Rock the ages with a Rockin' New Year's Eve! Fill the party room with
helium-filled balloons and streamers, invite all your friends between
the ages of Old Father Time and Baby New Year, and start the
countdown. Ten, nine, eight...
Invitations
Get the party off to a bang with these blowout invitations.
Buy a balloon, a paper party hat, and a paper blower/noisemaker for
each guest (for a large amount of invitations, a Balloon Time Helium
Balloon Kit is recommended). Blow up the balloon, write "You're
invited to a Rockin' New Year's Eve Party!" in permanent marker, and
deflate it. Write the party details inside the hat. Then roll out the
blower, include your RSVP information, and let the blower recoil. Place
everything in a small box, add confetti, and mail your surprise package
to guests.
Decorations
This is the party of the year, so go all out with decorations.
- Choose a color scheme, such as the patriotic colors or black and silver,
and fill the ceiling with lots of balloons.
- Tie balloons to chairs, tables,
furniture or even drink glasses! Drape matching crepe paper streamers
across the room and down the walls.
- Create a canopy entrance from
balloons and crepe paper. Hang clocks (real or made from poster
board) on the walls, and set out sand timers around the room.
- Create headlines from the year's major events and post them on the walls.
- Set out party hats, blowers, noisemakers, and poppers for guests to
enjoy.
- Instead of renting an industrial-size helium tank to fill the
balloons, purchase a couple Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kits as they
are lightweight, recyclable, disposable and can be transported easily.
- Set the table with shiny paper and cover it with metallic confetti.
- Make star-shaped place markers and photocopy pages from the
upcoming calendar year for placemats.
- Use matching paper products
for the food and drinks.
- Create a centerpiece by wrapping a banner
around a baby doll that reads: "Welcome [fill in year here]!"
Games and Activities
A Year in the Life:
Ask your guests ahead of time to remind you of a major event that
happened to them during the last year, such as the birth of a baby, a
marriage, an award or a new car. Write them down on large index
cards, mix them up, and have the guests try to put them in
chronological order.
Predict the Future:
Pass out index cards to each player. Have them write down a funny
prediction, such as "You will win the lottery and bet all the money on a
losing horse" or "You will get the job of your dreams as a circus
clown." Place all the predictions in a hat or bowl and have the players
draw a prediction to read aloud.
I Resolve...
Give each player an index card and have him or her write down a
resolution for the New Year, such as "I will quit complaining" or "I will
learn karate." Place them all in a hat or bowl, then have one player
draw a card and read it aloud. He or she must guess who wrote the
resolution.
Fruitcake:
Have the guests bring the worst gift they recently received, beautifully
re-wrapped. Take turns, going in chronological order according to age,
choosing a wrapped gift and opening it. The next player may take any
already opened gift or open a new one. Continue until everyone has a
hideous gift to take home and re-wrap for next year.
Midnight Pop:
When you're filling the balloons, add confetti to some - one balloon for
each guest. At midnight, give the guest a balloon and a pin and have
them hold the balloon over their heads. At the stroke of midnight, pop
all the balloons and watch the confetti shower everyone!
Refreshments
If you've been snacking and drinking all night, serve a hearty
breakfast buffet after midnight to fill their tummies and sober them
up. Offer a made-to-order omelet bar, with all the fillings - grilled
mushrooms and onion, grated cheese, bacon or ham bits, avocado,
sour cream and salsa. Serve it with a cup of tasty, strong coffee or
cappuccinos.
Favors
Send the sleepy guests home with a new calendar, an inexpensive
novelty watch, some aspirin, or an astrological guide to the upcoming
year.
Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author
and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16
specific to parties. Additionally, Warner writes a weekly newspaper
column on family life, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents
magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning
programs. Her latest book, HOW TO HOST A KILLER PARTY, debuted in
February 2010 from NAL/Penguin.
Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits
in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex
or foil balloons and ribbon, and are available at national retail
chains, party goods and grocery stores nationwide.