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If you are planning a New Years Eve party, you might also be considering having a specific theme for your party. While a theme is not a necessary part of a New Years Eve party or any party but it can make any party significantly more fun and interesting. Planning a themed New Years Eve party is a great deal of fun but it is also significantly more complicated than planning a party without a theme just because there is more coordination involved in the planning process and in trying to ensure all of the elements of the party fit within the theme. This article will discuss the process of planning a New Years Eve party with a theme and will offer samples of appropriate themes and how they can be applied.
When planning a themed New Years Eve party the host has the option to incorporate the theme as much or as little as they wish. Examples of items which can be incorporated into the theme are invitations, decorations, food, beverages, music, entertainment and even the guests’ attire. Guests who attend the party have the option of fully taking advantage of the theme and dressing or acting in a particular character during the event or simply attending the party and enjoy the atmosphere, food, beverages and entertainment provided by the host.
Themes for New Years Eve parties can be any theme the host selects and does not have to relate to the holiday at all. One example of an unrelated theme is a Western theme. The host can set the team by sending out cowboy hate shaped invitations encouraging guests to dress appropriately for a country hoe down. Once the guests receive the invitation, they will have an understanding of the theme of the party. If themed parties are not popular with your circle of friends you might want to follow up the invitations with a personal call encouraging your guests to dress according to the theme and assuring them you will be dressing similarly. I planning the entertainment for your party you can consider hiring a country western band to host the party. You might even hire a line dance instructor for an hour or two to offer group line dancing classes to the guests. In incorporating the theme of the party in the decorations, you can purchase hay bales to place around the room and use colored handkerchiefs for napkins. The food at your party should also incorporate your theme. If you are offering a sit down dinner, chili is a good choice. Stew would also be a good option. If you plan to have appetizers, you can create theme related appetizers by giving traditional appetizers unique names. You might refer to mini bagel pizzas as wagon wheels or mini egg rolls as hay bales. For beverages you can serve ice cold beer in glass mugs.
An example of a more elegant theme for a New Years Eve party might include a red carpet extravaganza where guests are encouraged to dress like their favorite movie star from any era. Alternately the theme could be limited to a specific era with guests expected to dress like stars from the appropriate era. This is a good idea for a New Years Eve party theme because many guests like to dress in their most elegant clothing and this would give them the opportunity to dress to impress. The theme for a New Years Eve party with this theme might be an invitation in the shape of an elegant silver star inviting guests to join you on the red carpet for the premier of the New Year. In decorating for this event, the host should include a red carpet in their entryway and may want to use a series of motion detected strobe lights to mimic the flashbulbs of paparazzi lining the red carpet of movie premiers. This will serve to immediately get the guests in the spirit of the party. Entertainment for the party might include giving out New Years Eve awards to the guests in a series of different categories and allowing guests to give a short speech as they receive their award.
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Here is a list of eight fun games that are popular at New Year’s Eve parties:
- The Grouping Game
This is a fun and fast-moving game that can be played as an ice breaker. Start out with everyone collected in one big group in the center of the room.
The host or MC calls out a number. The number shouldn’t be more than half of the number of total participants. Everyone must try to collect in a group that contains that number of people. Each member of a group should hold hands or link arms, so that the leader can see who is in the group. If someone cannot enter a group because the number of required members has been reached, he is out of the game.
As different numbers are successively called out the number of participants gets smaller and smaller. Eventually, there are less than ten people. The last group, or winning group, should have anywhere from two to five people.
- "Time" Charades
Play charades with titles, songs, quotes, sayings, and books that feature the word “time” in honor of the New Year’s Eve countdown. Search the word “time” at online book and movie retailers to get some ideas or try these suggestions:
- The Land Before Time
- A Wrinkle in Time
- The Time Machine
- A stitch in time saves nine.
- Guess My Resolution
When guests enter the party, ask them to write their resolution on a slip on paper. Fold up the slips of paper and place all resolutions in a bowl. The party host reads the resolutions aloud and the guests guess who wrote each resolution.
- Find Your Prediction
Make up some phony generic predictions like, “In the New Year you will shave your head.” Find some items that are related to the predictions; a wig could be used for the given example. Wrap the items in wrapping paper and attach the predictions to the packages. Hide the packages around the room.
Tell guests that predictions are hidden with corresponding wrapped items, and that they each need to find one, read it aloud to the group, and open it.
- Who Wins a Prize?
Every 10 minutes or so (or longer, depending on how long the party is supposed to last) call out a question that relates to guests at the party, such as “Who’s the youngest here?” “Who brought the best food?” “Who said the last word?” “Who laughs the loudest?” “Who’s sitting next to the hostess?” and so on. The winner is the person who fits the description or is selected as an answer by the majority.
Award a prize each time you call out a question. Soon lots of people will have prizes, and they won’t have to stay for the entire party, or worry about missing all of the games because they are party hopping.
- New Years Win, Lose or Draw
Go online or search through magazines and newspapers to pick out events from past years. Write the events on strips of paper and put them in a bowl or hat so that they can be picked out randomly.
Large drawing pads and pens or markers are also needed.You can form two teams or have several couples play against each other. The teams take turns guessing a randomly chosen event by watching one teammate draw it on one of the drawing pads. Each team has one minute to figure out each puzzle, and each correct guess is worth 200 points.
The play who is drawing cannot speak or draw any letters, numbers, or symbols. If one of these illegal clues is used, any points won in that puzzle is split between the two teams. However, if a team mentioned a word that is part of the answer, the player at the sketch-pad can write it.
At the thirty-second mark, the drawing player has the option of handing the marker off to one of his or her teammates, but the puzzle value is then be cut in half (100 points). If the team can not guess within the time limit, the opposing team is given one chance to confer and guess. If they give the correct answer, they were awarded the points; if not, no points are awarded.
- Survey Says (Family Feud)
This is another game where you will have to do some research online. Find surveys which have about five or six answers each and are related to the theme of your party. Write them down and assign points for each answer with the top answer being worth more points and the last having the fewest points. All points for a survey question should total to 100.
Form two teams of about five players to play against each other. Each team sends one player at a time up to the front to guess an answer to the survey. You can use bells, have them grab an object, play rock, paper, sissors, or some other method to select who may guess first. If the first guess is not the top answer for the question, the other team may try to guess a higher ranked answer. The team who guesses the highest ranked answer is awarded the points for that answer and gets to play the round.
Each member of the team in turn tries to guess an answer to the survey question. If he or she guesses correctly, the team is awarded the points for that answer. If the player guesses incorrectly, the team earns a strike. Play continues until the team guesses all of the answers for the question or earns three strikes.
If the playing team gets three stikes, the opposing team may try to steal their points for the round by guessing a correct answer. If they succeed, they are awarded the points, otherwise the points are added to the playing team’s total. The game is won by the team who earns 300 points first.
- Shiritori
This is a game imported from Japan. Two teams of the players compete against each other. Select a topic; it could be animals, countries, foods, or New Year’s related. The first player on a team says a word related to the topic. The next player in line must say a word that begins with the same sound as the first player’s word. For example, if the first player said “bat,” the second player may say “tiger.” Each player on the team follows this pattern. When the last member of the team says his or word, play moves back to the first person.
If a player chooses a word that does not begin with the last sound of the previous word, he or she is out of the game, and the other team begins its turn. Also, there should be a time limit as to how long a player may think about his or her answer. If the time limit is reached and the player has not given an answer, the person is out and the other team is up. A team loses when there is only one person left in line.
“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in many English-speaking countries and is often sung to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight.
Auld lang syne literally means “old long since”, but a more understandable English translation would be something like “long long ago”, “days of long ago”, or “olden days”. “For old times’ sake,” or “to the (good) old days,” or “to days(or times) gone by” may be other modern-day expressions with a similar meaning.
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
CHORUS
And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
If you are in the process of planning a New Years Eve party, you likely want to make the event as stress free as possible. While there is always some stress involved in planning any event, there are a number of steps you can take in reducing the amount of stress involved while you are planning your New Years Eve party. This article will focus on providing tips for keeping the stress level to a minimum when planning a New Years Eve party. There may still be a few areas which cause concern or stress but if you follow these tips, the event will likely be more enjoyable for you and the guests.
Consider making the dress for the event casual instead of formal to create a more stress free environment. This simple stress can be very effective for reducing the stress level. First of all, if the affair is casual, the host will have to spend less time getting dressed for the party. This is important because the host often becomes quite stressed out on the day of the party because she is trying to take care of last minute details while she is also worried about getting dressed for the party. It also helps to reduce the stress level because guests expect more elegant food for a formal party than they do for a casual party so there is less stress to prepare and serve an elaborate meal at the party.
Regardless of the type of food you decide to serve, preparing the food for a New Years Eve party can be a significant cause of stress. Hiring a caterer is the most efficient way to minimize this stress. When hiring a caterer the host may have a great deal of work during the planning phases in selecting a caterer, tasting the food and selecting dishes for the menu, but once this is done the host only has to worry about coordinating the delivery and service of the food. This leaves the hostess free to focus on other elements of the party and prevents her from spending a great deal of time in the kitchen on the evening of the party.
While hiring a caterer is an excellent idea, it can be rather expensive. Fortunately there are also a number of inexpensive options for minimize the stress associated with preparing the food for a New Years Eve party. One fun way to do this is to make the party a potluck event. Having guests bring dishes such as side dishes, salads, appetizers, desserts and even main dishes or drinks greatly reduces the amount of work for the host. In this scenario the host only has to worry about providing one or two items and coordinating the other guests to ensure they do not all bring similar items.
Another inexpensive option which can help to reduce the amount of stress typically associated with preparing the food for a New Years Eve party is to serve only appetizers, desserts and cocktails at the party. This is significantly less expensive as appetizers are traditionally much less expensive than main course items. It is also acceptable to do this because most New Years Eve parties do not start until 8:00-9:00 at night. It is acceptable to assume most guests will have had dinner earlier in the evening but as a courtesy to the guests it is worthwhile to indicate on the invitations that only appetizers and desserts will be served.
There are both advantages and disadvantages to planning a New Years Eve party in your home. The advantages to planning a New Years Eve party in your home is that you have a greater amount of freedom in terms of food and beverage choices, decoration options and even the type of entertainment you are able to offer. The disadvantages to hosting a New Years Eve party in your home is that your property or possessions may be damaged by the guests, you are responsible for the cleanup of the party and it can be difficult to control when guests leave the party. The advantages to hosting a New Years Eve party in a restaurant and catering hall is that you will have assistance in preparing and serving the food, you don’t have to worry about cleanup and you have very few obligations during the party. The disadvantages to hosting your New Years Eve party at a restaurant or catering hall is you will be limited in the hours of the party, there may be some restrictions placed on the entertainment and their will also likely be limitation on the food and beverages you can offer your guests. Giving these advantages and disadvantages as well as the costs associated with hosting a New Years Eve party in a restaurant or catering hall, many people opt to host their New Years Eve party in your home.
When planning a New Years Eve party in your home it is very important to carefully consider your guest list. This is important because you should limit the number of guests you invite according to the size of your home and the rooms in your home you wish to use for the party. For example you may have an extremely large house but if you wish to limit the party to the kitchen and dining room you should consider limiting the number of guests you invite to a number which will fit comfortably in these rooms. Or if you plan to use your entire house for the party, you should still consider how many people will fit comfortably for activities such as eating, dancing and socializing.
Another factor to consider when planning a New Years Eve party in your home is how you plan to entertain your guests. Hiring a band or DJ or playing your own music is one of the most popular entertainment options for a New Years Eve party. If you plan to have a band or a DJ you should consider providing a dance floor for your guests. The dance floor does not have to be big but it should be large enough for at least some of your guests to dance and have a good time. Another entertainment option is showing a series of movies. The movies can follow a particular theme or they can just be fun movies you think the majority of your guests will enjoy. If you are planning to entertain your guests in this manner you should consider renting a movie projector if you do not already have one to make the movie viewing experience more pleasurable. You should also consider seating options and should ensure you have enough seating for each guest with an unrestricted view of the screen.
Another factor to consider when planning a New Years Eve party in your home is how you plan to deal with potential problems such as spilled food and drinks. If you have new and expensive carpeting or flooring, you might be very concerned about this issue. One option is to take preventative measures by covering flooring which would be permanently damaged by spilled drinks or food. This will likely not be very attractive and many guests prefer to only offer food and drinks in areas of the home where spills will not be extremely damaging. As the host of the party, you should be prepared to deal with spills. Your plan could include cleaning all spills thoroughly as they occur in attempt to minimize the risk or permanent stains or to do only a quick cleanup and deal with stains after the party.