How to Decorate Your House for a New Year's Party

Your guests will be more than ready to meet the dawning of the new year surrounded by these fun and festive decorations.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Black And Silver Balloons
• 15 Yards Thin Silver Ribbons
• Noisemakers
• 3 Or 4 Strands White Christmas Tree Lights
• Party Favors
• Metallic Paper Plates Napkins And Glasses
• Black Plastic Top Hats
• Party Hats
• Black Tablecloths
• Large Plastic Margarita Glasses

1. String white lights (on a white cord) across your ceiling like you would streamers. Leave enough slack so that in the lowest places, the wire hangs about 2 feet above people's heads (or higher if you are concerned about people jumping up and down and/or waving their arms in the air at midnight).

2. Tie party favors, hats and noisemakers to pieces of ribbon, and tie them to the wire so that they dangle down. Make some low enough for people to reach, and others high enough to stay put as decorations.

3. Use black plastic top hats as serving dishes and fill them with chips, pretzels and other snack food.

4. Fill large margarita glasses with mixed nuts and M&Ms.

5. Put black cloths on your tables and then spill silver confetti around serving dishes. Tie the cloths to table legs with silver ribbon. Accent with metallic silver and gold plates, cups, napkins and silverware.

6. Blow up a few dozen silver and black balloons. Pile them up in corners and let them drift around as people move about your home.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of stringing lights across the ceiling, you could fill large balloons with helium and attach party favors to them.
• Synchronize several clocks with the official time before the party starts, and make sure they are in plain view so that you have time to prepare for the big countdown.

[AllanaBaroni]

on 3/24/2008 Another great tip is to find out what animal will be representing the next year on the Chinese calendar then feature that animal in your decor. For example: During the year of the pig you could give mini piggy banks as party favors, have a piggy bank wishing well, or integrate the animal however you like.

[braiden]

on 12/29/2006 i dont know what we should do at our party im 14 but i dont know what will impress my friends

[janel812]

on 12/14/2006 I'm in charge this year of decorating our elks lodge for our annual new years eve party. We chose 'las vegas' as our theme. I'm going with red and black, colors of the suits in playing cards. I found those 'glow when you crack them' bracelets in red and am going to use them as napkin rings for a nice soft red glow throughout the room. Thought it would be a nice touch. also having glittery wall scene setters for a glitzy vegas look. I went with all red and black hats and noisemakers and am going to alternate them on the oppositite color tablecloths.

on 12/20/2005 I am doing a techno theme and came up with a rechargeable Ice Bucket that puts on a light show. Just what the doctor ordered. It's amazing what pops up on Google.

on 11/22/2005 I am one of those people who go all out for New Year. This year, I have decided to go with a red theme. I purchased clear red plastic champagne glasses, red garland, red mini-lights, red plastic ornaments, red crepe paper, red paper plates, and red napkins. I got it all for half-off at my local store, because I bought it after Christmas. It was cheap, but it looks like I spent a fortune. I also splurged a bit. For 24 dollars, I bought a two-sided spinning disco ball to set up high on my wall divider. This will add some sparkle and liven up the party. It's a little bit of work hanging everything from the ceiling, but my guests will be sure to have fun. I also covered all my tables with a shiny silver paper, which I bought for 50% off, too. This way, spills are an easy clean-up, and my tables do not get damaged. Forget the coasters on this night.