December 14, 2018
5 Ideas for Hosting a Great New Year’s Eve Party
New Year’s Eve is almost here, and if you’re planning to host a get-together—whether it’s an intimate gathering or a rollicking party—you want it to be unforgettable. New Year’s Eve is, after all, a momentous occasion where we celebrate the end of one year and set the tone for the coming year.
If you have a wide open, modern floor plan like the houses in our community, you have an advantage when it comes to hosting, because guests can easily mingle from the foyer to the spacious living room without feeling cramped. But no matter the layout of your downstairs, you can use these tips to make your New Year’s Eve party memorable, from the time guests arrive to the moment the clock strikes midnight.
1. Give your party favors extra sparkle
When guests arrive, present them with a bag of New Year’s Eve party favors. Party favor bags are often distributed as guests depart, but most of the goodies in this particular favor bag are meant to be used immediately! Here’s what you can include in the bags.
- Hershey’s kisses
- Trinkets that represent past year
- Confetti packets
- Mini bottles of champagne or liquor
- Sparklers
- A New Year’s Day survival kit with bottled water and Aspirin
2. Create a wall of highlights
Encourage guests to share and reflect on their most wonderful memories from the year. Arrange a large piece of poster board and colorful markers on a table near the front door. As guests mingle around, they can take a moment to write down their proudest moment, best trip, or most exciting experience from the past 12 months.
3. Set up a photo booth
Everyone’s going to be taking selfies and group photos anyway, so why make those photos even more special by setting up a holiday-themed photo booth? You can make festive props using printable designs. Or, if you’re artistic, use glitter and paint to make your own. Be sure to have fun with the background, too. Simply hang metallic streamers and tie some gold and black balloons to make a quick backdrop that will give everyone’s photos extra flare.
4. Make it a potluck—appetizer style!
You can provide beverages, like these fun cocktails. But ask your guests to each bring one appetizer to share. Encourage them to come with plates of finger food to pass around. Alternately, if your group is small, you can hold a midnight meal. Serve either breakfast—it is, technically, morning—or traditional New Year’s Day cuisine like black-eyed peas, greens, and cornbread.
5. Add a cultural twist
Every country around the world has a unique way of celebrating the start of the new year. Why not add some of these rituals to your New Year’s festivities? When you send the party invitations, ask the guests to include, in their RSVP, special family traditions that you can incorporate into your celebration. At a New Year’s Eve party in Denmark, for example, you might break china plates for good luck. And in Spain, celebrations could require you to eat 12 grapes at midnight; one for each month of the coming year. Perhaps you could expand on that ritual and wash your grapes down with a glass of bubbly!
No matter where you are when the ball drops, we wish you a wonderful New Year’s Eve and a happy, prosperous start to the New Year!