12 Days of Christmas Party Ideas and Fun (2nd Year)
This year at school, we held our 2nd annual 12 Days of Christmas, and we had such a great time doing it. If you need fun ideas for a party or event, you are sure to find something here.
Last year at Christmas we started our first ever 12 Days of Christmas at work. We had so much fun doing it that we made it an annual event instead of buying small gifts for everyone. Besides giving gifts, we had tried secret Santa and had talked about doing a White Elephant exchange, but this is such a fun way to celebrate that we decided to continue with our Twelve Days of Christmas.
When I say you don’t want to miss it, I am not exaggerating. One day I was not feeling well, but I drug myself to school anyway, because of Fear of Missing Out!
This year we increased our participation from 13 to now 18 people. We ended up doubling up on some days, but that worked out great too. There were times that 2 people went in and worked together, and other times one person brought something in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Both ways, we were all blessed, and it was a great way to build team morale!
12 Days of Christmas Basics
- Make sure it is open for the whole team, but participation is optional.
- Decide on a date for the starting point of the fun activities.
- Draw numbers (dates) to see when you bring your favorite holiday treats to share.
- Find an area to set everything up each day (break room, extra office, etc.)
- Make some sort of backdrop or put up Christmas decorations in the serving area.
12 Days of Christmas Rules
- Do not bring extra gifts in addition to your treat – the treat is your gift.
- Do not make an entire meal. This is simply a nice treat to enjoy.
- Have fun!
Things could be as simple or as elaborate as people wanted. As we mentioned ahead of time, everyone would be thrilled just to have Little Debbie snacks on a tray. No one chose to do that, but it would have been fine if they would have.
Like I mentioned earlier, if you are looking for ideas for upcoming Christmas events or parties, there is such a wide variety here, that you are sure to find something. Let’s take a look!
2nd Annual 12 Days of Christmas Ideas and Fun
Day 1
On the first day of Christmas Dr. Stewart brought to us…
Donuts for breakfast
A white queso dip with sausage, along with chips.
Not pictured was the Grinch Punch.
We ended up eating all day long! This was a preview of what the rest of our time before the break was going to be like. Food, food, and more food – all delicious!
Day 2
On the second day of Christmas Dr. Russler brought to us…
Grinch Dip – This was a very cute green dip with sprinkles.
Peppermint Mocha Dessert Dip – The mint was just the right amount, and there were crushed candy canes on the top.
A variety of cookies and crackers along with two different dips.
Both of these dips were delicious. They were different and yet familiar. We all had debates over the ingredients throughout the morning.
When she shared the recipes, we found that we were all partially correct. See the links to her recipes above.
Day 3
On the third day of Christmas Suzi and Dr. Baird brought to us…
- Suzi – Pan Dulce with Chocolate Abuelita (Sweet bread and Grandma’s Hot Chocolate)
Chocolate Abuelita Ingredients
2. Dr. Baird – Buffalo Dip and Chips
Buffalo Dip Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix all the ingredients together (except ½ cup of the cheese).
- Pour the mixture into a 9×9 pan.
- Cover with remaining cheese, and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- You can also use a crockpot instead.
Like I mentioned before, I hated to miss a day of our 12 Days of Christmas, however, I had to miss day 3. Everything sounded wonderful though. I will have to give the recipes a try myself.
Day 4
On the fourth day of Christmas Mrs. Wilburn and Mrs. Clark brought to us…
A Variety of Dips with Chips and Breads – A Dip Spread!
Dips are one of my favorite things, so you know I tried everyone of these. I do not have recipes yet, but I will try to get them and add them to the post later.
I will tell you that Mrs. Clark’s son, Mr. Pitt made a delicious Crawfish dip. By the time I finally made my way to it (It was a busy morning at school that day.) it was almost gone. I am glad I didn’t miss it!
Day 5
On the fifth day of Christmas I brought to them…
A Snowy Gingerbread House Village. I am going to make some of these with the girls over the Christmas time break. It was a lot of fun. If you want to make these, here is an affiliate link for the Gingerbread Village Cake Pan.
Day 6
On the sixth day of Christmas Ms. Tarver and Ms. Perez brought to us,,,
Breakfast Quiche
Reindeer Punch
Lasagna Soup and Charcuterie Trays
Closer to the end of the day, they delivered a little snack of “Reindeer Poop” to each of us!
We literally ate all day on day 6! All of it was delicious, but I had never had Lasagna Soup before, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! She found the recipe on TikTok – Search for Lasagna Soup.
Day 7
On the seventh day of Christmas Mrs. Hood and Ms. Svatek brought to us…
An entire breakfast spread!
One of the things I love most at Chick-Fil-A is their Chicken Minis! There were plenty of those as well as fresh fruits and juice.
The two trays of food on the left were filled with the most delicious sausage crescent rolls. The sausage was in a cream cheese mixture and the crescent roll wrapped around it. Delicious!
I did not get this specific recipe, but I got the same thing in a casserole version. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a pot or skillet on medium to high heat, brown the sausage, once cooked through, drain and return to the pot.
- Add the cream cheese, melt, and stir to combine.
- In a 9 x 11 baking dish, lay one 8 oz crescent roll can across the bottom
- Pour the sausage + cream cheese mixture on top of the crescent roll layer.
- Lay the second 8 oz crescent roll can across the top.
- Bake on 350-400 for 30 minutes or until golden and brown.
Day 8
On the eighth day of Christmas Mrs. Vega and Ms. Luna brought to us…
Sausage Balls, Cake, and A Popcorn Bar with all kinds of extras!
There were so many choices on this table – Sweet, Savory, and everything in between! It is always a good thing to add sweet treats to your popcorn!
Day 9
On the ninth day of Christmas Mrs. Just and Mrs. Allen-Hawkins brought to us…
Part 1
Mrs. Just – Mrs. Just is becoming famous for her homemade decorated cookies (at least around the school). They are beautiful and delicious. Those are the trees you see in the background.
She also brought a homemade Kentucky Caramel Butter Cake and her mom’s recipe for homemade cinnamon rolls. All of these sweet treats were speaking my love language!
Part 2
Mrs. Allen-Hawkins – Lunch was provided this day with a full Bake Potato Bar! she brought all of the toppings you could imagine, including some BBQ to go on the top if you wanted.
Not that I was hungry at the end of the day or anything, but I stopped back by the food table and noticed one of the cookies that was still there. I had to take a quick picture for “Home With Grace and JOY!”
Day 10
On the tenth day of Christmas Ms. Foster brought to us…
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pinwheels. Reindeer Chow, and Lumps of Coal!
All of this was delicious, but the Lumps of Coal were the talk of the office. We are all going to definitely have to get that recipe. It was very different but wonderful!
Day 11
On the eleventh day of Christmas Mrs. Hill brought to us…
Calientitos/Ponche (Christmas Punch) – This hot drink was exactly what I needed on this day. This was the day I drug myself to the office while not feeling too well so I wouldn’t miss it.
Homemade Tamales that were delicious!
Bunelos
Mrs. Hill is so good about sharing part of her culture, even down to the plates and napkins. They were adorable!
Day 12
On the twelfth day of Christmas Ms. Cherry and Ms. Benjamin brought to us…
Part 1
A beautiful fruit and dessert tray, along with the cutest charcuterie picks. They were also very tasty. We had been eating all morning, but for some reason, I couldn’t stay away from the cheese and meat picks.
Part 2
We found out that Ms. Benjamin was from Louisiana. She made homemade Gumbo. We did not have students on this last day, so we were able to all sit down together and enjoy this for lunch.
Part 3
Just like last year, Ms. Cherry wanted to do something special. She had a variety of gift sacks with different items in each one. We drew a number, and she handed us a bag. I hit the jackpot! 🥳 I actually used my Starbucks gift card today!
Other Celebrations and Parties
We had a few other food parties and celebrations on the last two days of school. If you need ideas for a party or an event or just different appetizers, here are more ideas.
In addition to our 12 Days of Christmas annual office party, we also had:
- Breakfast Burritos and Coffee served by the chefs in the Culinary Arts Dept.
- A School-wide Sandwich luncheon
- Students bringing donuts around to us
- Hot Chocolate Bar – For our office aides on the last day (Pictured below)
- A Surprise Rolling Ice Cream Cart for Mrs. Vega’s birthday which is over the Christmas break.
- Door decorating contest (The panel of judges were from Central Office to make it fair.)
- Ugliest Christmas Sweater Contest
There was a lot of celebrating in the month of December, and that was just at school!
I am sure we all gained a few pounds over the last 12 days at school, but the quality time we shared with each other made it worth it. Our staff members are truly like family members, which may be a rare thing these days.
I hope something in this fun activity from our 12 Days of Christmas has inspired you in some way. Turn on some Christmas music and use some of the fun activities, ideas and recipes that were shared. It is the perfect time for a fun Christmas party.
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Related Posts
Fun Party Ideas with Simple Party Foods
How to Make the Creamiest White Mint Hot Chocolate
What kind of parties or activities have you experienced this year? Please share in the comments. Everyone I work with will already be thinking about next year. Share your ideas please!
Until next week,
Merry Christmas, and…
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“Let the whole earth shout to the Lord; be jubilant, shout for joy, and sing.” Psalms 98:4
