Host an Easy New Year’s Eve Bash!
December 26, 2017
You don’t have to plan for weeks in advance to throw a fun New Year’s Eve party at home. Just follow a few simple suggestions from BuzzFeed, Real Simple and that go-to idea machine Pinterest, and you can round up what you need to host a simple, simply fantastic social event!
To get you started, here’s an easy New Year’s Eve Party Essentials Checklist.
The Décor
Keep it simple with white and silver or gold helium-filled balloons with ribbons attached and trailing. You can leave your tree up if you decorated one, or take it down – it’s up to you. The NY Post New Year’s Eve party suggestions include adding a lot of tea lights all over the place for exponential festive glow.
You could wrap the lights in personal memory messages as conversation starters for reminiscing about all the good times throughout 2017.
If you’d rather be crafting from now until New Year’s Eve, who are we to stop you? BuzzFeed offers 51 DIY ways to decorate for your one-of-a-kind celebration with lots of edible glitter and gold dust!
The Provisions
Keep the food and drinks simple. A corner bar set up in the dining room where guests can help themselves by mixing a drink or pouring Champagne is the way to go.
Snacks should be abundant, with crowd-pleasing heat-and-eat finger foods which you can pick up at Costco, (on S. Havana about 15 miles from Southshore) Whole Foods (16 miles from Southshore on E. Hampden) or Trader Joe’s (25 miles away on Colorado Blvd and well-worth the trip!).
Of course, you can always get your hands dirty and whip up a few of these Food Network New Year’s Eve specials, like Gorgonzola Spinach Artichoke Dip or Lobster Mac n’ Cheese. Both yummy and worth the extra calories and effort!
HGTV has 27 holiday cocktails to choose from – like an easy spiced-pear sangria with a champagne twist (talk about no-fuss!) and raspberry-infused hot chocolate with raspberry liqueur and crème de cacao. Check out 25 more recipes here.
Supplement your party-prep with local-favorite finger foods like appetizers from Wholly Cannoli Café in Aurora. Right off Aurora Parkway near Southlands, this café offers endless take-out options for groups. Choose from toasted ravioli, arancini rice balls, fried calamari and of course, yummy sausage cannoli!
The Playlist
The NY Post has perfect music playlists for New Year’s Eve, as does Real Simple, HGTV and, of course, Pandora. You can choose from Dinner Party, Yacht Rock, Hipster Holidays, or Classic Soul BBQ (and more). Pandora doesn’t let you link to the actual station, but if you set up an account, just search and add any of these to your profile and go crazy.
Don’t forget your radio — KPPT-FM (95.7), KQKS-FM (107.5) and KXKL-FM (105) will all be broadcasting and live-streaming genre-bending hits all night long, too!
The Games
One party mandate: keep them entertained so nobody is checking a watch for all the wrong reasons! And if that means picking up a cheap or gently-used portable ping pong table (for the adults or kids), it might be worth the $100. But you can also opt for these party game options from Southern Living: a New Year’s Eve-themed round of Charades, Two Resolutions and a Lie, or the Champagne race (not to chug, mind you, but to transport bubbly via teaspoon across a room). All good clean fun – unless you spill a lot of sparkling wine!
Viral Videos
Now if you’re more the epic party-planning host or hostess, and have the budget to prove it, check out the ideas on Notable Life. From fire performers and stilt walkers to floral arrangements and massive sweet-treat tables, these celeb-worthy suggestions will have your party lighting up social media all night long!
Party-Planning in Southshore
The Lakehouse in the master-planned community of Southshore is a great backdrop for a New Year’s Eve bash – or any party! It’s another perk of living lakeside, along with the beautiful new homes by Century Communities, Toll Brothers at Vista Point and Richmond American Homes, from the upper $300s to the $700s. Plan your life lakeside, at Southshore!