Ahh New Year’s Eve. It’s a night of new beginnings, laughter and fun with friends, and of course, the parties!
So I’m guessing you ended up here because you want to throw your very own party this year? Great Choice! You have come to the right place. We are going to cover all of the ins and outs of throwing the perfect party for your guests.
Planning a party can be overwhelming but an experience worth having. Before getting into all the fun details, we have to consider something very important. The budget.
Most people don’t like the sound of budgeting but let’s be real, no party is fun when the piggy bank is empty. Take some time to sit down and allot “X” amount of money to food, drinks, the venue, party decorations, etc. Whatever does not fit into the budget at the end of the day gets tossed.
Create your budget and stick to it by any means necessary.
The next thing you want to consider is your venue. If you are planning a party for a business, you probably plan to host New Year’s Eve there. However, you need to keep in mind something very important, the guests. That is, who to invite and how many people can attend. How do you plan to invite guests, and how do they fit into the venue space? You need to know how many people your venue can hold at a max. Once you have this number, you can decide how you wish to invite them.
"Get an almost exact
guest count"
There are a couple of ways to go about inviting guest. You could announce and advertise openly through word of mouth, social media, and flyers to welcome all who wish to come. This is a great way for first year party holders to get a baseline of how many people in the area will attend your party. The only downfall is, if you get too many people and hit your max capacity, you will have to turn guest away possibly deterring them from coming back in the future. This also makes planning accommodations such as food and drinks difficult. Another way you may choose to invite guests is by Custom New Year's Eve Invitation. Send out an invitation to a set number of guests and ask them to RSVP back to you. This is a great way to get an almost exact count on your guest number. The last way you could go about this is to have a party entrance fee. New Year’s Eve is a special night so make a special price to get through the door. If you choose to do it this way, it will help offset the cost of special purchases such as party favors, a DJ, and champagne. It’s very important to get an approximate number of guest attending to ensure there is enough food, drinks and party supplies for all who attend.
"Make your theme something fresh.."
Once you got the venue and guests situated, you need to decide what style of party you would like. Some places hold very elegant parties and others hold relaxed parties. This also should be shaped around the kind of business you are planning for. If you are planning for a place like a bar, it should be more of a relaxed night. If there are plans in the works for a country club setting, try opting for a more elegant feel. You also need to consider if you want a theme to go along with your New Year’s Eve party such as, Hollywood or 1920’s. Make your theme something fresh and unheard of to spike people’s attention. The food of you party needs to reflect the style of the party as well.
The food and beverage supply for your party is directly based on how many guest you approximate will be coming. It’s certainly better to have more food than needed instead of not enough for everyone. However, that can be a costly mistake. You need to have enough but not too much. Decide on what you want your menu to look like. Do you plan to have a full course meal or just quick and easy finger food? Planning a full course meal will take more time to plan and may make you have to cut back on the number of guests. Of course, a full course meal will also be a bit more costly than finger food. You can still host an elegant party with finger food however. Instead of having pigs in a blanket, choose foods such as cucumber sandwiches.
"The Most Important Drink of the
Night is the Champagne"
Drinks are pretty standard. You can opt for the usual fountain sodas, water, lemonade, and sweet tea. The most important drink of the night is the Champagne! When the clock strikes midnight, no party is complete without a great toast to the New Year. Champagne is a staple at any New Year’s Eve Party. Along with Champagne, there should be specialized drink wear. Red Solo cups will not go with any Champagne toast, no matter how relaxed your party is. Try opting for an elegant looking champagne flute that won’t break the bank. You can find clear plastic champagne flutes that look as great as glass but hold up much better in the event that they are dropped. Providing other forms of alcohol is up to the discretion of the party host.
Seating at your event could also be a factor on how many guest to invite. If planning an elegant dinner, you must have seating for all guests. If things plan to be a bit more relaxed, allowing a few tables and a few standing cocktail tables will do just fine. The room needs to be designed in such a way as to allow room for guest to mingle and dance with friends and family. Guest are not going to be happy if the room is too tight, creating a struggle to move and get out of their seats. If you plan to have dancing apart of your celebration, there needs to be a wide open, flat, floor space available.
Dancing and music go hand in hand. If there is no music, there will be no dancing. Unless of course, there is that one guest who had just a bit too much to drink. The music should also reflect the style of your party. You need to decide if you would like a live band or a DJ. The type of music being played can flat line a party real quick if it does not appropriately match the party mood. Hiring a good DJ or live band that can play a mix of music based on what seems to fit the party guests, is the best way to go. Simply said, you would not want a room of millennials listening to music from the Baby Boomer generation or a room full of hard rock lovers listening to country.
The best part about planning a party is the decorations! Everyone loves being able to envision what their venue could look like with the right amount of pizazz added to it. So let’s start with the basics and work our way up from there. Do you plan to just have a normal New Year’s Eve party or will this be a New Years party with a funky theme as we discussed earlier? What about a beautiful color scheme? Whatever you choose, there are plenty of decorations out there at a low cost to perfectly transform your venue. There are a few staples involved in the New Year’s Eve party supplies. They are the party hats and tiaras. You can find both of these items wrapped up in one New Year’s Eve kit for your convenience.
New Year’s Ever kits are mostly composed of wearables for your guests. Wearables give your guests a small piece of the party to take home and remember the night by. They are a great way of getting people in the mood to party and they leave each and every guest feeling like their presence was welcomed and enjoyed by the party host. Kits usually come in an assortment of 50 or 100 pieces. Each kit comes with hats for the men and tiaras for the women. Depending on the style of kit you find, you could also get an assortment of beads, leis, horns, noisemakers, balloons and even “Happy New Year” banners. There are multitudes of kits out there that are great looking, you just have to know what style and theme works best for your party.
Along with New Year’s Eve kits, you are going to need things such as table covers, table runners, centerpieces, balloon weights, party tableware, and so much more. The amount a party hosts decorates is certainly up to their discretion; however, it is a well-known fact that parties are much more fun with a little garnishing strewn throughout your venue! Imagine walking into a party space that is cascaded in gold, black and a tad bit of sparkle to catch your eyes. Maybe imagine a dimly lit room full of people adorning themselves with glow in the dark products as they dance, move, and glide through the night. One thing that is becoming increasingly popular for New Year’s Eve are glow products and products that are black light reactive. Decorating brings your party alive. It helps to shape the mood of the room and is something that can make or break a party.
"Don't Be Afraid
of Getting Creative" with the decorating process as well. Try ordering a big Mylar champagne bottle balloon, affix it to the wall as though a huge hand is tipping it to pour it out. Under the bottle opening, arrange a few gold colored latex balloons to make it look like the champagne is flowing. You could also get some crystal clear latex balloons and pour a bit of festive confetti into them to create a bit of shimmer in a unique way. When people leave your party, the venue décor is going to be ultimately, what stays in their memory. Make sure you leave a grand impression to keep you party guests coming back year after year!
The last thing you want to consider is making transportation to and from you venue available. If you are going to be serving alcohol, it is best to give your guests a way of safely getting home. Have taxi, bus and shuttle information on hand. Contact your local transportation services to inform them of the party you plan to be hosting. If needed, arrange for free overnight parking to take the pressure of removing their car off your guest. Anyone can be a good party host but they best are the ones who care and ensure everyone is safe.
"Your hard work pays off"
New Year’s Eve is a special time for everyone. Planning a party can take a lot of time and hard work. As you are planning each and every detail of you big night, remember that your hard work pays off when you see the excitement and joy glistening in the eyes of you guests!