With only a few weeks left until New Year’s Eve, it’s high time to start thinking about the details for the most glittering party of the year. Below you will find a complete list of 23 things to consider, which will create a thoughtful and magical evening for all guests.
1. Start on time
If you are going to plan a New Year at the last minute, you may not have time for everything. Make a quick estimate of how long all preparation steps will take and prioritize what feels most important. Things often take longer than you think. Also remember to give yourself some time at the end to get ready, perhaps sipping on the first glass of bubbly.
2. Make a schedule for the evening
Write down when the guests are expected to arrive, when the various dishes will be served, what time you will have games and when you must go out in time to enjoy the stroke of twelve. The timetable does not have to be followed slavishly, but gives an idea of ​​how much time you have.
3. Make a table setting
There are different schools of thought on how to seat your guests. A good trick can be to put pairs diagonally opposite each other. Then they can still talk to each other but also easily end up in discussions with others. Some want to mix up chattier guests with quieter guests. Another school might be to let one part of the table be a little quieter and gather people who are more outgoing at the other end.
4. Think about theme
If you are going to buy the decorations at the last minute, it can be good to have some colors ready for yourself. For example, choose between buying decorations in gold or silver to make them look uniform.
5. Spend time setting the table
It is now the silver cutlery, the linen napkins and grandma’s old crockery that have their chance to decorate your table. The table setting does a lot for the overall impression during the New Year’s party, so spend a little extra time on it.
Read also: New Year’s table setting in gold! The details that brighten up the party.
6. Fold the napkins neatly
Go wild with Youtube videos and let your first folded swan see the light of day on this year’s New Year’s table. Or settle for a simpler napkin folding that is still a little more fun than the usual one.
7. Pimp the bathroom
Here all the guests will spend some time on their own. Clean up all half-empty bottles in the shower and all toothbrushes. Put out a candle, an extra luxurious soap, a nice towel and stock up with lots of toilet paper. A tip for those who want to really splurge is to buy cheap mini towels, roll them up and tie a string around them and have them in a basket for the guests to use.
8. Put marshals in the entrance
Let the guests feel like it’s a party already when they stand outside the door.
9. Clean up the hall
Often people remember to make the other parts of the apartment or house nice, but forget the hall. But the first thing guests are greeted with is actually your hall. Clean up all superfluous jackets and shoes and try to give the hall a welcoming impression.
10. Have the drink ready when the guests arrive
Getting something good to drink is a good start to the party. Don’t forget to have non-alcoholic options. If you are good at mixing drinks, you can have a few drinks for guests to choose from when they arrive. Hang out together in the kitchen as you prepare the drink and let the guests start with their favorite drink.
11. Invest in festive paraphernalia
The balance between children’s party and New Year’s can sometimes feel delicate if you go too far with the decorations. But nice place cards, napkins, confetti, banners, sparklers, balloons and streamers can raise the New Year’s party to a level compared to other parties of the year. Maybe the atmosphere can even be more fun with glittery party hats or a kit of loose moustaches? You know your guests best and know what can elevate your party a little extra.
12. Print the menu cards
Something that gives a very festive feeling is to print paper with the evening’s menu on it and stick it on a stiffer colored paper. Place a menu card at each place.
13. Make songbooks
Maybe the group of friends have their songs that you often sing along to? The printed sing-along lyrics raise the mood considerably.
14. Prepare activities
Charades, sing-along or quiz. Regardless of what you want to do, the games need to be prepared in advance. Don’t forget a small gift for the winning team.
15. Make a champagne tower
A luxurious and almost forbidden way to drink schumpa, because it can feel a bit wasteful. Stack the glasses on top of each other in a tower and pour the bubbly into the top glass. Watch the drink trickle down from glass to glass. Watch a video before to avoid the risk of broken glass.
Read also: How to build a champagne tower for New Year’s Eve!
16. Have an oyster melange
Start the New Year’s party by letting guests mingle and eat oysters. It will be a fun activity to try to open the shells of the small delicacies of the sea together and will guarantee a luxurious feeling. Don’t forget to invest in an oyster knife beforehand for easier opening and watch a Youtube video if you don’t know how.
17. Take care of the guests
Remember to exchange a few words with everyone as you mingle. Take extra care of those you don’t know that many. Always follow guests to the door when they leave. A good host or hostess not only has fun himself, but makes the evening memorable and fun for all his guests. Don’t forget to refill empty glasses and make sure there is always water on the table.
18. Write letters to yourselves in a year
New Year’s is for nostalgic retrospect, but mainly for a fresh start. Have all the guests write a letter to themselves to open on New Year’s Eve in a year. Which expectations do you hope will be fulfilled during the year? Let everyone take home their own letters, or even more fun: let the guests write their address on the letters and you will post the letters a few days before New Year next year.
19. Drink the champagne early
Toasting real champagne is of course festive at twelve o’clock. But you will feel the nuances of the expensive drink better if you instead drink champagne earlier in the evening.
20. Make a joint playlist
Start a Spotify list that the guests can fill in before the party. In this way, you get a mix of everyone’s musical tastes to listen to.
21. Have snacks and night food ready
Even if you think that all the good New Year’s food should be enough for everyone to be full, the cravings can actually come back in the wee hours. Sausages with bread can then feel like the best food of the evening. An alternative is to have an extra bag of crisps ready for the nighttime naps.
22. Have a plan for twelve
Where will you all be when 2021 turns into 2022? Do you have your own fireworks or do you need to find a place so you can see others’? What will you drink and in what? What time do you need to go out at the latest to avoid standing in the hall when the clock strikes twelve? Make a plan for how you envision the stroke of twelve together with your guests.
Read also: Here you can celebrate the New Year in Stockholm.
23. Check out the accommodation options
Do the guests need to sleep over and how do they get home in the evening? Prepare the sleeping area as far as possible before the evening begins, so you don’t have to rummage around in the wardrobe for sheets in the wee hours.
Read also:
New Year’s Quiz 2022!
10 fun party games that create the world’s funnest party.
7 games for adults to get the New Year party going!
5 fun board games for the New Year’s party.
