20 Last-Minute Holiday Party Ideas

Artificial Ice Events has a variety of winter-themed entertainment options, including a giant, hand-carved rocking horse, an inflatable tubing slide that simulates sliding down a snow-covered hill, and 15-foot-tall inflatable snow globes that can be branded for photo ops. The company also offers snow machines and ice rink rentals.

Digital stationery has come a long way—Paperless Post has partnered with decoupage artist John Derian to create a collection of 65 customizable designs, including ones with seasonal imagery like holly branch motifs and antique lettering. The digital invitations and envelopes cost less than $1 each.

Night Owl Paper Goods custom prints holiday invites and cards on eco-friendly, sustainably harvested wood. Upload your own logo or design, and choose from more than 40 colors. The design-your-own holiday cards, including envelopes, are $4.50 each for 50, with discounts for larger orders.

Provide a full-sensory holiday experience by hanging ScentSicles scented ornaments from a faux Christmas tree or around the room.

Create a cozy cabin atmosphere with log-shaped throw pillows from Spoon Sisters on couches in the lounge area. Guests can take the pillows, $19 each, home as gifts.

Koyal Wholesale offers festive, budget-friendly partyware including red-and-green stripe biodegradable paper drinking straws, $29 for 100. Discounts are available for large orders.

The new Crystal line from AFR Event Furnishings offers a touch of glitz. The collection includes a high-back loveseat, bench loveseat, chaise, round ottoman, and bar fronts in white or black embellished with crystal nailheads. Available nationwide, the rental price for each item ranges from $250 to $575.

MYdrap cotton napkins and place mats come on a perforated roll. Each place mat roll, $40, includes 12 recyclable squares that can be torn off or kept connected to create a table runner. The holiday collection features snowflake and tree patterns.

Keep employees’ behavior in check with Spoon Sisters' cheeky paper cocktail napkins, which cost $6.50 for 20.

No room for a photo booth in the office? BYO Booth is a new Instagram-driven virtual photo booth app that works with any computer. Guests take photos on their smartphones, then tag them with a specific hashtag which automatically uploads them to the computer’s printer and to a slideshow display on the monitor. The photos can also be instantly uploaded to Facebook, and a basic package costs $199.

Need an ice display? IceSculpture.com is a new network of hand-picked, independently owned ice sculpting companies that can offer sculptures of all shapes and sizes as well as live performance ice shows around the world.

Brooklyn-based Custom Cookies creates holiday- and winter-themed treats that can be customized with company logos. The cookies cost $3.95 each, with discounts for large custom orders.

Keep dips fresh and chilled throughout the party with Tilt from Soiree Home. Store the flavorless, iceless chilling sphere, $35, in the fridge, then place it in the dip bowl when it’s go-time.

The ivy and scarlet Yuma linens from BBJ Table Fashions can give tables an organic holiday look. Rental prices start at $23 for a 90-inch square; matching chair ties are $3 each.

Add some extra sweetness to the bar offerings with Melville’s peppermint-flavored hard candy shot glasses, $20 for 12, available at Candy.com.

For a winter lodge feel, rent the new antler chandeliers from Blueprint Studios, available nationwide, to hang overhead.

The new SculptLamps from SculptWare can work as centerpieces or cocktail table accents. Available to rent in two sizes—14-inch, $45, or 30-inch, $65—the acrylic lamp bases and spandex lampshades include remote-controlled LEDs that can glow in 13 colors.

Festive drink stirrers from HeathOriginal are a cute addition to cocktail glasses. The cost is $15 for 12.

If you want to go all out, the “Winter Soiree” round frosted-plastic invitation from Allie Munroe is sure to impress. The silk-screened invites cost $1,242 for 100 with unprinted envelopes.

Place colorful bulk candy from ACandyStore.com in glass jars as table decor, and set out glassine bags for guests to fill with the sweets as a take-home favor.