New Year’s Eve party planning: how to plan an unforgettable New Year’s Eve party
To ensure that the New Year’s Eve party is an unforgettable event, it is important to prepare well. Whether you celebrate New Year’s Eve as a couple, as a small family, or with friends – you need to get all the details right, from the perfect sparkling outfit, the food to the New Year’s Eve decorations. To make sure that the party preparation between the Christmas holidays and New Year goes well, we have gathered the most important points for New Year’s Eve party planning and, on top of that, we provide some New Year’s Eve party ideas as well as inspirations for New Year’s Eve theme parties.
Contents
Plan a New Year's party: checklist
New Year’s Eve party planning: 1 month before
New Year’s Eve party planning: 1 to 2 weeks before
New Year’s Eve party planning: 2 to 3 days before
New Year’s Eve party planning: 1 day before
Organising a New Year’s Eve party: tips and checklists for New Year’s Eve party planning
To ensure that the period between Christmas and New Year is not too stressful, it is a good idea to start planning the New Year’s Eve party in good time.
Our checklist ‘Planning a New Year’s Eve party - checklist’ summarises the most important steps to ensure that everything is ready for the big night:
New Year’s Eve party planning: approx. 1 month in advance
Send out invitations in good time and ask questions if necessary: Which song should be played? Which drinks should we offer? Do any guests have food intolerances?
Decide on the party location that is big enough for all the guests (e.g. living room, party cellar).
Decide on how the party will be catered: Will you do all the catering, will there be a catering service, or will the guests contribute something?
Give people plenty of notice if it’s a New Year’s Eve theme party.
Get your own party outfit.
New Year’s Eve party planning: 1 to 2 weeks in advance
Inform your guests what time the party will start and how long it will last if it is not open-ended.
Think about activities for your guests. If there are children at the New Year’s Eve party, you should have plenty for them to do so that they don’t get bored.
Put together a playlist with suitable music – maybe you can find someone in your circle of friends who would be happy to take on the role of ‘DJ’.
Plan your New Year’s Eve decorations. Especially if want to make your own handicrafts, you can also get DIY-enthusiastic friends and relatives to help you.
Organise fireworks in good time and/or find a suitable place nearby to watch the fireworks.
Start buying non-perishable drinks and snacks early.
If you are not sure how many or which drinks to choose for your New Year’s Eve party, it is a good idea to buy drinks on consignment. This means you can return unopened bottles to the retailer and get your money back – which is an advantage for party planning. Many beverage stores, but also some supermarkets, sell drinks on consignment. You can discuss the exact details with your local supplier.
New Year’s Eve party planning: 2 to 3 days before
Do the final shopping (e.g. perishable food).
Organise enough crockery, cutlery, and glasses.
Make sure that all guests have a place to sit.
Clear an area for a dance floor.
Decorate the room with your chosen New Year’s Eve decorations.
Enlist some volunteers to help clean up the next day.
New Year’s Eve party planning: 1 day before
Clear the cloakroom so that guests can take off their coats and jackets.
Remove breakable items so that nothing gets damaged during the evening.
Prepare the food for the New Year’s Eve party and chill the drinks.
Safety tip for New Year's Eve
If a rocket or table firework does not work, do not relight it to avoid accidents. It is better to leave the dud for a few minutes and then extinguish it with water for safety reasons.
Celebrating New Year’s Eve for two: New Year’s Eve ideas for couples
Even without a big New Year’s Eve party with friends and family, you can still have a special start to the new year. New Year’s Eve is also an ideal opportunity to spend time with your partner. If you’re looking for New Year’s Eve for two ideas, then read on:
On New Year’s Eve, catch up on the things you haven’t had time to do all year. Have you been wanting to try out a new board game or video game for ages? Have you been meaning to watch a new mini-series for months? The long hours leading up to midnight are a great opportunity to spend valuable time together.
Review the year. Look at the most beautiful, romantic, and funny photos and videos you took last year. To top it off, add a few selfies to the photo collection on New Year’s Eve. With a few funny props or in a crazy party outfit, you can create new memories that will stay with you for a long time.
New Year’s Eve for two is the perfect opportunity for a romantic candlelight dinner: cook together, buy the treats you don’t usually get, and enjoy the time together to the fullest.
In the year, everyone needs a little cheering up. You can also use a quiet moment on New Year’s Eve to
write a few little ‘love letters’ to each other that will only be opened later in the year. Store the motivating, comforting, and loving messages in a small box or a jar to be opened later.
If you have a little more time and feel like baking, you can also surprise your partner with homemade fortune cookies. They can be filled with personal wishes for the new year and a few words of love.
New Year’s Eve theme party: creative ideas & tips
If you’re planning a New Year’s Eve party with friends, a theme party is a great idea – funny, cool, or elegant costumes are a great way to lighten the mood. Especially if you invite a mix of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues to your party who don’t necessarily know each other very well, a theme party can be a good starting point for conversations and a relaxed get-together. You should add a few icebreaker games to get to help everyone get to know each other.
But even if you are celebrating just with your family, a New Year’s Eve theme party can be great fun. After all, children like to take every opportunity to dress up or to be as smartly dressed like adults for once.
Preparing for a New Year’s Eve theme party
Themed parties take longer to organise. After all, your guests must have the opportunity to find a suitable outfit for the theme or dress code. And you (as the host) will probably need a bit more time to decorate your party location.
Think about the following points before you get started:
Choose a theme suitable for the age group: princess or pirate parties are great fun for kids, but probably too silly for adults. Kids, on the other hand, probably can’t do much with the 70s and 80s themes.
Send out invitations to your guests at least a month or two in advance and get a firm yes or no answer if possible. If you are still undecided about your party theme, you can also leave room in the invitation for guests’ wishes and suggestions.
Once you have decided on a theme, start shopping for the appropriate decorations and party outfits as early as possible. Many New Year’s Eve decorations are sold out by Christmas time.
New Year’s Eve party ideas: Themes for a New Year’s Eve theme party
When planning a theme party, you should consider who your guests will be. Not everyone feels comfortable in a crazy costume or wants to invest money in an elaborate outfit. For many simple New Year's Eve theme party ideas, party guests can rummage through their own wardrobes for a suitable costume, meaning they don't have to buy so many new things. If you want something a little more unusual or elaborate, a costume hire service can also be a good idea.
Simple themes for New Year’s Eve theme parties:
All White
Black & White
Dots & Stripes
Bad Taste Party
Tip: A ‘Bad Taste Party’ during the cold season is the perfect opportunity to get that Ugly Christmas jumper out of the closet one last time!
Themed New Year’s Eve party ideas for adults:
Masked ball
Casino party
Hippie- & Boho Style
Themed New Year’s Eve party ideas for children:
Fairy-tale worlds
Pirate adventure
Underwater world
Superheroes
Witches & Wizards
Aliens & Astronauts
Dinosaurs
You can find more tips and ideas for your New Year's Eve party in our articles. This will ensure that your New Year's Eve party is an unforgettable night.
Stylish New Year's Eve outfits for a glamorous New Year
To end the year in style, you need the perfect New Year's Eve outfit – the more glitter, glamour and glitz, the better! We'll show you how to cleverly style outfits with sequins, glitter or velvet, which are perfect for New Year's Eve celebrations thanks to their elegant look. We'll also show you how to put together comfortable yet stylish New Year's Eve looks from casual and cosy garments.
Finger food for New Year's Eve: 5 recipe ideas for quick New Year's Eve snacks
A successful New Year's Eve party includes delicious snacks that can be eaten throughout the evening, to keep your guests happy for the long night ahead of them. Finger food that can be eaten easily between courses is best suited for this. In this article, we will show you four delicious savoury recipe ideas and a sweet dessert for a delectable New Year's Eve buffet. With a spread such as this, there is guaranteed to be something for every taste.
Ideas for sparkling New Year's Eve decorations
What would a New Year's Eve party be without the right decorations? In our article, we show you various ideas on how to decorate your party room for New Year's Eve. Glittering table decorations and homemade New Year's Eve garlands will get your guests in the mood to party in no time at all. You'll also create the perfect backdrop for souvenir photos.
Fun New Year's Eve games for your party
To ensure a jovial atmosphere and lots of laughter at your party, the right party games can help pass the time until midnight. You will find suitable game ideas and activities in this article. We present New Year's Eve games for small and large groups that are sure to fit into your party planning.
Celebrating New Year's Eve with children
New Year's Eve is a very special experience for children: not only do they get to marvel at fireworks, but they can often stay up as late as the adults to welcome in the new year. However, the hours until midnight can quickly become very long for little ones, so clever planning is required. In this article, we present various game ideas that will make the hours fly by. We also give tips on how to celebrate a stress-free, first New Year's Eve with your baby.
Ideas for the perfect New Year's Eve make-up
To round off your New Year's Eve outfit, you’ll need the right make-up. We'll show you step by step how to perfect your make-up for your party. Even if you don't have much experience, you can conjure up an elegant and exciting look for the last evening of the year.
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The image sources in this text are in chronological order:
Cover photo: iStock.com/SolStock
1st image in text: iStock.com/simonapilolla
2nd image in text: iStock.com/AleksandarNakic
3rd image in text: iStock.com/Maksym Belchenko
4th image in text: iStock.com/svetikd
5th image in text: iStock.com/franckreporter
6th image in text: iStock.com/svetikd
7th image in text: iStock.com/Todor Tsvetkov
8th image in text: iStock.com/martin-dm
9th image in text: C&A