Christmas party 8-18:  For my 13 birthday i wanted to do something different then anyone else.  My birthday is in February, but i held it in December.  Here are some ideas i came up with. INVITATIONS: I used Microsoft Word to create them. I used swirly text and wrote...You're invited to XXXX Christmas Party! The party has just begun, so come and celebrate birthday fun!  Don't let Santa put you on the naughty list!  The celebration is too amazing to miss!  So come in the colors red, green and white, and look for the house with the Christmas lights! This was followed with the regular party information and a cute snowman at the bottom.  I found some Christmas ribbon at the dollar store that had santa on it. I rolled the invitations and wrapped the ribbon around them. DECORATIONS: This is always my favorite part! At our mall we have a glamour shots store which was very convenient. I went there and got a makeover and had some pictures taken with me holding a candy cane, wearing a santa hat, etc.  They turned out great and it was really cheap!  If you cant find a Glamour Shots place, you can use a digital camera and make your own. I took the pictures and blew them up to poster size. I hung these in the two rooms that people would be in and I put some on the walls in the backyard. My party was at night so I had to have a light shining on them so you could see them well.  Tiki torchs would work also.  I also had a poster of me on an easel at the front door with a sharpie so people could sign it.  Since it was Christmas themed I didn't have to buy alot of decorations. I setup our synthetic Christmas tree by the door and covered it with ribbon (dont use ornaments cause they could break).  Then I wrapped some different sized boxes and decorated them nicely and set these under the tree for the full effect.  I have a pool table in the dining room area so i covered it in a white sheet and covered it in glitter. When people came in they set their presents on it which was great since it was right when you walked in. I put up Christmas lights on the front of the house and put more posters on the garage doors.  I also put them in the backyard on the patio cover which looked awesome.  I took crepe streamers and let the hang from the ceiling in entry room (we call it the pool room since the pool table is in there and the room is so big).  I have a pingpong table in the backyard and i covered that in a sheet and put the food on it.  I included some peppermint candles which gave off a great scent. I bought some 3-d stars from shindigz.com and put them all over the party rooms.  I played Christmas carols over the radio and had Elf playing on the TV in the Living room / kitchen.  FOOD: I always get pizza for all my parties because everyone always seems to like it. Other than pizza, i wanted foods that related to the theme.  I had sugar cookies on the kitchen counter so kids could decorate them with icing. I put bowls of marshmallows on the backyard table, with oreos, milk, and white chocolate cover pretzels.  Another great touch was that I bought a Chocolate fountain from Walmart and filled it with white chocolate.  Everyone loved dipping fruit, pretzels, and cake in it!  ACTIVITIES: I have a pool so the main activitie was swimming and going in the jacuzi. Other than that, I took one of my Glamour posters and pasted it on the wall. I had a candy cane in my hand so we played our own version of pin the tail on the donkey. Each kid got only one chance to pin the candy cane to my hand.  We played another game called Dig in the Snow.  This game was really easy to set up. I put a piece of gum at the bottom of a giant platter of whipped cream.  You had to find the bubble gum with no hands and blow a bubble, first to do it wins!  I made up a Q & A quiz about me, the person who got the most right won. HELPERS: I had my little brother, who is 7, stand at the door in a tuxedo with a list and a velvet rope blocking off the door. He was to only let people in that were on the list.  I had alot of 8th grade crashers that tried to get in but I had my older brother, who is 16 and a sophmore, stand behind him my younger brother.  It was hilarious because my older brother was wearing a shirt the said BOUNCER. I had my next door neighbor and her friend, who are 8, wear elf costumes and show people wear to go and what to do.  Of course there were a couple of adults around in case something went wrong, but nothing did. OTHER: When I opened presents, the elves ushered the kids into the pool room. They removed the fake presents and placed the real presents under the tree.  Once everyone was silent, the elves told me I could come into the room. I slunk into the room with my hair messed up, pajamas on, and a teddy bear under my arm.  I pretended it was Christmas morning! Everyone was cracking up!  I made sure not to break character and finished opening my presents.  The last thing we did was have cake. My mom decorated a yellow cake with white frosting and 'melting snowmen'. This was a birthday I will never forget because people still talk about it!!!