20 Holiday Party Entertainment Ideas Beyond the DJ

The DJ handles the music. Everything else that happens at a holiday party, the reason people put their phones down at 8:30 and are still talking about it in January, comes from the entertainment around the dance floor. Christmas Carolers at the door during cocktail hour, a Living Statue Performer who moves just as a guest leans in, a professional Ice Skater on a synthetic rink after dinner and SnowGlobe Live at the entrance for the photo everyone posts: each one fills a part of the night a playlist cannot.

Here are 20 holiday party entertainment ideas for corporate and private parties, organized by role: performers and characters, interactive attractions, hosted games, photo programs and the closing moment. Each idea says where it fits in the night, cocktail hour, dinner, after dinner or the last hour, and comes with a planning tip, and every one is rentable from Perfect Parties USA, many through the Variety Performers and Shows collection and the winter rentals collection, for parties across Massachusetts and New England.

Performers and Characters

Performers and characters carry the cocktail hour and the dinner, when a stage act would stall the room.

1. Victorian Carolers at the Door

Christmas Carolers: Four costumed Victorian carolers sing holiday favorites as guests arrive, the fastest way to tell a room the party has started. They set up in 30 minutes and need no power, so they can work a hotel lobby, an office atrium or the coat check line. Planning Tip: Book them for the first hour of cocktail service, then bring them back for one set right before the toast. Book the Christmas Carolers.

2. Holiday Entertainers for the Cocktail Hour

Holiday Entertainers: A package of festive, interactive holiday entertainers that gives guests something to react to between conversations. The listing does not name the characters or say whether they stroll or perform in one spot, so confirm both for your date when you book. Planning Tip: Schedule them for cocktail hour and the first course, when guests are mingling and a stage act would compete with the food. Book the Holiday Entertainers.

3. A Living Statue at the Entrance

Living Statue Performer: A performer holds perfectly still like a statue, then surprises guests with a sudden theatrical movement. It breaks the ice in a lobby full of people from different floors, because everyone wants to see who the statue picks next. Planning Tip: Place the statue where the arrival line forms, so every guest meets it in the first five minutes. Book the Living Statue Performer.

4. A Scrooge Who Works the Room

Holiday Scrooge Character: A strolling Scrooge who grumbles “ba hum bug” at the decorations, a character made for corporate holiday events. The joke lands with every age and every background, and he is the rare Scrooge who leaves the room in a better mood. Planning Tip: Send him a few names and the year’s running jokes, and let him work the cocktail hour before the speeches. Book the Holiday Scrooge Character.

5. The Snow Queen

Snow Queen: A character performer in a sparkling gown and frosty crown whose graceful performance gives the room a winter gala look. She suits a white or winter wonderland theme and works as a greeter at the ballroom doors. Planning Tip: Pair her with a white photo set, so the best pictures of the night share her color palette. Book the Snow Queen.

6. A Professional Ice Skater

Ice Skater: A professional ice skater who pairs naturally with a Synthetic Ice Skating Rink on the ballroom floor. A short skating set gives a seated room something to watch while dessert comes out, and it shows guests the rink is theirs next. Planning Tip: Time the performance for the end of dinner service, then open the rink to guests the moment the skater finishes. Book the Ice Skater.

Interactive Attractions

Attractions guests walk up to, play with and take something home from, the backbone of the hours after dinner.

7. Open Skate After Dinner

Synthetic Ice Skating Rink: A synthetic ice surface that needs no refrigeration and works indoors, including in a ballroom, with fencing and rental skates in assorted sizes included. The smallest open skating layout is 20 by 40 feet for up to 25 skaters at a time, and the interlocking panels size up for bigger rooms. Planning Tip: Put the bar along the fence line, and read the synthetic ice rink rental guide before you sign the venue contract. Rent the Synthetic Ice Skating Rink.

8. Caricature Snow Globes

Caricature Snow Globes: An artist draws each guest’s caricature on a specially sized sheet that goes inside a decorative snow globe, a keepsake guests carry home instead of leaving on the table. It fits the dinner hour, when guests can step away for a few minutes and come back with something to show their table, and the Custom Branded Caricature Mug puts the same drawing on a mug with your logo. Planning Tip: Start the line at cocktail hour and hand out numbered tickets, since every globe is drawn by hand. Book the Caricature Snow Globes.

9. Personalized Ornaments

Personalized Ornaments: A professional calligrapher hand-writes each guest’s name or message on a 3-inch branded ornament with a satin finish, a printed logo, a metallic cap and a gold hanging cord. Guests watch their ornament being lettered, and your logo goes home on a tree. Planning Tip: Run it during cocktail hour near the coat check so guests leave with it, and choose an ornament color that matches your theme. Rent the Personalized Ornaments.

10. A Gingerbread House Making Station

Gingerbread House Making Station: A station stocked with graham crackers, candies and snow-white icing, where guests build and decorate their own gingerbread house. It suits guests of all ages, which makes it the anchor of a family holiday party or a quieter corner of an adult one. Planning Tip: Give it a 10 by 10 foot space for the first two hours of a family party, and plan on about 60 builders an hour. Rent the Gingerbread House Making Station.

Hosted Games

Games with a host or a dealer turn a room of small conversations into one party, and they work best right after dinner.

11. A Family Feud Style Game Show

Deluxe Game Show – Survey Says: A host, a lock out buzzer and a giant projection screen bring a Family Feud style survey game to the stage, and the deluxe set adds lights, glowing podiums and banners. Customize the survey questions around your company or your crowd, and the answers write the jokes. Planning Tip: Start it 20 minutes after the dinner plates clear, while the whole room is still seated. Book the Deluxe Game Show – Survey Says.

12. The Price Is Right Night

The Price is Right Game Show – Deluxe: Contestants guess the prices of food, household goods and quirky items, and winners move on to physical challenges on a giant Plinko board and a Hole in One: Skee Putt, with a host and an assistant running the 60 to 90 minute show. It suits a party with a raffle or a prize table, because the prizes become part of the show. Planning Tip: Run it right after dessert, and ask about custom games, which cost extra, if you want the items to come from your own catalog or the office supply closet. Book The Price is Right Game Show – Deluxe.

13. A Glow Casino After Dinner

Glow Black Jack: LED blackjack tables whose colors change to fit any theme, with dealers dressed in white, turn the hour after dinner into a casino night without anyone leaving the room. Add Glow Roulette for the guests who want a game with no strategy and a crowd around it. Planning Tip: Confirm the dealer count and the chips in your quote, and give every guest the same starting stack at dinner so the tables fill the moment plates clear. Rent the Glow Black Jack table.

14. A Jeopardy-Style Trivia Show

Game Show Mania: A Jeopardy-style show with lit-up game stations, digital scoring, music and a professional host, running 60 to 90 minutes with questions that can be personalized with company trivia. It works after dinner for the party that wants its guests thinking and laughing more than dancing. Planning Tip: Send the host your trivia two weeks out, including a few questions about the leadership team that only the interns will know. Book Game Show Mania.

Photo Programs

Photo programs run all night, give guests a reason to cross the room and supply the pictures for the January newsletter.

15. SnowGlobe Live

SnowGlobe Live: A life-size, 15 foot tall walk-in snow globe that guests step inside for a photo, suitable for any age and an attention grabber at any entrance. It needs a 25 by 25 foot space and no dedicated circuits. Planning Tip: Put it where guests arrive, so the first photo of the night happens before the coat check. Rent SnowGlobe Live.

16. An Adult-Size White Ball Pit

Ball Pit Photo Booth – White: An adult-size white ball pond photo booth where guests dive in and the photos catch their faces as they do. It is the picture that looks nothing like every other holiday party photo, and it fits a white or winter wonderland theme. Planning Tip: Give it a 15 by 15 foot corner with 10 feet of clearance and two dedicated 20 amp circuits, and open it after dinner, when guests have loosened up. Rent the Ball Pit Photo Booth – White.

17. A Ski Lift Photo Booth

Ski Lift Photo Booth: Guests pose on a real ski lift chair inside a wooden log cabin set while a theatrical snow machine above releases slow-falling flakes. It is non-denominational, so it fits any holiday party, and the set decorates its corner of the room by itself. Planning Tip: Set it near the bar for the apres ski crowd and keep it running through the last hour. Rent the Ski Lift Photo Booth.

18. A 360 Photo Booth

360 Photo Booth: Guests stand on a 4-foot platform while a rotating camera arm records high-definition video they can share right away through a QR code. Custom branding with your logo, overlays and hashtags turns every clip into a holiday card for the company. Planning Tip: Book it for the second half of the night, when groups form on the dance floor and want a clip together. Rent the 360 Photo Booth.

The Closing Moment

The last hour decides how people leave, so end on a moment instead of a light switch.

19. A Snowfall for the Last Dance

Snow Machine: A professional theatrical snow machine turns a simple fluid into falling snow that will not accumulate and will not damage the inside of your venue. Timed to the last dance, the final toast or the group photo, it is the moment guests film. Planning Tip: Confirm one dedicated 20 amp circuit at the spot, and see the snow machine rental guide for placement. Rent the Snow Machine.

20. The Year in Lights

LED Letters: Bright, customizable LED letters that spell the year, the company name or a holiday message behind the stage or the dance floor. Every photo of the final toast carries the message, and you choose the letters and the colors. Planning Tip: Light them for the closing toast and the group photo. If you want a Confetti Shot Launcher for the same moment, check that your venue allows confetti, and confirm at booking whether it can run indoors, who operates it and how cleanup works. Rent the LED Letters.

How to Plan Holiday Party Entertainment Hour by Hour

Map the night first and fill it second. Cocktail hour wants performers and a photo moment at the door: the carolers, the living statue and SnowGlobe Live. Dinner wants entertainment that does not compete with the food, such as the Holiday Entertainers and the caricature snow globes. The hour after dinner is the peak, so put the hosted game, the glow casino or the open skate there, and save the snowfall and the LED letters for the last dance.

As a rule of thumb, plan one performer or character per 75 to 100 guests during cocktail hour and one interactive attraction, hosted game or photo program per 40 to 50 guests after dinner, and confirm power and load-in with the venue. Perfect Parties USA sets up holiday party entertainment across Massachusetts and in Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and the holiday party rentals in Boston guide covers downtown hotels and function halls. The corporate event entertainment ideas for large groups post covers bigger crowds, the company holiday party ideas guide covers the full planning timeline, the company holiday party themes guide pairs this entertainment with a theme, and the corporate holiday party games list has the games that fill the room after dinner. If you are still building the number, the company holiday party budget guide explains what moves an entertainment quote.

Rent Holiday Party Entertainment From Perfect Parties USA

Perfect Parties USA is based in Peabody, Massachusetts and owns hundreds of attractions, including every rentable item on this list, so the games you book are the games that arrive, maintained and ready to play. Every rental includes delivery (fees based on your address), professional setup, trained attendants and prizes for staffed games, and complete teardown. We are fully insured, with a certificate of insurance available for venues and schools, and we have produced events of every size across New England and the Northeast for decades, from Massachusetts, Boston, Connecticut and Rhode Island to New Hampshire and New York.

Ready to get this party started? Contact Perfect Parties USA to talk to one of our Party Pros. Request a Quote.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best holiday party entertainment ideas besides a DJ?

The best holiday party entertainment beyond a DJ mixes live performers, an interactive attraction and a photo moment: Christmas Carolers at the door, a Living Statue Performer, a hosted game show after dinner, SnowGlobe Live or a Ski Lift Photo Booth, and a snowfall for the last dance. Perfect Parties USA books all of them for parties across New England.

When should entertainment happen during a holiday party?

Performers and characters work best during cocktail hour and dinner, interactive attractions and hosted games belong in the hour after dinner, and the closing moment, a snowfall or a lit message for the final toast, belongs in the last 15 minutes. Photo programs can run all night, because guests visit them between everything else.

What holiday party entertainment works for all ages?

SnowGlobe Live, the Gingerbread House Making Station and Christmas Carolers suit every age, so they anchor a family holiday party. Caricature Snow Globes and Personalized Ornaments give kids and adults the same keepsake, while a game show or a glow casino can wait for the adult hour after the families head home.

What is included when you book holiday party entertainment?

Every rental from Perfect Parties USA includes delivery (fees based on your address), professional setup, trained attendants and prizes for staffed games, and complete teardown. Hosted game shows such as Game Show Mania bring their own host, and the Synthetic Ice Skating Rink includes fencing and rental skates in assorted sizes. A certificate of insurance is available for your venue on request.

Does Perfect Parties USA provide holiday party entertainment in Boston and Massachusetts?

Yes, Perfect Parties USA provides holiday party performers, games and photo programs at offices, hotels and event venues across Massachusetts, including Boston and the North Shore, and in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York. The company is based in Peabody, Massachusetts; send your venue’s load-in times with the quote request and confirm delivery to your town.

Can you have an ice skating rink at an indoor holiday party?

Yes, the Synthetic Ice Skating Rink from Perfect Parties USA needs no refrigeration and works indoors, including in ballrooms, with fencing and rental skates included. The smallest open skating layout is 20 by 40 feet for up to 25 skaters at a time, and a professional Ice Skater can perform a short set before the open skate.

How far in advance should you book holiday party entertainment?

Book holiday party entertainment six to ten weeks ahead, and earlier for a Friday or Saturday in mid-December, since those dates fill early and performers, photo booths and the synthetic ice rink are worth reserving first. Booking early with Perfect Parties USA also gives you time to confirm power, ceiling height and load-in with the venue before the invitations go out.