Idioms for Celebration (With Meaning and Examples)

In this post, we’re going to explore some fun phrases called idioms that people use when they’re celebrating or talking about parties and happy events. These idioms are easy to understand and I’ll give you an example of how to use each one in a sentence!

Idioms for Celebration

Here are 20 celebration idioms in English with meaning and example sentence for each.

1. Paint the town red

Meaning: Go out and enjoy oneself flamboyantly.
Example: For her birthday, they decided to paint the town red.

2. Let your hair down

Meaning: Relax and enjoy yourself.
Example: After finals, it’s time to let your hair down.

3. Life of the party

Meaning: Someone who is very lively at social events.
Example: Jake is always the life of the party.

4. Cut a rug

Meaning: Dance energetically and well.
Example: They really cut a rug at the wedding.

5. On cloud nine

Meaning: Extremely happy.
Example: Winning the award put her on cloud nine.

6. Have a blast

Meaning: Have a great time.
Example: The kids really had a blast at the theme park.

7. Party animal

Meaning: Someone who loves going to parties.
Example: He’s a real party animal, out every night.

8. Raise the roof

Meaning: Party very loudly and exuberantly.
Example: They raised the roof at their housewarming party.

9. Blow off steam

Meaning: Release pent-up energy or emotion.
Example: I went dancing to blow off steam.

10. Kick up your heels

Meaning: To celebrate and enjoy oneself.
Example: It’s Friday night, time to kick up your heels!

11. The more the merrier

Meaning: Used to say that more people make a party better.
Example: Invite everyone – the more the merrier!

12. Eat, drink, and be merry

Meaning: To enjoy life, to party.
Example: Let’s just eat, drink, and be merry tonight!

13. Make merry

Meaning: Enjoy oneself with others, party.
Example: They made merry all through December.

14. Whoop it up

Meaning: To celebrate noisily and enthusiastically.
Example: They really whooped it up for his 30th birthday.

15. Pop the cork

Meaning: To start celebrating (often with champagne).
Example: When we heard the good news, we popped the cork.

16. Push the boat out

Meaning: Spend a lot of money on a celebration.
Example: They really pushed the boat out for their anniversary.

17. Ring in the new year

Meaning: Celebrate the start of a new year.
Example: We’re excited to ring in the new year together.

18. Break out the bubbly

Meaning: Open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
Example: He got the job, so break out the bubbly!

19. Throw a bash

Meaning: Host a big and lively party.
Example: She’s throwing a bash for her 21st birthday.

20. Be the toast of

Meaning: Be someone who is strongly admired.
Example: At the gala, she was the toast of the evening.

Celebration Idioms