This Tacky Christmas (in July) Engagement Party is absolutely anything but! Katie from Kate & Company Events planned this super fun and extremely thoughtful celebration for her best friend Lauren and husband-to-be Drew, who actually met at a Tacky Christmas Party four years earlier.

I love that she even found a way to incorporate some of the couples’ family’s traditions — such as a “Find the Pickle” game and Grandma’s famous potato salad — as well as details from the day they met. Plus, who doesn’t love a good beer-can Christmas tree?! Bet they had fun getting the “ornaments” ready for that display! ;)

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look for:

• Sweater-themed printables with Cross-Stitched Hearts, Trees & Snowflakes
• Favorite quotes from classic Christmas movies, How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Elf
  
• “Eat, Drink and Be Tacky!” drink flags + a tiny Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Centerpiece
• Beautifully decorated Christmas cookies & milk + Chocolate Santa favors for the guests

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Katie…

When my best friend got engaged I just knew I needed to plan an epic party on her behalf. Given that I am a wedding and special events coordinator, there was quite a bit of pressure to pull off something great! I hemmed and I hawed and I struggled to come up with a theme! UNTIL it dawned on me that Lauren & Drew met at “Tacky Christmas Party” four years ago. A quick look at the calendar I noted that they had picked July 27 as the engagement party date. That’s almost 6 months until Christmas and the PERFECT time for a “Christmas in July” themed party!

I knew that the invitations really had to set the tone of the wedding so I worked with a local stationery company called Two Blue Doors to create an invitation that looked, read, and felt like a Christmas Story. We mailed each guest a booklet full of rhymes explaining how Lauren & Drew met and requesting their presence at the party!

Then we were off to decorate our home! First and foremost, I knew I wanted to incorporate traditions from each of their families. So I enlisted the help of the bride and groom’s moms and got a list of their family traditions. I settled on having Drew’s Grandmother’s Famous Potato Salad on the menu and incorporated the German tradition of “Find the Pickle” game.

Next I met with a caterer and we worked to come up with a Christmas feast that was summer inspired — complete with pop-tails that incorporated champagne and popsicles! Guests went crazy over it.

We bargain shopped at thrift stores and Grandmas’ basements throughout St. Louis to come up with the decor. We put each staff member in a tacky Christmas t-shirt and served Christmas-inspired cold cocktails! Guests even went home with a 2 lb chocolate santa courtesy of Bissinger’s Chocolate.

It was the perfect night for my best friend and her fiancé!