Fancy Schmancy New Year's Entertaining
Celebrate the New Year with the help of this party guide. Find ideas for decorations, dinner party menus, or cocktail recipes to welcome 2007 properly.
As we say goodbye to 2007 and welcome 2008 with high hopes and resolutions, many of us hope to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends and family in the traditional way—lots of good food, drink, and a generous dose of merriment. Bring the party to your home this year with the help of this News Year's Entertaining guide. Find easy and affordable tips for fancy or festive decorating. Check out the Food and Drink Guide for the Party including plenty of champagne drinks and other cocktails, hor'dourves, and desserts. Let us help you figure out how much to buy. If you plan on hosting a dinner party or simply spoiling family or a couple friends, check out the New Years Menu Planner for some fancy schmancy meal ideas. Happy New Year Everyone!
Should auld acquaintance be forgot? And never brought to mind?...
Decorating Ideas- When it comes to decorating for a New Year's Eve party, have fun and do it big—whatever it is. Usher in the New Year with some enthusiasm! You may choose to go more formal with your decorating scheme, but funky or casual certainly have their own appeal. Let these ideas inspire you for a festive celebration that is just right for you and your guests.
- Simple touches can make all the difference. Cover a plain white tablecloth with an overcloth of sheer fabric or tulle netting. This will instantly dress up any table. Place a circle of white boa under the plates for something fun. You can glue the boa circles to foil wrapped cardboard circles placed under the plates to keep them in place.
- Balloons! Nothing says party like balloons. For a fancier feel, use helium or hang clusters of white balloons tied with silver ribbon. Fill deflated balloons with silver confetti, tinsel, or small bells to make noisemakers and then inflate. Encourage your guests to pop the balloons at midnight.
As we wish for success and riches in the New Year, New Year's Eve parties often feature plenty of gold and silver, and lots of shiny things of course. Here are some ways to play with this theme:
- Metallic Ornaments- Place simple, metallic globe ornaments top down on glass candle holders for a chic decorating trick. Group these together with candles to increase their sparkle.
- Candles- Replace all the candles in your house with gold and silver candles. For candles on glass or metallic holders, tie silver or gold ribbon around the holder.
- Mirrors- Place mirror coasters under drinks, or larger glass pieces under silver serving bowls. Fill glass cylinder vases or hurricanes with small mirrored pieces, such as tiny disco balls. Place a couple pillar candles in hurricanes around the mirrors to make them twinkle. Purchase small mirrored ornaments or make your own with paper clips, monofilament, and mirrored pieces available at any craft store. Hang these from the hurricanes.
- Transitioning from Christmas - The Christmas tree can extend to New Year's Eve when done right. Load a vintage aluminum or silver fake tree with plenty of sparkle. Hang silver tinsel, stars, and metallic globe ornaments from the tree. You can use a smaller tree for a centerpiece. Remove red bows and berries from a Christmas wreath and replace them with gold and silver bows, stars, or other touches for a proper New Years welcome.
- How do guests keep track of their glass? Personalize glasses (and cut down on dishwashing) with unique wine charms made with a little wire. Thread different color beads onto the wire, ending with bigger beads or ornaments, and wrap the wire around a dowel to make tight coils. Then, twist the wire around the wine glass (or champagne flute) stem. You can also purchase a letter charm for each guest for that extra-special, personalized touch.
- More fun with beaded wires? Glue coils of beaded wire to a piece of cardboard tube (from a roll of wrapping paper for example) for a pretty napkin holder.
- Check out this clever idea from About.com for a Blast from the Past themed party here.
Food and Drink for the Party
Beverages- Whether you expect pink elephants at your New Years Party or not, tasty beverages with a special touch are a must for any New Years Party. Since it's probably a good idea to offer both alcoholic and non-alcoholic choices for a diverse crowd, recipes for each are featured below. Here is a guideline for how much to buy based on a minimum of 2 drinks per person at an average party of 10 people.
- A 750 ml. bottle will provide around 16 drinks, a liter bottle will provide 22, and a 1.5 liter bottle will provide 39.
- For wine drinkers, stock around 5 bottles for every ten people.
- For beer drinkers (hopefully not on New Years!), plan on 5 six-packs for every ten people.
- For a full bar, the following alcohols should be kept in stock. These are the basis for most cocktails. Keep soda water, sour mix, and several different fruit juices in stock for mixers. Dry vermouth is used to make martinis, while sweet vermouth is used to make Manhattans. The mixer grenadine is also popular in many cocktails. If your budget allows, you can also purchase fancier liqueurs such as Kahlua, Amaretto, Drambuie, and others.
- Vodka
- Tequila
- Rum
- Gin
- Scotch
- Blended Whiskey
- Bourbon
Champagne Drinks
Pear Brandy Champagne Cocktail
Other Alcoholic
Angel Martini Cosmopolitan Martini Surfer Martini
Apple Martini with Sour Apple Hard Candy
Non-Alcoholic
Party Eats
Dips and Spreads
Smoky Eggplant Dip with Baked Cumin Tortilla
Mini-Vegetable Lumpia with Garlic Vinegar Dip
Carrot Sticks with Pesto-Dill Dip
Chipped Beef Dip in a Sourdough Bread Bowl
Seafood
Grilled Prosciutto and Basil-Wrapped Shrimp
Salmon in Fillo Tarts with Cucumber-Sesame Salsa
Grilled Ahi Tuna with Grilled Pineapple Salsa
Salmon in Fillo Tarts with Cucumber-Sesame Salsa
Marinated Shrimp in Avocado Halves
Scallop Ceviche W/ Mandarin Chipotle Sauce
Jack Fry's Lobster-Crab Cakes with Creamy Dijon Sauce
Other Meats
Chinois Minced Garlic Chicken in Radicchio Cups
Chicken Satay with Peanut Butter Dipping Sauce
Honey-Pineapple Chicken Drumettes
Prosciutto Wrapped Melon Balls
Cha Shui (Chinese Pork Appetizer)
Diced Chicken Wrapped in Lettuce Leaves (Gai Yuk Sang Choy Bau)
More Great Hor'dourves
Grand Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
Wonton Dippers with Creamy Chili Mustard Dip
Spicy Bruschetta with Heirloom Tomatoes, Red Chili and Fresh Basil
Spinach and Artichoke Pinwheels
Grilled Peppers with Gorgonzola, Lemon, and Capers
White-on-White Pears with Gorgonzola
Beer-Battered Fried Avocado Wedges with Salsa
Melintzanosalata (Eggplant Caviar)
Dessert
Buttermilk Panna Cotta "Martinis" with Fresh Berry Compote
Chocolate Buchteln (Baked Filled Doughnuts)
Sugar-Free Chocolate Pecan Cookies
The Ritz-Carlton Chocolate Chip Cookie
Date Pudding Cake with Sticky Toffee Sauce
Raspberry-Blackberry Cobbler with Triple-Ginger Biscuit Topping
Go to the New Year's Menu Planner.
