you the opportunity to do many or all of these family friendly Christmas party ideas.

Loyd & Townsend Rose specializes in masterminding bespoke, tailor made vacations in the very finest properties in England, Scotland and Ireland.  These properties are family homes and make for the perfect place to host a family Christmas party as they offer exceptional comfort, grandeur, plenty of space and festive spirit.  We take care of all the details so that you can truly relax and enjoy your family; whether it is a private chef for a cookery class or arranging a cultural day out to enjoy Christmas theatre and a guided tour of a local town or city.

We are here to make your dreams come true, so if you’re looking for a very special way to celebrate Christmas with your family, have a look at the range of properties on our website, or give us a call on +44 1835 824642 or email us and we can let you know about the others that are not on the website.

Would you like to turn your family Christmas party into an extraordinary event?  We’ll work with you to create the very best things to do at a Christmas party and tailor your vacation to exactly what you are looking for creating memories that will stay with you forever.  Enjoy looking through our range of properties available for Christmas that are perfect for this and please let us know if we can help you.

Please get in touch with us on + 44 (0) 1835 824642 or info@ltrcastles.com.