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What to Wear to a Casual Christmas Party : Holiday Party Attire

Casual Holiday PartyCasual Holiday PartyCasual Holiday PartyCasual Holiday PartySo, you’ve been invited to a “Christmas Party”, and it’s not a formal affair, in fact, the hosts have noted the dress is going to be “casual” … what do you wear? Well, the first thing to consider is where the party is going to be held. Is it an office Christmas Party? Is it at a friend’s home? Is it at a restaurant or event space? These each would have a bit different “look”.

Across all of these, however, is the recommendation to leave the scary appliqued Christmas sweater in storage … unless the hosts have specified it being an “ugly sweater” party, or if it’s being hosted by the relative who gifted you said sweater in the first place, or if you know that the hosts are the “over the top” holiday kitsch types who’d appreciate something like that!

That being noted, if the party is an office party, and taking place during, or right after office hours, one is somewhat limited to outfits that would work for the office setting (although it’s not unusual for businesses to relax their dress codes on days with in-house celebrations). One might substitute a cream blouse for a “Christmas Red” (or green), top, with perhaps some subtle holiday-themed accessory (a pin or earrings). Guys can opt for a Christmas themed tie (if not too horrible), or even that seldom-worn red blazer … but generally speaking, keeping to “modified” business casual.

If the party is at a friend’s or relative’s house, you’ll know best what sort of holiday enthusiasm the hosts tend to exhibit. Some may be a “trim of holly around the fireplace” type, and some may have “animated Santas” all over the place. If going to the former, perhaps keeping to a “Victorian” sensibility – black skirt or pants with a nice white top and a tasteful holiday accent (a enameled wreath brooch, or the like), would fit with the toned-down Christmas theme, while still giving a nod to the theme of the event. If going to the latter … OK, that one might be good for the scary sweater.

In between there’s a whole array of possibilities. Most style suggestions run towards letting out the bright holiday colors, those greens and reds that might be a bit loud for most settings would fit in at this time of year. Also popular are white and silver/gold combinations, evocative of glimmering snowscapes. There are numerous ways to work in holiday accents (without resorting to antler headgear), from brightly colored pocket squares and ties, to Christmas-themed scarfs, little Christmas tree earrings, and similar accessories.

Now, if the event is being held at a restaurant or a function space at a hotel, you need to take the general atmosphere of the location into consideration. While “casual” will generally rule out jeans, sweatshirts, and sneakers, those would definitely be out of place at a hosted event, so starting with business casual is a good baseline. However, the “business” part would be less focused, so instead of that power suit, going with a sport coat or blazer over slacks would work, and bringing in some holiday look with colors, accessories, etc.

As always, it never hurts to touch base with your hosts to make sure how they’re anticipating the guests will be dressed … after all, if it IS an “ugly sweater” party, you don’t want to be the one person in the crowd dressed for a night at a nice restaurant!

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