3 multi-generational holiday parties

Party 3: Winter wonderland

Theme: What could be more festive -- or Canadian -- than hosting a celebration of all things winter? The great thing about this party theme is that you can bring your winter wonderland indoors for at least part of the party -- something that makes it the perfect party pick for people of all ages.

Location: Indoors and outdoors

Age: All ages

Invitations: Design your invitations to look like snowmen, snowflakes, snow forts, snowballs -- anything that will have your party guests thinking of all the great things about winter. And don't be afraid to glam it up a little by tossing in a bit of tinsel or glitter: winter in Canada isn't all about toques, after all!

Decorations: Decorate your windows with spray-on snow. That way, everyone will be able to enjoy the party decorations, whether they're inside or out. Tip: For a particularly nifty effect, use home-made construction paper snowflakes as stencils.

Food: Keeping warm is the name of the game for the guests who are partying in the snow, so you'll want to serve party foods that will help to warm them from the inside out. Here are some perennial favourites that are easy to enjoy when you're wearing a pair of mittens or gloves:

• Hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles (yum!)
• Hot apple cider with a cinnamon stick (make sure the apple cider is fully pasteurized)
• Fondue with bite-sized pieces to dip (cheese fondue with veggies or bread; chocolate with fruit) and a supply of forks or fondue sticks and napkins
• When the party heads indoors, offer a few additional goodies that tie into the snowball and snowflake theme, like a giant snowman cookie for everyone to share (you'll need three round cookies in different sizes, plus some white icing and candy decorations) or ice cream "snowballs" with sprinkles.

Fun and games: Here are some wintery activities that will appeal to kids of all ages -- including "kids" who haven't been kids for a very long time!

• Jumping Jack Frost: Send your party guests outside to make snow angels. Not only is this a lot of fun: everyone will get a jump-start on their New Year's resolutions to be more active. (The motions involved in making snow angels are almost identical to those used in doing jumping jacks.)

• Snow painting: Fill a bunch of squirt bottles with water and tint the water in the various bottles with different shades of food colouring. Your party guests will have fun painting the snow every colour of the rainbow.

• Winter hopscotch: Use your hockey stick to draw a hopscotch pattern in the snow. Then use hockey pucks as your markers. If all the pucks in your garage look the same, stick a different colour of brightly-coloured hockey tape on each puck. You can hockey tape in all kinds of amazing colours these days.

Other:
If your party happens to fall close to New Year's Eve, play a medley of New Year's Eve tunes that represent the music of different generations: Happy New Year by ABBA (perfect for dancing to in the backyard while you try to stay warm), What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? performed by Diana Krall (the ultimate it's-getting-close-to-midnight-so-cuddle-up-closer song for grownups), and, if you want to get everyone thinking deep, try New Year's Day by U2.