I wanted to plan a Christmas party that would be fun for adults and children.  I had this idea to throw a Souper Christmas Party and Gift Exchange for my closest friends and their children.  It was the easiest party ever to plan!    I created the invitations using MS Publisher.  The invitations were blue with white snowflakes.  The text said, The weather outside is frightful, but inside is so delightful.  Please join us for our Souper Christmas Party and Children's Gift Exchange, Saturday, December 17, 1:00-4:00 P.M., The Taylor Home.  The invitations were postcard size, which fit in small white invitations envelopes.  The envelopes can be purchased at Staples for about $7 for a pack of 100.   There was no need to purchase decorations, because our house was already decorated for Christmas! I used my Christmas linens to decorate the table.  Even though I saved on decorations, I needed to buy dinnerware for the party. I didn't have enough soups bowls, but I didn't want the adults to eat hot soup with Styrofoam bowls and plastic spoons.  I found a great deal on soup bowls at Big Lots! I found a pack of 4 white stoneware bowls for $2.00! Thirty-six bowls only cost $18!  I purchased a pack of 36 soup spoons for Sam's Club for less than $8.00! All of this dinnerware can be easily stored and used for another party.  My husband is the cook in the house, so he planned the menu. There were five pots of homemade soup on simmering on the stove (Split Pea, Lentil and Spicy Sausage, Minestrone, Vegetarian White Bean, and Lemon Chicken with Orzo) and loaves of fresh baked bread when our guests arrived. There was no need for a buffet table, because the stove was the buffet line! The soup bowls made it easy for the adults to mingle because they cradled their soup bowls in the palm of their hands.  In addition to the soups, I made crustless Peanut Butter and Snow (Marshmallow fluff) sandwiches, in case the children didn't want soup. We had soft drinks, juice boxes, and wine for drinks. All the food was very inexpensive.   Again in Publisher, I created a Christmas Carol game for the adults. There were 20 clipart images which depicted a well-known Christmas Carol. The adults had to guess each Christmas Carol. Some the older children helped their parents.  The person who guessed the most correct answers won snowflake foot spa fizzers, which I purchased from the dollar aisle at Target. I actually purchased five and gave them to the top five winners. I created a couple games for the children as well. I cut a four-foot Christmas tree shape out of felt and hung it on one of the bedroom doors. The children had to throw snowballs at the tree, which were ping pong balls with Velcro. For another game, I made a top hat out of black poster board.  The children had to toss pennies into the hat. Then, for one more game, the children also tried to toss the top half of Christmas cards (Christmas card pictures) into a large Christmas wicker basket.  You could also use a large laundry basket.  (Not as easy as it sounds!)  There was also a craft for the children.  Using blue card stock and clear contact paper, the children made snow globes. I traced a small bowl onto the blue paper and contact paper and had them already cut for each child.  I took pictures of the children as they arrived and immediately printed them out.  The children cut their pictures to fit onto the blue circle and glued it onto the blue paper. Using a hole puncher, they punched white paper and glued the white spots onto the blue paper. Then, the parents helped the children attach the contact on top of the blue circle. To make the snow globe an ornament, they added a hole punch to the top and tied a small piece of white yarn to hang the snow globe.  They came out really cute!  The children's gift exchange were several unisex items from Dollar Tree or other dollar stores, such as Play Do, bubbles, books, crayons, etc. The families arrived with wrapped gifts and placed them under the tree.  When it came time for the gift exchange, I placed numbers into a hat and each child selected a number.  According to their numbers, the children took turns choosing presents from under the tree.  I purchased extra gifts in case a child did not like what he or she received.  They could exchange it for another gift.  As party favors for each child, I made Snowman Soup.  The recipe for Snowman Soup is simple and very inexpensive. It is simply one packet of hot chocolate, ten marshmallows, three Hershey kisses, and a candy cane. I placed all the ingredients in a blue snowman cup, which I purchased 4 for a dollar at Wal-Mart. I placed the stuffed cups into clear loot bags, which I also purchased at Wal-Mart. I tied each loot bag with blue ribbon with snowflakes, which I found at Dollar General. I created cute tags in Publisher, printed the tags onto card with the following poem, and tied it onto the bag with the blue snowflake ribbon: Snowman Soup Was told you've been real good this year, Always glad to hear it! With freezing weather drawing near, You'll need to warm the spirit. So here's a little Snowman Soup, Complete with stirring stick, Add hot water, sip it slow, It's sure to do the trick! Merry Christmas!  The children were very happy with their little goodie bags.   It really was a great party!  We are planning to make our Souper Christmas Party an annual event.