Winter Whimsy: 9 Ideas for Hosting a Holiday Party in Unconventional Spaces

At this year's Minted holiday preview event, festive wrapping paper and holiday cards served as tabletop decor for a fun cookie decorating party idea.

Cocktail Academy’s Matt Landes says the Doña Claus cocktail is “our holiday play on a traditional gin sour. We give the cocktail a festive flavor with house-made pomegranate grenadine, and top the drink with ruby red pomegranate seeds, which gives a fantastic holiday-evoking garnish.”

Brooklyn-based Bubbles & Brews’ vintage 1983 Piaggio Ape bar boasts seven on-board taps for serving prosecco, wines, and craft beers and cocktails. Rates start at $2,200; custom branding is available.

Strategic Hospitality recently opened a four-story space called the Downtown Sporting Club, located on Lower Broadway in Nashville.

Inside the venue’s “R.E.C. Room” guests can try their hand at axe throwing or play a game of backgammon on the custom tables.

For the Bourbon Butter, Landes says, “we’ve incorporated butternut squash puree that’s been lightly sweetened, and coupling with bourbon and orange bitters results in a luscious cocktail that everyone will enjoy.”

At Spotify’s 2018 holiday party at Avant Gardner in Brooklyn, guests could don wigs and pose in a photo booth. The event was designed by Tinsel Experiential Design and featured a technicolor theme.

This year, Abigail Kirsch has partnered with Bryant Park's Overlook, which is located next to the ice skating rink in the Winter Village, to provide catering options including cider bourbon slushies with a ginger shortbread cookie topper.

Operated by the Gerber Group, the Connie cocktail bar at the TWA Hotel at J.F.K. Airport can be booked for private or semiprivate events in the newly-renovated cabin. Parked on the tarmac just outside the hotel, the intimate 900-square-foot space works well for smaller group gatherings, with a 30-person maximum capacity.

Inside, sip on the vintage-inspired GG Manhattan, made with Woodford Reserve bourbon, Carpano Antica vermouth, and angostura bitters.

Last year, Clinton Hall Williamsburg in New York turned its courtyard into “North Williamsburg Pole” with a tree decked out with beer can ornaments, faux snow, reindeer, and more. Guests enjoyed D.I.Y. s’mores, eggnog cheesecake pops, roasted chestnuts, and spiked hot chocolate. The venue plans to host a similar pop-up this winter.