New Years is quickly approaching. Perhaps you have not yet considered your New Year?s plans because you have been too busy getting ready for Christmas. Now is time to secure your plans, especially if you are hosting a New Year?s Eve party. Hosting a successful NYE party requires careful planning and these tips will ensure you throw a memorable event.
Don?t forget the food
Most NYE celebrations don?t start until later at night. But, a memorable party has memorable food. Plan your food choices around the start time of your party. If you plan to invite guests over after 9 PM, strolling appetizers or finger foods are a good option. If you want to serve a sit down meal, however, you will want to invite your guests over earlier than that. Guests also appreciate an after midnight snack. Pizza or chips dishes are a great choice to end the night.
Decorations are more important than you think
One of the most exciting parts about attending an NYE party is seeing the decorations. There is just something thrilling about wearing gaudy year glasses and paper party hats. Fortunately, you can usually purchase decorations from your local retailer. Make sure you have enough for all of your guests. If you want to do something more unique, consider decorating with a theme. You can always choose a favorite musician or TV show from the previous year. Inform your guests so they can dress in turn with the theme.
Establish how drinks will be served
Are you asking that your guests bring their own alcohol? Are you providing any type of drinks to your guests? Depending on the size of your party, it might be useful to hire a bartender. You can still ask that guests pay for their drinks, so you are not covering all of the costs of the alcohol. You can also request that guests are on their own for drinks, but still provide them with the champagne to toast with. Inform your guests of the local beer store so they can stock up before arriving. Another option is to ask each guest to bring their own growler fills to pass around.
Serve unique drinks
If you are going to provide your guests with drinks, it is best to serve something unique. They can easily run to the local wine store and grab a case of beer or wine. Before the party starts, get a variety of growler fills for your guests to try. Growler fills give you the opportunity to try local beer brands in the freshest method possible. Craft beers and growler fills are becoming more popular today. In 2015, craft brewers produced 24.5 million barrels and saw a 13% increase in volume and a 16% increase in retail dollar value. The retail dollar value was estimated at $22.3 billion, representing a 21% market share.
Don?t forget the wine drinkers
If you plan to provide drinks to guests, don?t forget the wine drinkers. Wine drinkers are a unique type of guest because they often stick to only wine. Additionally, there are more wine drinkers today than in previous years. About 17% of millennial wine drinkers bought a bottle costing more than $20 in the past month, compared to only 10% of all drinkers and 5% of baby boomers. In fact, millennials consumed 159.6 million cases, or 42% of all wine sold in the U.S. in 2015.
Hosting a memorable New Year?s Eve party requires preparation and planning. There are many factors that you need to decide including decorations, food offerings, and of course, drinks. Purchasing drinks for the entire party can get costly, but you can reduce those costs only serving champagne or bringing in a hired bartender for a cash bar. Either way, you want to establish your NYE plans now.