How Pinteresting: New Year's Eve Party Ideas

Yeah, I've been there. You're running like a chicken with your head cut off trying to remember who all's going to be there so you can make sure there's enough food, alcohol, plastic ware and cleaning supplies to get you through the night and into the new year with your sanity intact. This is yet another example of how websites like Pinterest and the Gawker community are changing how we look at events. Anyone with a budget and a goal in mind, male or female, can pop onto pinterest.com, craftgawker.com, dwellinggawker.com and foodgawker.com for everything they need to throw the most bomb-ass party to date. 

If you're more like the majority of people who are between the ages of 18 and 29, you're more than likely only looking for a place to get drunk and have a good time on the last holiday of the calendar year. However, if you much prefer to be hosting the swag event at your choice location, I've put together a list of various key things to make your party stick out!

    

This can be done really easily with the help of your local craft store and roughly $10-$20, depending on what you already own. Want some fancy glassware for your guests to drink out of? Try getting stemware that you can paint the base of with glitter, solid, metallic, or chalkboard paint. Have stemware, but don't feel confident enough to pull off painting them? Try using stickers that have the numbers 1-10 and numbering each glass. If you have more than one set of ten, switch it up with different colors. Gold, black, silver, and blue tend to be the most popular colors. If you want to preserve your stemware and don't mind forking out a few extra bucks for the cause, try using the disposable champagne glasses that can be purchased from almost anywhere, or hit up the Dollar Tree and get a set from there. You can even buy by the boxes on their website!

No Craft Skills? No Problem!
Having an awesome party doesn't always mean you have to craft your brains out on things people will more than likely toss or not give two shits about. Dixie is the ultimate party cup that has been a staple through the ages. I've seen them in about 20-30 different colors over the course of my life, so why not make use of those awesome color creations at your party? Black, white and gold make a great color scheme and your guests will be pulled into the atmosphere and sure to have a good time. Want to dip your toe in the craft pool but not get in over your head? Try picking up a pack of rhinestones and nice plasticware. Dress up your spoons and forks with a couple of the rhinestone stickers and stick them in a really sweet bowl or cup for added fanciness.

Finger Foods
Who doesn't love finger food at a party? They're the easiest creations with the least amount of work. Make a couple dozen wanton mini tacos, set out a veggie and fruit platter with some dips, make a few caprese sticklies and throw in your pretzel sticks and BAM! You've got yourself a party arrangement. Also, don't forget the chips and salsa. People hate it when you do. But seriously, finger foods are great and allows people to snack on them all night long. It's a hell of a lot easier than putting together a three-course meal, and makes you a better host than telling them to come with full bellies. I would like to throw out there that you should avoid spinach dip if you're going to have people drinking heavily. That is not fun to see coming back up. Just saying.

A New Purpose for Christmas Decor
Just because Christmas is over, doesn't mean that the decor has to be put away. Keep out those tinseled garland and a few of those bulb ornaments as table decor. Snowflakes and stars work perfectly for this event. To avoid bring Christmas with you and your guests into the new year, I suggest losing the green and red color scheme. Not ready to ditch your tree just yet? Make it work for you. Keep the traditional NYE color themes on the tree only. Have a small table with little pieces of paper with ribbon attached and have your guest anonymously put their resolutions on. Everyone can walk around the tree and see what everyone else is hoping for in the new year. Be sure to leave a ton extra on the table just incase the party joker decides to mess with people and sneaks a few prank resolutions in there.

Shots, Shots, Shots! Everybody!
Like finger food, jello shots will follow you from college into adulthood. Lose the juvenile look of having them in the little Dixie cups patients get with their pills and opt for something a little fancier  Arrange small squares on a platter (the Dollar Tree has some decent silver ones and clear ones), and decorate the top with colored salt, mint leaves, or crystal sprinkles. Concerned that a few of your guests might over do it on the shots? I always make mine at half potency. The jello shots last a bit longer and your guests won't get shit-faced and throw up in your bathroom. Use everything from wine to champagne and rum to vodka to make your shots a sure hit!