As Amazon Associates and affiliates of several brands, the use of some of our links can be a potential financial benefit to us. To learn more about affiliates and to see the full disclosure you can click here.
A night of revelry and fun, gathering with friends, is one of the best ways to end the year. You can gather your friends around a theme, a menu, and a good playlist, all to your liking, to countdown to the New Year in style. But hosting is not for the weak, which is why A Place to Bake is always willing to gather everything up for you when it comes to hosting.
If you want to throw a New Year’s Eve Bash, you have to make it worth it. You have to make it stand apart, because you don’t want guests sitting around thinking about the places they should’ve gone instead.
So, how do you throw a New Year’s Eve party for the ages? You need the right mix of music, food, and entertainment that matches the tone of the night, and gets you to midnight. That means curating your experience and the details to work in your favor, but that can also mean a lot of footwork. So, skip the research and heavy lifting, and let me show you how to throw the best New Year’s Eve Party possible.
Throw Your Best New Year’s Eve Party
As with all entertainment, creating a plan will help detail everything and keep the chaos in order, so a few things are in order. Every party has a plan for themes, decor, color scheme, music, entertainment, food, and more. I like to organize everything into a few files on either Canva or Notion before I even get started.
Something like a New Year’s Eve party can come with set expectations from guests so while you want to meet expectations, you also want the party you throw to be unique to you and show your hosting talents and personality. Here are few key places to start with your party planning endeavors.
Decide on the Vibe
Always set a theme/vibe/or tone for your party from the beginning. Do this in the planning stage, so you can easily decide on color scheme/music/food or whatever, with a good reference point. It gives you a central concept to focus on or to draw inspiration. Your theme should be reflective of the New Year’s spirit while still reflecting your personal style. This means plenty of shimmer and good times but how you go about that is up to you.
Here are a few themes or ideas you can center your New Year’s Eve party around.
Vintage Glitz and Glamour
As we all know, New Year’s Eve parties mean glitz and glamour, champagne and sparkles. However, there is often an element of nostalgia. Choose a theme that leans into that that vintage element with vintage style champagne coupe glasses, maybe even a champagne tower. Provide plenty of glitter and sparkle in the form of tinsel, streamers, and confetti poppers. Curate a vintage style playlist with Big Band sounds and have your guest dress in vintage-inspired glam.
Kitschy New Year’s Party
Lean into kitsch of it all by maxing out on all of the elements everyone considered cliche or overdone. If you commit to it so hard, it can be its own theme. This means lots of confetti, disco balls, and balloons. Load up on photo booth props, New Year’s hats, and funky glasses. You can even over do it on the metallics. This theme means nothing can be overdone or too much.
Roaring 20’s
While it often flies right over the point of the novel, Great Gatsby themed New Year’s parties are incredibly popular due to being synonymous with the roaring 20s, and all things glamour. With a slight shift from Gatsby to a general roaring 20’s theme you can create a well-done, elevated New Year’s Eve Party. An inspired playlist, combined with some fun decor like oversized feather centerpieces, and strategic dinnerware like art deco inspired champagne flutes can create a party that rivals Jay Gatsby’s.
A Cozy Night In
Throwing a rager not your move? That can work to your advantage. Treat New Year’s Eve like the sleepover of your childhood dreams, except this time you set the bed time. Lean into all things comfort and cozy. Set up some low-key activities and set the mood for a movie marathon or game night to occupy your time until it’s time to countdown to midnight. Have friends show up cozy clothes or pajamas to really make the night.
Decor
Decor begins at the invitation so design your invitations to match the theme. Going glitz and glamour? Add some beautiful calligraphy and metallics. Roaring 20’s? Lean into some art deco elements.
As for the party decor, you will want to do the same. For the glamorous themes like vintage glitz or the roaring 20’s you will want plenty of tinsel, disco balls, and confetti. Don’t forget the large feather decor that reminds you of a speakeasy! Use practical metallics as a part of your decor like styling food and drinks in silver and gold vessels.
For a cozy night, make sure the room screams comfort with a ton of blankets and pillows. Add some nods to the holiday by adding in hints of sparkles around in places such as the confetti on the tables or tinsel to take photos in front of.
Food
People often forget the food when it comes to your theme but coordinating your food and theme show an attention to detail and makes your party stand apart. For themes like Vintage Glitz and Glamour go for classic luxurious foods like oysters and caviar, don’t forget the champagne of course! For a kitschy party, lean heavy into themed foods. Think silver and gold foods and or foods decorated with metallics like these sparkler cake pops.
You may have to get creative with your themed foods and think both looks and context. For the roaring 20’s theme try out historically popular party foods like Deviled Eggs or Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I’d suggest these mini Pineapple Upside Down cakes for something more party-friendly. Leaning towards something more chill like the cozy night-in theme? Go for convenience and comfort. I like mac and cheese balls or familiar snacks like pizza and chips.
Here are some creative New Year’s Eve Recipes that stood out to me.
Juniper Gin Martini
Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes
Caviar Potato Chips
Champagne Jello Shots
Entertainment
A New Year’s Eve party can consist of just some really good drinks and some good music. If you choose that route, your main focus has to be the music because everything is riding on it. If you are not confident in your playlist creation skills, enlist some help or source it out completely and hire a DJ for the night.
Aiming for something more involved that just an amazing night of dancing? Go for things that can hold your guests attentions for a reasonable amount of time but not take up too much of it. You don’t want to be stuck in a game of monopoly and miss the clock strike. Think short and fun games, that allow people to flow in and out, leaving those who aren’t playing still able to have good conversation. Keep the music fun but not overwhelming. If you’re opting for a quieter night in, consider a night of making vision boards or inspiration collages from scrap magazines and newspapers.
A Clock!
Probably the most important part of the night, don’t forget a way to watch the clock! Whether on a television, a laptop, or a smart hub, make it clear and visible! You want your guests to be able to pop their confetti and kiss in the new year in at the strike of midnight.
A good New Year’s Eve Party only really requires good intent. Whether with a room full of people or a few select friends, how you begin the new year is completely up to you!
