2020, the year from hell, is finally coming to an end! You’re ready to move on to 2021 and you’ve got plans to celebrate. Regardless, your end-of-the-year jubilee might be a tad different from previous ones. That doesn’t mean you can’t go out with a bang, though, so long as you prepare for a safe night ahead. Here are 10 things you need at your New Year’s Eve party.
Wearing masks in 2020 was a complete drag, despite the necessity for them to keep one another safe. Offering face masks at your party sounds lame, but having a station set to decorate them for a fun photo booth opp can be fun.
For adorning them, you can never go wrong with stickers. They’re easy and they can be comical. It also reduces the number of things being touched by others to keep things sanitary. Your backdrop can also be covered in witty sayings like “I Survived 2020” or even some funny memes on the subject. Being satirical always makes for a good time.
Now is not the time to share your flutes with others. You need something to mark your glass, but personalizing labels can be expensive and stickers won’t stay because of the condensation. So what do you do to solve this?
At the bottom of the stem of your glass, you can put some sort of fun marking to differentiate glasses. You’re bound to set yours down at some point for a game or for taking photos, but knowing your marking on your glass can be helpful with sticking to your own champagne flute.
You can use fun ribbons in various colors to do this or even decorative wiring to wrap around the stem, so long as each glass looks different, you can’t go wrong.
There is only one true enemy when it comes to New Year’s Eve: the cleanup situation that happens after. This is only amplified by the fact that we are in such a crazy pandemic. One helpful measure to avoid such an insane cleanup is to opt for sparklers.
Glitter and confetti are all fun and games until the morning after. You’ve got enough to worry about sanitizing everything on New Year’s Day. Eliminate part of this stress by only using sparklers. For one thing, you get to spend some time outside instead of cooped up the entire time indoors. Once they flicker out, too, just discard all of them together in a clay pot or something similar. It’s just that easy.
Decorations can be stressful when it comes to New Year’s Eve. Fear not, though. The only two things you need to have covered are your photo booth area and string lights.
String lights are adorable and give a cozy feeling to any room. This is especially helpful if you are hosting your party in an apartment. Whether it’s a string of Christmas lights that you choose to leave up or some quirky LED ones, these will set the vibe for your party. The best part of this is that taking them down isn’t even a hassle. In fact, you might end up wanting to leave them for another month or two, which is totally acceptable.
There are three reasons why these are essential to have at New Year’s Eve party: they’re silly, they come in a variety of options, and they are super cheap.
As simple as a noisemaker can be, people go bananas over them. Whether you get the ones that you blow into for that nostalgiac kazoo sound or the ones you rattle as spin them, these are sure to bring some festive joy to your event. You can go to any party store and I guarantee that they’ll sell these in bulk for a price that won’t make your wallet cry the way 2020 has all year long.
Hand sanitizer is a must-have for this special night, but you don’t need a row of them on your kitchen counter. Make it cute. Create a little tidy station for your guests so that they can find everything they need all in one place.
You can have a little shelf in the corner of a room with cute decorations around it (a string of lights would jazz this up). Include your sanitizers, napkins, wipes, and coasters. Anything you can include to keep things cute and safe for everyone on New Year’s Eve is important for a good time.
Music is key for any type of party, but especially your end-of-the-year one. Spotify actually has two playlists to make your life easier titled “New Year’s Eve Party Bangers” and “New Year’s Eve Party Anthems.”
If you opt to make your own playlists, comb through a mixture of some old hits and some new ones. 80s pop music is a fun way to get everyone to dance, and anything by Cardi B or Megan Thee Stallion is enough to get everyone to sing along. A perfect mix of upbeat tunes should include some hits by Ariana Grande, Todrick Hall, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga, DaBaby, Sam Smith, J Balvin, Miley Cyrus, Marshmello, BTS, Dua Lipa, Drake, and Post Malone can be a good place to start.
Obviously champagne is the staple beverage for New Year’s Eve, but it’s not the only festive drink that should be made available. Consider some alcoholic seltzers. In 2020, people have grown to love drinks like White Claws and Truly. They come in various flavors, so you don’t even need to worry about playing bartender the entire night.
One of my favorite concoctions this time of year is a mixture of cider and Fireball Cinnamon Whiskey. It’s the perfect holiday drink for the guests you have that are feeling adventurous or bold. If you’re in the mood for something cute, consider Jell-O shots in various colors. There are so many directions you go in with this.
Food this year is tricky. You’ll want to avoid an open buffet that’s up for grabs at the risk of getting one another sick. To solve this, consider some cute Ziploc bags of mixed snacks. You can decorate the bags ahead of time to make them cute, and by doing this, you also reduce the amount of cleanup you’ll have to do the next day.
In the mood to make some sandwiches for the occasion? Wrap them in aluminum foil to make it easier for someone to grab them. You can make various types and include the names of them on a cute sign at a table. Nobody will go hungry this way and everyone will stay safe. It’s a win-win situation.
No New Year’s Eve party exists without some fun games or activities. Drinking games are a tradition for saying goodbye to the previous year. Consider games that ensure the safety of others by allowing them to drink from their own glasses, cans, or cups instead of a shared one.
One fun one you can do is to make someone take a sip every time they say “New Year’s.” If you’re doing games that involve playing cards, be sure to designate yourself as the dealer. “Ride the Bus” is the most fun I’ve ever had when it comes to drinking. Just google the rules ahead of time so that you can best explain it to everyone involved.
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