5 Things to Remember When Planning a New Year’s Eve Party
With only six weeks to go until New Year’s Eve, it is time to finalise plans for your event – or, if you are anything like us, time to start organising it frantically! Don’t panic if you are only just starting your planning process – as long as you remember the following 5 essentials, your event is sure to be a success.
Theme
Before you plan anything or begin inviting guests, you need to decide on a theme for your New Year’s Eve event and how many people you are going to invite. Is it a small, relaxed party for family and friends, or a grand stylish event on a larger scale? If you are struggling for ideas, a simple go-to New Year’s Eve theme can revolve around four colours; black, white, silver and gold. When purchasing balloons, streamers and other decorations, keep these four colours in mind.
If you are looking to go all out with your theme this New Year, why not try one of the following:
- The Great Gatsby – decorate your venue with 1920s themed décor, and ask your guests to dress accordingly
- Casino night – arrange roulette, blackjack and poker tables for your guests to enjoy, and adorn your venue with Las Vegas-inspired décor
- Masquerade ball – ask all your guests to dress in black tie and wear a mask
- Hollywood glamour – ask all your guests to dress in their most glamourous attire, place a red carpet outside and hire a photographer to capture everyone as they walk in
Drinks
Welcoming your guests with a drink is the ideal way to make them feel relaxed and get the party started. Prosecco has been a consistent favourite throughout 2015, and the majority of cocktails on trend at the moment are gin based. If you are looking for cocktail ideas, try one of the following:
- The Southside (2 ounces of London Dry Gin, ¾ ounce of fresh lime juice, ¾ ounce of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1 ounce syrup, 1 ounce club soda and 1 mint sprig)
- The Cranberry Crush (10 crushed cranberries, crushed ice, 1 ½ ounces of Hendrick’s Gin, 1 dash cranberry juice, 1 dash orange juice, ½ ounce Averna and freshly squeezed lime)
- Aperol Gin Punch (2 ounces of Chilgrove Dry Gin, 2 ounces of Aperol, 2 ounces of Proescco, ½ ounce of fresh lime juice, 1 ounce of grapefruit juice, crushed ice)
It is a New Year’s Eve tradition to serve champagne at midnight, so make sure you have enough champagne glasses for everybody.
Music
Choosing music for a New Year’s Eve event can be difficult as the mood of the evening can be dictated by what your guests are listening to. The best bet is to hire a DJ who will be well versed in how to get your guests on the dancefloor, but if a DJ wouldn’t complement the atmosphere of your event, you could hire a band to entertain your guests. Alternatively, you can create a playlist on Spotify and stream music to your guests through your phone, tablet or laptop. If you are looking for inspiration on where to start, take a look at Vogue’s New Year’s Eve Spotify playlist.
Food
Ensuring a variety of savoury and sweet canapes available for your guests throughout the night is essential. To keep things simple, why not pick four or five canapes to serve periodically throughout the evening? The most popular canapes of 2015 include pea and prawn crostinis, aubergine and goat’s cheese blinis, Roquefort and peach bruschetta and salted caramel tarts. Be sure to check your guests’ dietary requirements beforehand – ensure there is something for everyone.
Décor
No New Year’s Eve party would be complete without balloons, and there is no such thing as too many! Make sure the colours stay in line with your theme, and decorate the walls with “Happy New Year” banners. For a little added extra, place party poppers around the room; they are great fun at midnight, and also make fantastic table decorations.
If you want a stand-out feature at your event, take a look at our range of LED bars. Several units can be put together if your event is taking place in a large venue, but for smaller venues one unit in a corner or to the side of a room would look stylish and chic.
No matter the size of your event, Allens Hire have all the equipment available to hire to keep your organising straightforward. Feel free to email us on [email protected] or call our London office on 020 8574 9600. Alternatively, you can call 023 8065 2316 is you are based on the South Coast.
