5 Steps to Hosting the Perfect New Year’s Party
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New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and if you’re hosting a party this year, you only have a few weeks to finish putting it together. To keep your guests entertained and to make sure everyone has a good time, you want your party to be perfect. As the host, it’s up to you to plan all the little details that will make this year’s New Year’s party the best yet. Even though time is short, there is still time to invite guests, prepare your home and get everything ready for the big night. In fact, with five simple steps you can throw the perfect New Year’s party. Step 1: Give a Sneak Peek with Killer Invitations Give your guests a sneak peak with a killer invitation that promises a good time. The first impression people will have of your party will be your invitation, and that impression will get them excited enough to come to your party or will make them decide not to attend. Online invitations have almost become the norm, and you can use Facebook, email or any kind of social media tool to invite people to your party. Or, you can go the more traditional route and send out some glitzy, New Year’s themed invitations in the mail.
When you invite your guests, keep in mind that you want to invite enough people to keep the party alive and to make it possible for everyone to have a good time, but you don’t want to invite so many people that the party becomes too hard to manage. Be sure to ask people to RSVP so that you can get an idea of how many people will be attending. This will make planning refreshments, the party space and activities much easier. Step 2: Prepare Food and Beverages to Keep the Party Going Let’s face it, one of the best parts of going to a holiday party is all the great food. Keep your party going with lots of food and beverages. You can go all out and host a dinner party or you can stick with snacks, party foods or desserts. One way to make serving food easy is to prepare as much of it in advance as possible. Some dishes can be made the day before and stored in the refrigerator and then reheated. Put together snack bars and baked goods in advance so that on the day of the party, you won’t have to worry about cooking. All you’ll have to do is pull out your menu items and start celebrating!
An easy way to keep food tasty and warm is to use a heated tray. Buy one online on HSS Sales’ website: www.hsssales.com/g/23012/CordlessHeated-Tray.html
Regardless of what you choose to serve, make sure the refreshments keep coming all night. New Year’s parties are supposed to be lively until the stroke of midnight, and one way you can keep the party hopping is to supply plenty of treats for your guests. Step 3: Plan Decorations and Create a Fun Atmosphere New Year’s is one of those holidays that calls for lots of glitter, streamers, balloons, confetti, party hats and noise makers. Basically, you can’t have too many decorations at a New Year’s party. Deck out your home with all kinds of decorations to make it party central and so no one doubts they are at a party. You can go with a theme or you can just go all out and use anything that is bright and says “celebrate.” Don’t forget to stock up on party favours like hats, noise makers, photo props and other items that will help your guests ring in the new year. Half the fun of a New Year’s celebration is getting to party, and small details like this will encourage your friends to take the celebration to the next level. But, decorations aren’t the only thing you need to create a fun atmosphere. Don’t forget the music, movies, lights and other elements that turn your home into the ideal place to celebrate. It’s also important to make sure your guests are comfortable. Do
this by providing plenty of seating, giving people a place to hang coats, making glasses and utensils easy to find, and using space heaters where necessary to keep everyone warm. Step 4: Have Back Up Activities Ready Have you ever been to a party that started out great, but then somehow fizzed into boringness? Don’t let this happen at your party! As you and your guests wait for the stroke of midnight, make sure people stay awake and have a good time. People tend to talk with each other, dance, laugh and entertain themselves at parties, but have a back up plan ready just in case. If things start to feel a little dull, be ready to pull out some board games, a movie or party games. As the host, you should also be ready to mingle, keep people excited and start activities if things begin to die down. The last thing you want is to have your party fizzle before midnight. Step 5: Prepare for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Countdown The whole point of holding a New Year’s party is to ring in the new year. As midnight draws closer, use a creative method to countdown to 2014. You can do this throughout the night by counting down the hours by starting a new party game every hour or serving a new refreshment every time the clock strikes. Or, you can save the countdown for the last few seconds before the stroke of midnight. Start counting as a group at 10, and then when midnight strikes, party hard. There are lots of creative ways to highlight the countdown, including hanging a huge clock on the wall, using clocks in the table setting or popping a balloon every hour until there aren’t any left and it’s midnight. There are lots of creative ways to make the countdown a once-in-a-lifetime event, so think about the guests you are inviting and what kind of party you want to have and find a method that matches your plans. Planning the perfect New Year’s party isn’t hard since this holiday is an easy one to celebrate. Your friends will just appreciate an excuse to get together, have fun as a group and party into the night as they put the past behind them and look forward to a whole new year. You can browse the HSS Sales extensive range of equipment for events here: www.hsssales.com/cl/2300000/BBQ-and-Event.html