How to Throw the Best New Year's Eve Open House

While Thanksgiving and Christmas are all about family, New Year’ Eve get-togethers include friends as well. This is the perfect time to throw an open house, a party that lasts throughout the evening not only for your friends but your neighbors, your children’s friends, co-workers, in fact, anyone who would like to attend a more casual New Year’s Eve get together.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Extend the invitations. Hand out or post an invitation at work and give out simple invitations to neighbors. Because it is an open house, guests should feel free to arrive early and stay late or anything in between. This allows for other social obligations while still giving you the chance to see everyone. Make sure your invitations reflect the casual drop-in nature of the event, but do be sure to include a specific starting time, ending time and make private, individual arrangements if some guests are staying over.

2. Plan the decorations. New Year’s decorations typically include banners and balloons with hats and noisemakers for the guests. Some hats can be quite elaborate and more expensive so shop around. You will have to “guesstimate” how many to buy since an open house does not usually require an RSVP, but a good rule of thumb is one for each invitation, since some guests will not stay until midnight and some may come with a guest of their own.

3. Plan whether or not and how to serve alcohol since some guests may stop in and then drive somewhere else. It is important to regulate the flow of alcohol at your event to prevent your friends from driving away impaired. Appoint one or more to serve the alcohol rather than leave open bottles available for guests to serve themselves or serve champagne punch instead. Be sure to offer non-alcoholic beverages or punch, too. Have sparkling beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, to toast in the New Year.

4. Plan the menu. Make food the focus of your party. Drinking is usually less of a problem on a full stomach. Provide a serve yourself buffet with sliced meats and cheeses, either from the deli or from whole roasts of beef or ham you have cooked yourself, as well as good breads, pickles, olives, cherry tomatoes, celery, etc. Also provide plenty of finger foods on platters around the party rooms to tempt those who do not make it to the buffet table. Be sure to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold so your offerings make it through the evening at their safe temperature.

5. Plan the music and any other entertainment. Set up different styles of entertainment. Music in the main room. A TV with entertaining movies for kids in another room or a karaoke machine for the kids or adults. An area for charades or Pictionary or Twister.

6. Watch the glittering ball fall,counting in the New Year and ring it in yourself with noise-makers, toasts and kisses all around! Have fun!