A sand sculpture by artist Sudarshan Patnaik attracts tourists on Xmas eve on Puri’s beach. Picture by Sarat Patra

Loosen your purse strings

Fix a budget — Rs 5,000 is good enough for a group of 15 people, provided you keep alcohol out of the equation. But if you are feeling generous, bring on the wine! Sprint to the local market for basic decorative items and drop by at a bakery to pick the quintessential. Buy a glittery Xmas tree from any gift shop.

Quick invites

Will it be a family get-together? Or close friends, or colleagues from work? Finalise the list and call them up as soon as you can, asking them to drop all plans for the evening and head straight to your place. Give them a dress code to fun up your party. Do ask about their food preferences, especially if the guest list has fussy kids.

Where’s the party?

Rooftop parties are fancy. And the weather’s just perfect. But if you fear your guests would be a little too noisy and the banter would bother your neighbour or that one of you might do a Viru act after downing a few pegs, arrange a casual gathering in your living space. That way, you can play loud music and dance till you drop. Or maybe, if you have a backyard, why not have a

BBQ bash where everyone puts their culinary skills to test? Just arrange for some extra chairs if there are too many guests.

Get dressy

Says ace fashion designer Manas Dash, “Since the party is at home, women can take liberty of wearing something out-of-the-box and given the prevailing temperature, one also need not cover themselves head to toe. Women should go for peplum tops in soothing colours like purple or olive green. Men can wear jeans or formals but not chinos and their highlight item should be a sweater with a nice motif on it. They can also go for high neck T-shirts.”

Munch on

Begin the day with a nostalgia-tinted visit to Cookies Premium, Confetti, Mamma Mia, Cream and Spicy, Brown and Cream in Bhubaneswar that offer four classics — plum cake, fruit cake, cookies and chocolates - from 8am to 9pm. Order sumptuous bites of Italian at Bling it On (The New Marrion), Indian at Tangerine9 or Chinese delicacies at Silver Streak or Confucious. Or gorge on Mughlai at Mirch Masala (The New Marrion). Want to give it a personal touch? Prepare some finger foods like tikkas, French fries, bruschettas or that go well with alcohol. It might be difficult to find a caterer at the last minute but hey, there’s no problem trying, is there?

Tippler tip

Wine connoisseur Satyanarayan Mohapatra knows a great deal about what to serve and to whom. “High quality brandy for kids and teenagers, triple filtered vodka for ladies and single malt or blended malt whisky for gentlemen. In wine, one should ideally go for red and dessert (sweet) wine,” he suggests

Booty shake

Christmas is all about carols but nothing beats Bolly tracks! “During a festive occasion, nobody likes to experiment. Stick to the basics and play remixed retro songs and popular Hindi movie tracks,” says DJ Ravi of Cellar, Mayfair. Peppy numbers like Lungi dance, Badtameez dil, Balam pichkari, Dilliwali girlfriend, Gandi baat, Tamenche pe disco, Party all night, Party on my mind, Shake that tooh and Tattad Tattad are must-haves on your playlist.

Get filmy

If your guests happen to be cine enthusiasts, keep a few film DVDs handy. Catch fun-filled and light movies like Chennai Express, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Fukrey, Go Goa Gone and Shuddh Desi Romance and Mere Dad ki Maruti. Easier (and better) still, log on to YouTube to watch some entertaining episodes of Koffee with Karan featuring Salman Khan, or Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh. Want a hearty laugh? You can choose any online episode of Comedy Nights with Kapil (Sharma)

Thank you note

Before the party folks leave, present something unusual to them. It could be as simple as a piece of decoration from the Xmas tree. Attach a personalised ‘Thank You’ message to it and hand it to each of the guests.