From Themes to Ideas, Here’s How to Plan a Winter Engagement Party
The summer holidays are over, and we’ve past Labor Day long weekend. Thanksgiving and the festive season are on the horizon, but if you haven’t yet shared or reveled in your engagement, why not create a celebration of your own? Sure, the warmer months may be a more obvious choice when it comes to hosting a party, but with these engagement party themes for winter, it’s possible to create something truly magical.
WHAT IS A WINTER ENGAGEMENT PARTY?
Ideally, an engagement party comes soon after the engagement itself—while the news is still fresh or, in some cases, not even fully out there yet. However, thanks to things like the global pandemic, travel restrictions and our busy schedules, delays happen, and in this day and age, any reason to celebrate is a welcome occasion. A winter engagement party is exactly that: a gathering to revel in two people coming together before their actual nuptials. As with any celebration, food, drinks, and some form of entertainment—a band, games, lots of socializing—are a must.
ENGAGEMENT PARTY THEMES FOR WINTER
Ready to start planning your winter-themed engagement party? Here are five ideas to consider.
1) Winter Wonderland
There’s something magical about a pine tree forest, with gorgeous, delicate snowflakes and tree branches drooping under the weight of snow, that makes for a fun winter engagement party theme. Add to the atmosphere by serving mulled wine or spiced apple cider and consider playing a game of winter-themed charades to keep your guests entertained.
2) English Countryside
Similar to a winter wonderland engagement party theme, there’s plenty to embrace and bring to life if you go with a classic English countryside motif. Hang colourful bunting to decorate your space and serve cocktails in porcelain teacups, finger sandwiches, Scotch eggs, scones with cream and jam, mini Eton mess cups, and other delicious British desserts.
3) Festive Season
Depending how close your celebration is to Christmas and Hanukkah, you might want to consider a winter themed engagement party that homes in on these global occasions. Keep things contemporary and classy by decorating with baubles in metallic shades or even unexpected navy and blues, or go for a more traditional vibe with burgundy, cream and forest green. Of course, you can up the ante on your theme even further by playing a Christmas carol playlist and serving spiked egg nog.
4) Alpine Adventure
If you’re like a more casual, cozy take on a winter themed engagement party, why not try a ski-themed event? This is a particularly great idea if mountain sports are important to you as a couple or you’ve been skiing together; or if the local ski resort or mountains have played a significant role in your time spent together as a couple. For fun and games, host a ring hunt, which is just like an Easter egg hunt, but with engagement rings! Hide them in the fireplace, under a snow shovel, inside your ski boots, woven into the latticework of a pair of snowshoes… the possibilities are endless.
5) Something Unexpected: A Tropical Vacation
What better idea than to host your engagement party after the holidays, when everyone is craving a respite from the January blues and really needs something to look forward to? Want to take the idea even further? Make it the tropical vacation your guests wished they were on! Sure, wallets may be a little thinner after the festive period, but everyone has a summer dress they’ll be happy to pull on, and who doesn’t love a party with ice cream and piña coladas with cocktail umbrellas in them?
WHICH ENGAGEMENT PARTY THEME IS MOST SUITABLE FOR YOU?
Hopefully, you’re ready to start planning your winter engagement party: perhaps there’s been a theme that’s really resonated with you, or perhaps something has spurred on some ideas of your own.
So how to decide which theme to go with? There’s plenty to consider: your budget, you and your partner’s personal story, your history as a couple, whether you have any preferences for food and drinks to serve (and if and how you’ll make it happen), what types of games or entertainment you’d like to offer, and, of course, what type of winter engagement party you and your guests will enjoy.