New Year's Eve is right around the corner. Planning on hosting a small gathering? I am. I am having a few of my special girlfriends - with their husbands and kids - over for some fun.
If you are like me and all the holiday cheer has you exhausted, I tried to plan a night that was more about fun and less about work. So take some tips from me. I'm like the lazy-girls Martha Stewart. Everything I came up with is about keeping it easy and fun! Let's count down some of my fave tips to simple NYE party planning so you can enjoy the night too!
10. Food & DRINKS! Keep it simple and limited. For those that like to drink, choose a red and a white wine and load up on just those two bottles. You could also stick with beer - one fuller and one light. Wine and beer not your thing? Create a cocktail that you can make a lot of ahead of time - you can find loads of recipes online/Pinterest - and make them your go-to signature for the night. Some sodas and water and you're ready! I'm going to have my friends bring their own preferred drink cause I'm not a bring drinker.
As for munchies, make sure you have plenty of small items on hand. Anything that you can make ahead is ideal here - as are chips and dips, cheese and crackers, veggies, nuts, sweets. All easy to refill so you do not have to miss a moment of the party.
9. Tunes. Best thing to do is to make a playlist before the party. A good mix of old standard fun party songs such as Prince's "1999" or Cyndy Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and new hits by current groups like LMFAO "Party Rock" and KE$HA "Tic Toc", and anything in between. Since we are having kids, I downloaded the Kidz Bop version so the kids don't start out the year with a new vocabulary. :)
8. Themes. Having a theme immediately adds an element of fun to the occasion. You can make it Hollywood Glam, 80s Prom or Baby New Year. Personally, I love the idea of an Ugly Pajama Party (and so that's the theme for mine) and the new standard Ugly Holiday Sweater party. A theme will get the party started - as soon as people walk in the door they have something to talk about. And it's just fun!
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| You know you want these. You can get them here. |
7. Balloons. Order dozens of balloons. One or two colors keep it prettier and from looking too much like a kids birthday party. Make sure they have long strings. And just let them float up. Don't tie them together just let them hang and float to the ceiling. It gives the space a completely festive feeling without too much decorating effort. I would love to say that this is my idea, but actually if you look at movies with a New Years Eve scene, you will likely see balloons just floating around the room with their long strings hanging down everywhere. It's just pretty. This doesn't work for rooms with really high ceilings - in those spaces, weigh the balloons down on the floor.
6. Party Favors as Decor. Hopefully, you'll have some sort of holiday decoration up already. If you don't, it's easy enough to get some inexpensive white lights and tinsel garland (can you say after-Christmas sale?), streamers, confetti, and then add party hats and blowers and anything else you'll enjoy at midnight.
5. Speaking of midnight... Let's talk about that kiss. Do your guests a favor and make sure you stock up on lots of mints. You want to make sure everyone is minty fresh at midnight.
4. And another thing about that kiss... One fun parting gift for your guests - Chapsticks. Anything to make that pucker softer and ready for some action.
3. For the countdown... Cute idea for the night - help your guests keep track of their champagne glasses by putting number/countdown stickers on them. OK, ok. Full disclosure - this is a total Martha Stewart idea. So I'm making you do something "crafty". But come on - it's just stickers!
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| Why it's Martha Stewart of course. For more info go here. |
2. 2013 Resolutions/Goals - Have a chalk board or other writing space where everyone can write down their main resolutions or goals for the year. It's fun to look at what everyone comes up with. It might also help you keep it longer if you tell everyone what it is.
1. After the party - Stock up on coffee, water and frozen pizzas (or have a delivery number ready). Making sure your guests make it home safe and sound is a part of your hosting duties. So cutting off the drinking and having everyone stay for the "after" party is a good idea. You can plan some games, munch on pizza and laugh about the highlights of the evening. Or get out extra blankets and pillows and let them sleep it off. You can always take silly pictures of them...
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| I don't know where the original of this picture came from, but I got it here. |
How are you celebrating your New Years Eve? I would love to hear about what you like to do. And if you have any party tips, send them my way!
I hope you and yours have a safe and Happy New Year. See you in 2013!
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Copyright 2012, Cristina Mullins Interiors.
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