Creating "vice stations" with all the indulgences people tend to give up in their New Year's resolution is a cool, easy way to decorate for your party. Fill a candy table with clear glass jars of colorful candies and scoopers and bags where guests can fill their own.
For a cookie and dessert buffet, load platters of different size and heights with your favorite desserts on another table. If video games are your guilty pleasure, set up a gaming area. And if your goal is to quit smoking in the New Year, set up a retro smoking area (outside and away from non-smokers, natch) with upscale ashtrays and cigarette holders.
Here are more ways to spark your creativity however you choose to spend the holiday:
• Wild New Year’s Eve Cocktail Party
• Glitzy New Year’s Eve Dinner Party
• Sophisticated New Year’s Day Brunch
You can’t just sing “Auld Lang Syne” all night and wait for the ball to drop. To get your guests mingling, plan a poker tournament or crank up the Wii.
Organized activities that are fun both to watch and play are a great way for guests to get to know each other, which frees up the party hosts from having to make introductions and keep people entertained.
Here are more ways to fill the hours before midnight:
• Choose a Resolution Buddy
• Create an Annual Memory Book
• Host a Board Game Olympics
Fortunately, sparkling wine pairs with everything, so your New Year’s menu is limited only by your imagination. Each of these three inspiring menus is a decadent way to take you from the old year and into the new.
• New Year’s Day Brunch
• Decadent dinner party
• Cocktails & hors d'oeuvres
Featured New Year's Party Recipes from Epicurious.com
Juice up your sparkling wine with these champagne cocktails, the perfect twist on the traditional favorite. Serve one signature drink, or offer all three.
• Kir Royale
• Bellini
• Mimosa
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| 1. | 1999 / Prince |
| 2. | What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve / Lou Rawls |
| 3. | Auld Lang Syne / Elvis Presley |
| 4. | Celebration / Kool and the Gang |
| 5. | New Year / The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
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| 6. | Kiss Me / Stephen “Tin Tin” Duffy |
| 7. | Kiss Me / Sixpence None the Richer |
| 8. | Kiss Them for Me / Siouxsie and the Banshees |
| 9. | Happy New Year / ABBA |
| 10. | Bringing in a Brand New Year / B.B. King |
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