One of our favorite holiday party themes for Chicago Christmas parties, the Candyland holiday party theme is fun, flavorful and very spirited. Choose to go all out Candyland (utilizing all types of candy), make it a chocolate factory holiday party (with all things chocolate) or focus on an even smaller family of sweets (like cookies, pastries or cupcakes).
Chicago Candyland Christmas Menu Ideas
One of the best parts of this theme is that you can serve just about any hors d’oeuvres, salads and entrées and they will all still pair well. The main focus for the menu should be great tasting food served in a manner that fits with your venue, guest count and level of dress.
Hors d’oeuvres
- Goat cheese and grape truffles
- Green chile pork sope
- Chicken and waffle bites
- Braised short rib tart with bleu cheese and dried fig
- Sweet potato bites
Salads
- Winter salad
- Beet salad with goat cheese
- Endive and pear salad
Entrees
- Roasted pork loin
- London broil marinated roasted sirloin
- Baked spinach rotolo
Sides
- Brussel sprouts medley
- Broccoli gratin
- Dried fruit wild rice pilaf
Candyland Holiday Party Dessert Ideas
Talk about options. There are so many different ways to pull off a Candyland or chocolate factory Christmas party. Here are some suggestions on how your venue can offer up the most important part of the evening: the treats.
- Create a single, elaborate sweets table. The secret to a really great sweets table is two-fold. First, you will need some sort of color coordination. All chocolate is a great option. You could also choose one or two complementary colors and provide any type of sweet or treat in those two colors. Secondly, you will need great presentation. One of the keys to this is using vertical space. Add dimension to the table by using serving platters and towers of varying heights to draw the eye to the many levels of your Candyland focal display.
- Adorn each table with a miniature sweets display. Instead of having one grand table, incorporate sweets into the décor, and most importantly into the centerpieces of each table. You can use mason jars or other types of candy containers and sweets trays of varying heights to add dimension.
Candyland Holiday Party Drink Ideas
Themed cocktails are always a hit at holiday parties. Each of these cocktails (and more) are available in our Special Events Holiday Menu thanks to our Tasty Catering bartender. Learn more about each of these cocktails on page 4 of the menu.
- S’mores cocktail
- Caramel apple martini
- Peppermint martini
- Citrus negroni
- Mistletoe cocktail
Christmas Candyland Décor Ideas
Whatever your color scheme, incorporate those colored candies and sweets into the décor. Here are some ways to build candy into the decorations and theme of your event:
- Candy trees
- Candy cane Christmas trees
- Vases filled with color-coded candy
- Candy-filled mason jars
- Cupcake towers
- Oversized lollipops
- Gingerbread houses and villages
- Candy sleighs
- Gumdrop stars
- Candy cane place card holders
Chocolate Factory Entertainment Ideas
The best events and parties have really interactive and fun games and entertainment. Here are some truly easy-to-implement games to incorporate into your Candyland holiday party.
- Cookie decorating
- Gingerbread house making
- Picking up mini Marshmallows with chopsticks
- Finding hidden candy canes throughout the room
- Marshmallow/fruit decorating (and eating) with a chocolate fountain
- Ornament decorating
- Wine tasting
- Minute-to-win-it games
