New Years Party Planning Tips and Reminders for a Fabulous Party

Throwing a party can be a bit overwhelming, but so worth it in the end. To help you prepare and have a blast follow the tips and tricks below for the perfect New Years' Party. 

BUDGET

Before you can start any party planning, you first must decide on a budget. For me, food is the most important part of the party and the majority of my money will be spent there. Then you need to think of decor, party favors, and entertainment. 

If you have a small budget, stick with a simple theme that doesn’t require many accessories to achieve the look. 

GUESTS

Your guest list will influence the time of day, your theme, and food and beverages served. You'll first need to decide if the party is for families with children? Are teens the guests? Is this an adult-only party? Then from there, you can make the decisions on the time of day, theme, food, and beverages. 

Food

The food and beverages for the party should be yummy but not stress the host. Appetizers are simple, quick, and budget-friendly. The Rising Damsel has 34 quick and budget-friendly appetizer recipes you could try out. If you do not wish to cook you could order BBQ or pizza, both are quick, simple, and budget-friendly. A potato bar is also a quick and fun way to celebrate the New Year.  If you are looking for a more spectacular menu check out Pizzazzerie for New Years' Party recipes.  

Themes

There are so many themes you can choose from for your party. 

• Color theme: 
• All white 
• Gold and Black 
• Black and White
• Gold and Glitter
• Gold, Silver, and Rose Gold 
• Pajama party theme
• Masquerade  theme
• Casino theme
• NYC Count Down theme
• Black Light theme

Activities and Entertainment

There are so many activities and entertainment you could plan for your party. Please remember less is more and guests shouldn't feel like they must participate in activities to be at the party. Some ideas for optional activities are: 

• Two Resolutions and a Lie:  Each guest presents three resolutions, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. As each guest takes turns sharing theirs, the other guests try to discern which two are true and which is the lie. If you wish, you can have guests keep track of their guesses and award a prize to the one with the most correct.
• Cotton Ball Race: All you need is cotton balls and two bowls for this activity. Divide your group into teams of from six to ten people. Mark a starting line on the rug with masking tape and place a bowl of cotton balls and a jar of Vaseline on a table. Across the room, have another table with an empty bowl for each team. Each team lines up and on “Go!” the first team members dab Vaseline on their noses, dip their noses into the bowl of cotton balls, race to their team’s bowl, and deposit the cotton ball. Team members take turns and the first team whose members all complete the race wins.
• Kiss Collecting: Part of New Year’s Eve is that midnight kiss. This kissing game ends at midnight, a perfect time to do so, or just before the end of the party. As your guests arrive, hand each woman five to ten Hershey Kisses. Let the men who attend your party know they are to collect as many of the Hershey Kisses as they can during the party. The competition can get fierce and entertaining. When the time comes to end the game, provide a nice prize for the winner.
• New Years Jewelry Game: Purchase inexpensive costume jewelry bracelets from a dollar store or make them out of braided yarn. Provide one for each guest. The goal of this game is to collect as many bracelets as possible. To get someone else’s bracelet, you must get them to say “No!” This game lasts the entire party, with the winner the person who manages to collect the most bracelets.