Down Under Christmas Party

As you may know, I grew up in the southern hemisphere, in New Zealand. When I moved to Portland, I had to get used to celebrating Christmas with things like snow and sweaters! While I love all of the coziness of Christmases up north, I have to admit that sometimes I really do miss the warm beach BBQ Christmas traditions I grew up with down under. That’s why this year I decided to try to share some of those warm beach vibes with my kids by creating a Down Under Christmas Party! 

P.S. I got most of my supplies at Oriental Trading, but check out my Amazon Shop and my LTK post for supplies for this party!

How to Set up a Down Under Christmas Party

As an OTC blogger, I received compensation and/or products in exchange for my styling and crafting services. As always, all project ideas and any opinions expressed here are my own.  For further information on our disclosure policy please check out our disclosure page.

Table Setting

A Down Under Christmas requires a bright tropical color scheme! I set up my table with a bright striped runner that matched the fun Luau Santa plates and napkins I used at each place setting. I served meringues and fresh fruit, which were reminiscent of the Pavlova dessert we used to eat every Christmas back home. 

For my centerpiece, I created a tropical Christmas “tree” out of a pineapple. I simply added string lights and a starfish topper to it. I also used starfish to create the cutest little DIY Beach Starfish Place Cards for each place setting. Get the details for how to make your own HERE.

Kid’s Table

One of my favorite things about parties when I was younger was getting to sit at the kids’ table with my cousins. It felt so special having our own space, away from the “boring” grownups, where we could have our own fun! I definitely wanted to recreate that for my own kids, so for this Down Under Christmas Party I set up a kids table that just screamed tropical fun. 

The table was low, with comfy pillows to sit on and Chrissy Koala stuffed animals for each kid to snuggle with. I hung a giant Surfin’ Santa mural, and used a smaller version in cutout form as a table centerpiece. Each place setting had a fun tropical gingerbread person place card, and napkins featuring flamingos wearing Santa hats. The kids each got candy canes, and their sticker scene placemats doubled as an entertaining activity.

To be completely honest I kind of wished I could sit at the kids’ table at this party!

Down Under Christmas DIY Decorations

The final touch was to add a super fun Christmas “tree” made out of beach balls next to the table. Find out how to create a DIY Beach Ball Christmas Tree HERE.

Many people in colder climates set up snowy village scenes as Christmas decor. To put a tropical twist on that idea, I created adorable DIY Christmas Surf Shacks! They, along with more beach balls, leis, and “Happy Huladays” decorations, made my fireplace mantle pop with bright beachy color. The instructions for creating your own DIY Christmas Surf Shacks can be found HERE.

No matter where you are or what the weather is doing outside, you will feel like you are basking in the warm sun with your toes in the sand, wishing everyone a “Merry Chrissy, Mate!” at this Down Under Christmas Party. Get all of the additional party and DIY details, including how I set up my tropical bar cart and how I decorated my Christmas tree over on Fun365 at Oriental Trading. Everything you need to See It, Shop It and Make It with the click of a button! I hope you enjoy all the DIY’s and ideas as much as I enjoyed creating them.

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