subject: New Year's Eve Invitations and Their Wording Set the Tone for a Fabulous Evening [print this page] New Year's Eve Invitations and Their Wording Set the Tone for a Fabulous Evening
New Year's Eve is one of the biggest party nights in our culture. How are you going to get guests to choose your party over other possible parties? Send them custom printed New Year's Eve invitationsthey can't say "NO" to.
"Like any party, the first impression begins with the invitation," says Jeanette Herren, President of Announcingit.com, an on-line invitation company that designs,creates and prints party inviations for all occasions.
Choose a sophisticated or casual New Year's Eve invitation to set the tone for your party. Let the invitation's wording tell guests what you have planned. Be specific as to type of party it will bedressed up or dressed down; what type of food will be servedappetizers and dessert, a buffetor a full meal; martinis, full bar or beer and wine until a champagne toast at midnight; entertainment, music and dancing, if any; the party attire requiredholiday festive, casual holiday, black tie; the party's location as well as the starting and ending time. Also, be sure to mention if children are welcome or if it is an adult only affair so you're guests will know they will need to hire a sitter.These details tell guests what type of party you have planned and to be ready to have a great time welcoming in a new year filled with love and joy.
Maybe you toohave reserved sitters for New Year's Eve parties as early as September, lest all of the good sitters get booked. Some choose to make New Year's Eve a family celebration and do an earlycountdown, say to to 8 p.m. or so, and then the kids can get to bed at areasonable time. This is a great option, and it may be perfect for some, but for many,New Years Eve is an adult only event.
A popular choice for the over 21 crowd is to celebrate New Year's Eve at a bar, nightclub or hotel party. These can have a very expensive cover charge, be too crowded, loud, and in general, just too much. Conversely, afavorite way to welcome the New Year is have a smallish group over for a party at your home. It is one of the easiest parties to have as there is usually no planning for activities and minimal preparation is required.
The bulk of the entertainment at these fetes is mingling, chatting, watching world-wide countdowns, snacking, drinking and just hanging out. If the party starts to stagnate, you can bring out an easy adult game such as Catch Phrase or another game that everyone can play that doesn't require intense thought or concentration.Try teaming up withgirls versus guys, you might have so much fun, you'llplay well past the toast at midnight.
You may decide to serve afull meal between 9 and11 o'clockorgo with alighter,buffet style offering.Serving dinner late is very Euro-Chic but it does not work for everyone. If it works for you by all means go for it. If not, a favorite with the least effort is a mix ofheavy appetizers and hors d'oeuvres. You can also ask guests to bring their favorite appetizer to share.Youmay also enjoyincorporatingdifferent culture's traditions of food that brings prosperity and good luck, or ideally, are eaten specifically on New Year's.In Spain, people eat 12 grapes at midnight making a wish on each one. In the southern states, black eyed peas are eaten to bring prosperity on New Year's.
For beverages it is good to have a selection of water, non-alcoholic drinks,wine, beer and champagne. If your friends are more a mixed drink group, you can provide the alcohol, the mixers or both, or ask them to bring their own. If you're into martinis, you might try a make-your-own martini bar. Set out the ingredients to make basic martinis as well as a few fancier versions and their recipes.
It would not be a New Year's party without the midnight champagne toast. Champagne can be really expensive, amazingly cheap, or just plain awful. Expensive champagne is not necessarily good, and cheap brands are not always undrinkable. Consider using sparkling wine in place of champagne. There is a large variety of brands available and many are fantastic. Trader Joe's has a wonderful Prosecco that is about $8 a bottle and is very light and ever so slightly sweet. Barefoot Wine has introduced "Barefoot Bubbly" for less than $10 a bottle and also very good. Sofia Coppola's offers an aromatic sparkling wine that is very affordable.
Make your friends feel special and ensure a great turnout bymailing them custom printed New Year's Eve invitations.
