Another new year is almost here! Aside from making me rhyme, it’s a great time to celebrate. When you’re young, all you want to do is go out for New Year’s Eve and party like every year is 1999. Did anyone ever find this mythical New Year’s Eve party that was going to be awesome? I never did. OK, a couple of my friends and I went to a random cafe in San Francisco’s North Beach and had a great time. Other than that, going out to a large gathering has always been more trouble (and money) than it’s worth.
The best way to celebrate the New Year is at home, whether it’s yours or a friend’s.
If you are hosting a gathering a friends, or even if you’re not, I have a listed a few helpful tips to celebrate the beginning of another year.
New Year’s Eve Party Tip: Midnight supper
If you are hosting a small group of friends or if it’s just your little family, and you love to cook, you could host a midnight supper. It doesn’t have to be super complicated, maybe have some comfort food like a roast and potatoes or lasagna. It’s a symbol of good food and good times for the coming new year.
New Year’s Eve Party Tip: More than just champagne
If you like champagne, it’s the go to drink to serve at New Year’s Eve celebrations. Personally, champagne gives me a headache. I’d rather have some regular wine sans bubbles in that fancy glass. Heck, you could even throw some vodka and soda in a champagne glass and call it done. There will be bubbles then! Who said only champagne could be served in a fancy glass? Put ginger ale in there. This is America! Think outside the box.
New Year’s Eve Party Tip: Potluck Appetizers
This is my go to tip for hosting any kind of gathering especially if hosting a large group of people. Because New Year’s Eve parties usually don’t start until 7:00 or 8:00, there’s really no need to have a huge amount of food. You just need enough to keep people occupied until midnight strikes as well as keeping them from getting too drunk too quickly. A baked potato bar is a quick and easy appetizer to serve. Throw a bunch of potatoes in the oven about an hour and half before the guests arrive, have a variety of fixin’s like cheese, sour cream, steamed broccoli, and bacon bits, and you’ve got a party. I’ll bet most of that stuff you already have in your pantry or fridge. Did you think a party would ever be that easy?
New Year’s Eve Party Tip: DIY Decor
Maybe the stuff in the party stores isn’t your style. You’re lucky to live in the Internet age. You can find all kinds of DIY decoration ideas for New Year’s Eve, some of which are free or available for a small charge. You can download patterns for hats, banners, and centerpieces. If you are somewhat artistically talented, I suggest you use PicMonkey to create your own printable decorations. It’s really easy to use, you don’t have to be a skilled software person, and they have a 30 day free trial available for their Royale subscription.
New Year’s Eve Party Tip: Favors/Social media
New Year’s Eve photo booth props in my Etsy store
Favors are a big part of the New Year’s Eve celebration. If horns and blowouts aren’t your thing, you could have photo booth props. It’s not a complicated set up. You don’t have to set up a corner of your house as a photo booth. All you have to do is download a few files, print out the props, cut them to size and stick them on a stick. Place them around the party or gather them in a central place and use them as a centerpiece. I made these fun ones with nifty New Year’s Eve sayings.
We did this at our Thanksgiving gathering and it was a lot of fun. The more booze we had, the more photos we took with them. Heck, at least you know that if you take a photo with a prop after a few adult beverages, it’s not going to be super embarrassing. You bought the props sober (I hope), so you know what you’re getting into beforehand.
So, what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?