New year's eve is a time to celebrate the end of a glorious year and start a fresh year, hoping it to be full of opportunities and happiness. But make sure you don't fall short of some cool party ideas, so that you can welcome the brand new year in style. The very essential ingredients of a rocking party are fun, enthusiasm and revelry. The next thing one should keep in mind is that a new year's party should be a celebration, and a get-together of close friends or family. So, it's time to think of some party ideas at home, and this article will help you do just that.
How to Plan Things
The planning part is very important to pull off a fun and successful party. Let us look at a few party essentials that are required to make the party a hit.
- A delicious cuisine of an array of food, drinks and desserts is always a star attraction. Instead of the age-old idea of toasting with just a glass of champagne, imagine bursting into a platter of baked pork chops, oysters Rockefeller, sauted kale with mini-glazed donuts to follow along with Meyer lemon yogurt or chocolate sauce as dipping - all that a die-hard foodie lives for! Some prefer to have traditionally lucky food on their menu for this day, to ensure some good luck. Some highly rated 'lucky' dishes are pork, leafy kale, donuts and legumes.
- Next comes the booze. It is a 'must-have' for a new year bash. An innovative way to get the guests involved is by setting up a make-your-own (MYO) cocktail bar counter. Such a counter grants a lot of liberty to your guests to do whatever they want with their Bloody Mary or the Red Eye or the Long Island or all time hits like Martini Bianco and Gordon's Gin. Such cocktail bars can take the celebrations to a new level by combining sparkling wine or vodka with a selection of purees, pear, orange or any other flavoring.
- What party will succeed without music folks! Arrange a DJ with a decent collection of tracks who will play foot-tapping music from hip-hop to house, from reggae to trance. Go for a tried and tested jockey as you wouldn't want a rookie to mess things up. Look for a DJ package that offers lighting, strobes and fog effects, that simply enhance the party experience. Set up for a magnificent dance floor where all party freaks can unleash the animal within and make this a memorable new year's eve.
- Next is the turn of decorations, as they present the first impression of the party. Always remember to keep your decorations simple. Laser lighting will definitely grab attention. Innovative homemade decorations can have a deeper impact than the extra-ordinarily expensive ones. For instance, spray-painted pots with sprouts planted add to the decor of the tables.
- Don't let the gifts get out of your mind. The gifts that you can generally present to you loved ones can ideally be handmade customized stuff. You can write love poems or best compliments on the gift wrappers. If you cannot choose a gift, dry fruits or chocolates will suffice; they make for ideal party gift ideas for kids.
Another add-on would be to have a party theme. For instance, it may be a pirate party or an open terrace party with the best view in town, or a pool party for your guests to have a splash! Let us discuss a few popular themes which can make up great party ideas for adults.
- Masquerade Party: These are one of the most fun-filled parties, as everyone slips into a new character without requiring to wear a full-on costume, and there's a lot of mystery in the air too. You can introduce a few champagne-based cocktails like Black Velvet and Happy New Year to add to the fever of the New Year's day.
- Disco or Retro Theme: Everyone loves foot-tapping music and some specially love it if it is of the 70s and 80s. Dress codes like polyester print disco shirts and bell-bottomed tight-fit pants are some retro clothing ideas that can go well with this party theme.
- Celebrity Theme: Here, guests are asked to dress like their favorite celebrities. Celebrity fancy dress competitions or mimicry competitions can follow eventually.
As the party begins, the mood will start building up and the spirits will reach their peaks when the clock strikes twelve. Keeping your guests occupied in celebrations and ensuring no dull moment is a tough task, specially when alcohol begins to take its toll. Here's how one can achieve it:
- As the guests arrive, let the party begin! Roll out a red carpet and let the guests choose from an assortment of welcome drinks - cocktails or beverages. The appetizers can be circulated while the guests begin mingling with each other. Meat balls, skewered chicken, crackers and bruschetta are a few good starters. Have limited servings of the appetizers or the guests might be full before the actual midnight feast. Make sure the guests have a wide variety of drinks to choose from, and also plenty of water so that no-one gets too 'high' too fast.
- Now as the DJ takes over the house with some breathtaking tracks, the party should reach its peak. Follow it with some games to keep the guests engaged. An ideal game for this night is 'Guess My Resolution', where all the guests are asked to write their new year resolutions on a scroll. All scrolls are then mixed in a bowl and the host reads out random resolutions for the guests to guess who wrote them.
- By the time it's quarter to midnight, ready the main feast and let the countdown begin. As all three clock hands coincide, set the Champagne corks free. Not much needs to be told when the clock strikes twelve! Toast the champagne and let everyone get lost in the night.
- As one final treat, see off the guests with fresh-baked croissant and sticky bun inside a nice pastry bag for the new year's first morning. Stamp the gift bags with a 'Thank You' or 'Happy New Year'. This sweet parting present will be well appreciated.
