New Year’s Eve Party Ideas

Last Updated: Dec 2, 2018

Few things kick off the start of a new year like a New Year’s Eve party. Most love the opportunity to celebrate with friends, drink champagne, and watch the big crystal ball drop at the New Year countdown in NYC. These parties are your first experience in the New Year, so it’s important to make them something to remember. If you’re looking for fun News Year’s Eve party ideas, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite ideas for you to ring in the New Year below.

Jump to:

• New Year’s Eve Party Theme Ideas
• Delicious New Year’s Eve Party Food Ideas
• New Year Decoration Ideas
• Other New Year’s Eve Ideas

New Year’s Eve Party Theme Ideas

Every New Year’s party needs a celebratory theme, and it needs to be unique in order to stand out. Whether the party you’re throwing is a sophisticated adults-only affair, or a fun movie-marathon party for the kids, make the most you can out of it to ensure everyone has a great time. However, before you get started you should record the details of your party planning. This will give you a better idea of your ideal theme and help you move forward. Here’s our guidelines for things to consider when party planning for New Year’s Eve:

• Make your guest list: Figure out which family, friends, or coworkers you want to be included in your New Year’s celebration. After completing your headcount you’ll have an idea of the type of party you’ll be throwing.
• Decide on a theme: Picking a theme helps give your party life. Make sure it’s a good one with our recommendations starting in the next section.
• Pick a venue: Make sure to take into account both the theme and guest list when picking a venue. Your house may be perfect for a get-together with friends, but larger or more elegant affairs are more easily held in a restaurant or event center.
• Send out New Year’s Eve party invites: New Year’s Invitations should be sent out 3-4 weeks in advance. This will give your guests time to plan accordingly. Dress code information should also be included on your New Year’s cards.
• Gather New Year’s Eve decorations and supplies: Collect all necessary New Year’s decorations, food, drinks, and other supplies. It wouldn’t be a New Year’s party without champagne, photo booth props, and other New Year’s decorations.

Fun New Year’s Eve Party Ideas

New Year’s Eve, above all, is a celebration worth getting together for with your closest family members and friends. It’s a time to reflect on all the good and bad times, accomplishments achieved throughout the year in addition to what exciting things will come next in the new one. Your New Year’s party theme should reflect the joyous holiday full of new hopes and aspirations. The following themes we’ve listed here do just that.

Just Desserts Party

A party just isn’t a party without mouth-watering desserts to snack on throughout the evening. Fill party tables with colorful New Year’s Eve themed confetti and fun and decorative dessert stations to keep your guests on a sugar high until the ball drops at midnight. Festive and easy New Year’s Eve dessert ideas include cupcakes, cake pops, chocolate fondue, hot chocolate, and clock-decorated Oreos sure to keep everyone coming back for seconds and thirds.

Golden Celebration

No color pairs better with New Year’s Eve than gold. Deck out your venue with golden decorations like glittery gold sequins signs, gold mylar balloons, and gold-frosted drink glasses to make a shining statement. You can guarantee your entire venue will pop along with all of the guests who arrive at your party dressed in gold. Consider sending out foil stamped cards and glitter cards beforehand to match the overall theme of you party, and be sure to pair it with one of our stylish address labels.

BYOA (Bring Your Own Appetizers)

If you and your friends love parties with plenty of food, throw a BYOA party. Ask each guest to come with their favorite festive appetizer and display the plates on a decorated table. Between pigs in a blanket to a large platter of shrimp cocktail or bruschetta, this will keep everyone from leaving the party on an empty stomach while entertaining them during the New Year’s Eve countdown.

Black and White Party

Black and white make for a classic New Year’s Eve party color scheme. The colors play well with clock and time imagery, make for an elegant dress code, and leave plenty of opportunity for New Year food and drink ideas.

New Year’s Eve Party Ideas For Adults

The kids have all tired out and been put to bed, and now it’s time for the adults to celebrate the coming of the New Year. These festive party ideas are perfect for an adults-only affair:

Champagne Showers

There’s no better beverage to kick off a New Year’s Eve party than champagne. Feature the drink as the centerpiece of your party with champagne buckets, champagne-colored decor, and plenty of appetizers to go around.

New Beer’s Eve

If you’re looking for a more masculine theme, consider throwing a New Beer’s Eve Party. This party features plenty of craft beer choices and rustic decor. New Year decor options might include twine, metallic accents, and burlap.

Shaking Things Up Party

If you’d rather feature a well-thought-out cocktail menu instead of beer or champagne, consider a “shaking things up” party. Break out your cocktail shakers and come up with a centerpiece drink to carry you through the New Year’s countdown.

New Year’s Eve Party Ideas For Kids

Nothing beats welcoming in the New Year with the whole family. If you’re looking for some fun New Year’s Eve party themes that are also family-friendly, check out our ideas below.

I Scream (Ice Cream) for New Year’s Party

Help keep the kids up and awake until the ball drops with an ice cream party for them to enjoy. Create a build your own ice cream bar, grab the necessary ingredients including sprinkles and hot fudge, and let the creativity flow. Then welcome in the New Year with one big “I Scream for New Year’s!”

Fireworks Colors Party

Fireworks are one of the best parts of a New Year’s Eve party for kids, and a perfect way to include all ages in the fun. Break out plenty of colorful New Year decor and buy sparklers to round out the decorations. You can watch local New Year’s Eve fireworks together or keep the fun popping at home.

Balloon Drop

Balloon drops are both a fun and easy New Year’s party centerpiece. Just fill up balloons so that they’re heavy enough to fall to the ground, tape a cloth to the ceiling, fill it with the balloons, and rip it open with a pull string when the countdown reaches its conclusion.

Delicious New Year’s Eve Party Food Ideas

Make sure your New Year’s Eve party menu is complete with the perfect party food ideas. From finger foods to fondue dippings, make sure your guests never go hungry so they have energy all the way until midnight. Here’s some of our New Year’s Eve food favorites:

• Finger foods: Small, easy to pick up appetizers like smoked salmon on cucumber or small pastries make perfect party food.
• Salted caramel popcorn: This easy to make and easier to eat sweet treat is perfect party food.
• Champagne cupcakes: Combine two of the best parts of a party with champagne cupcakes.
• Fondue: Fondue made it back into popular culture again since the ’50s, and it’s back to being a great party food centerpiece. Dress up your fondue as a New Year’s Eve decoration and a centerpiece where friends and family can gather.
• Antipasto sticks: These easy to plate, easy to pick up appetizers make for a delicious shared party plate.

New Year Decoration Ideas

If you’re looking for New Year’s Eve decoration specifics, we have a few recommendations. Consider glittering up your drinks with sugar or glitter glue the glasses beforehand. You can also hang string lights and metallic streamers to carry out the glitter party scheme. For more elegant parties, make sure to include lots of gold, black, and white. Many New Year’s Eve parties are completed with blow-up balloons.

If you want to create a space for friends and family to capture memories of the night, try crafting a New Year’s photo booth to take fun photos together. Pair this with plenty of provided props, New Year’s costume elements, and a themed bar, and you’re guaranteed a great night with loved ones.

Other New Year’s Eve Ideas

Make this New Year’s Eve celebration and every year after to come one to remember. If you loved these party ideas and are looking for additional New Year’s Eve inspiration, check out our New Year’s invitations and cards all of which you can personalize with your favorite photos to spread holiday cheer for the new year.