Guides
Friendsmas: ideas for hosting Christmas with your friends
By the Unveil team · Published November 5, 2026
Food safety and holiday decorating guidance checked November 2026.
Friendsmas is a Christmas celebration with your friends instead of your family, usually held a week or two before the 25th so everyone can still go home for the real thing. Wiktionary lists it as an informal blend of "friends" and "Christmas", and pairs it with Friendsgiving, the November version.
The ideas that work best: a potluck Christmas dinner where everyone brings one dish, a gift swap such as Secret Santa or a white elephant, a cookie decorating afternoon, a Christmas jumper party, a pajama brunch with a film, or a night out at a Christmas market or an ice rink followed by food at someone's flat. Most Friendsmas parties combine a meal with one of the others.
Settle the date first, because December weekends fill up quickly. Then decide who hosts, who cooks what, and the rules for the gifts. The rest of this guide goes through each of those, with games, themes, decorations, and a way to get everyone's photos into one album.
Friendsmas ideas at a glance
| Idea | Group size | Work for the host | Cost per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Potluck Christmas dinner | 6 to 16 | Medium, shared | Low |
| Pajama brunch and a Christmas film | 4 to 10 | Low | Low |
| Cookie decorating or a bake swap | 4 to 12 | Medium | Low |
| Christmas jumper party | 10 to 30 | Medium | Low |
| Christmas market or ice skating, then food | Any | Low | Medium |
| Restaurant dinner with a gift swap | 6 to 14 | Low | Medium to high |
| A rented cabin for the weekend | 6 to 12 | High, shared | High |
Suggested formats. The group sizes are what fits in an ordinary flat or house, and costs depend on your city and how much the group wants to spend.
When to hold it
In 2026 Christmas Day falls on a Friday, so the Saturdays before it are the 5th, 12th and 19th of December. The 12th is the safest choice for most groups. The 19th is the last weekend before Christmas, and by then a good number of people will already be travelling to their families or busy with their own work parties. The 5th suits a group with a lot of December birthdays or weddings to work around.
Ask the group for dates before you announce one. A quick poll in the group chat with three possible days settles it in an evening, and people commit more readily to a date they chose. Send the details once the date is fixed: time, address, what to bring, the gift rules and whether partners are invited.
Some groups hold Friendsmas between Christmas and New Year instead, when everyone is back in town and bored of their relatives. That works well for friends who grew up in the same place and all go home for the holidays.
Friendsmas ideas, by type
Pick one main idea and add a gift swap or a game to it. A dinner, a swap and a film is a full evening; trying to fit in a market trip as well usually means rushing all of them.
A potluck Christmas dinner
This is the classic Friendsmas, and the fairest one. The host cooks the main dish, usually a turkey, a ham, a big roast or a vegetarian centrepiece, and everyone else brings something from a list: roast potatoes, a green vegetable, stuffing, a salad, bread, dessert, drinks. Share the list in a document or the group chat and let people claim a dish, so you do not end up with four trifles and no potatoes.
Lay the table properly, even if the plates do not match. Crackers, candles and paper hats turn a normal dinner into a Christmas one for very little money.
A pajama brunch
A Christmas morning with your friends instead of your family: everyone arrives in pajamas at eleven, the host makes pancakes or a tray of bacon and eggs, and someone brings a bottle of fizz and orange juice. Open the gift swap on the sofa and put a Christmas film on afterwards. It costs less than a dinner, suits friends with young children, and leaves the evening free.
A Christmas jumper party
For a bigger group, a party in the evening with drinks, food that people can eat standing up and a vote for the worst jumper. Set a rule that the jumper must be worn all evening, give a prize that is as bad as the winning jumper, and keep a box of spare Santa hats for anyone who arrives without one.
Going out first
Not every Friendsmas has to happen in someone's living room. An ice rink, a Christmas market, a carol service or a winter light trail gets everyone outside for an hour or two, and the host only has to provide soup, chilli or a pot of mulled wine for when you all get back. Book ice skating slots ahead; December weekends sell out.
A weekend away
A group that can afford it can rent a cabin or a large house for two nights. Split the cooking by meal, so each pair or couple does one breakfast or one dinner, and the weekend has room for a long walk, a big dinner on the Saturday and the gift swap by the fire.
Every friend shoots the night on their own phone. Nobody sees the photos until the morning you choose.
How to run the gift swap
Buying a present for every friend gets expensive fast, so most groups run a swap where each person buys one gift. Agree the price limit in writing, and keep it low enough that nobody has to think twice. Ask everyone to wrap their gift before they arrive.
Secret Santa means drawing names a few weeks ahead, so each person buys for one other person. It gives the most thoughtful gifts. If your group lives in different places, a free name-drawing website or app saves you from drawing names out of a hat over a video call, and lets people add a wish list.
A white elephant swap, also called a Yankee swap, needs no planning in advance. Everyone brings one wrapped gift and draws a number. Person one opens a gift from the pile. Each person after that can either open a new gift or steal one that has already been opened, and anyone who has a gift stolen picks again. Most groups cap it at three steals per gift so the game ends. It is the loudest half hour of the evening.
Themed swaps work well for friends who already have everything: a book swap, a swap of the strangest thing you can find for under the limit, or a regifting swap where everything has to come from your own cupboards.
Friendsmas games
Games with friends can be more personal than games at a work party, because the group knows each other's stories.
A quiz about the group's year is the best of them. One person writes a few rounds about things only your friends would know: who went where on holiday, who changed job, the best line from the group chat. Mix in a round on Christmas songs and one on Christmas films.
Who said it is a fast version of the same thing. Copy ten lines from the year's group chat, read them out, and let people guess who sent each one. Check with the people concerned before you include anything embarrassing.
Christmas film charades, a Pictionary round of Christmas songs, or a blind taste test of supermarket mince pies or panettone fill the gap between dinner and dessert.
A photo challenge works at any size of party. Write a short list of prompts, such as the worst jumper, the whole group in one frame, someone mid-laugh and the host finally sitting down, and look at the results together later. Our photo scavenger hunt guide was written for weddings, and its prompt lists adapt easily to a Christmas party.
Friendsmas theme ideas
| Theme | What it means | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Ugly Christmas jumpers | A vote and a bad prize for the worst one | Evening parties |
| Christmas pajamas | Matching or clashing pajamas, blankets, a film | Brunches and small groups |
| A favourite Christmas film | Everyone comes as a character from one film | Groups who like dressing up |
| Christmas around the world | Each guest brings a dish from a country's Christmas | Potluck dinners |
| Red and green dress code | Anything in the two colours, sequins welcome | Any party |
| A cosy cabin night | Plaid, candles, fondue and board games | Small groups in winter |
Themes are optional. Keep the dress code to something people can put together from their own wardrobe.
Food and drink
A potluck dinner is the easiest way to feed a group, but it needs a list. Split it by course and make sure somebody brings the vegetables, since that is the dish nobody volunteers for. Ask about allergies and dietary needs in the same message as the date, and label dishes that contain nuts.
Food sits out for a long time at a party, especially when the gift swap runs long. The CDC says to never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F, and it counts meat, seafood, dairy, cut fruit, some vegetables and cooked leftovers as perishable. Bring dishes out in smaller batches and put leftovers in the fridge once everyone has eaten. If you eat outside on a hot day, as in an Australian December, the 1-hour limit applies once it is above 90°F (32°C).
For drinks, a pot of mulled wine or a jug of one cocktail is less work than a full bar. Make an alcohol-free version too, such as a hot spiced apple juice or a cranberry and ginger fizz, for drivers and anyone not drinking.
Decorations, candles and lights
Friendsmas decorations do not have to be new. A string of fairy lights, candles, a few branches of greenery from outside and the host's tree are enough. Paper chains or a table of crackers and hats can be made or bought cheaply, and a printed "Merry Friendsmas" banner or sign by the door is a nice touch for the photos.
Candles and lights are where a December party can go wrong. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission advises never leaving candles unattended, keeping burning candles in sight and away from flammable items, putting them out before leaving the room, and using flameless candles whenever possible. A crowded room with coats on every chair is a good reason to use flameless ones. The CPSC also says to water live Christmas trees, and to never string together more than three sets of incandescent lights or overload electrical outlets.
Getting everyone's photos
Everyone takes photos at Friendsmas, and they end up scattered across a dozen phones. A few go into the group chat during the evening, most never leave the camera roll, and the host, who was in the kitchen, has hardly any.
A shared camera collects them in one place. Unveil is ours: guests scan a code and shoot on their own phones, and every photo goes into one album that stays locked for everyone, the host included, until the time you set. The parties setup gives each guest five shots, keeps the camera open for eight hours and covers up to 25 guests, and you can change all of it. Five shots makes people choose: the table before anyone eats, the moment someone steals the best gift, the whole group in the hallway at the end.
Then choose when the album opens. The next morning works for any party. For a Friendsmas a week or two before Christmas there is a better option: the unlock can be scheduled days later, so you can set it for Christmas morning and the photos arrive on everyone's phone while they are with their families. If you would rather not compete with presents, Boxing Day is the quieter choice.
An event is free for up to 10 guests, which covers most Friendsmas dinners, then $4.99 for 25 and $14.99 for 50 (US pricing), paid once. You can create the event in your browser or in the app. If the same group is together again on the 31st, the New Year's Eve party ideas guide plans that night, and for a party with colleagues rather than friends, see the work Christmas party ideas.
Friendsmas checklist
- A date chosen with the group, ideally the second weekend of December
- Invitations with the time, the address and what to bring
- A potluck list split by course, with allergies asked about
- Gift swap rules and a price limit sent in writing
- A game or a quiz for after dinner
- An alcohol-free drink alongside the mulled wine
- Flameless candles, or real ones kept in sight
- A shared camera, with the album set to open on Christmas morning
Questions people ask
A Christmas celebration with your friends rather than your family. Wiktionary describes it as an informal blend of "friends" and "Christmas", and it is the December version of Friendsgiving. It usually means a shared meal, a gift swap and a party, held before people leave to spend Christmas with their families.
Most groups pick a weekend in early or mid December, before people travel. In 2026 Christmas Day is a Friday, so Saturday 12 December is a good choice. Some groups meet between Christmas and New Year instead, when everyone is home.
Eat together, usually a potluck Christmas dinner or a brunch, run a gift swap such as Secret Santa or a white elephant, and play a game or two. Cookie decorating, a Christmas jumper vote, a Christmas film and an outing to an ice rink or a Christmas market are other popular choices.
The host usually makes the main dish and guests bring sides, dessert and drinks from a shared list. Keep perishable food out for no more than two hours, which is the CDC's limit, or one hour if it is above 90°F.
Whatever the group agrees, as long as everyone agrees it in advance. Most groups set one limit for a single swap gift instead of buying for everyone, and write it down so nobody arrives with something much bigger or smaller than the rest.
Use a shared camera that everyone joins with a code. Every photo goes into one album, and you can set it to open the next morning or on Christmas Day so everyone sees it at the same time.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Friendsmas — accessed November 5, 2026
- CDC: Preventing Food Poisoning — accessed November 5, 2026
- US Consumer Product Safety Commission: Holiday Safety — accessed November 5, 2026