New Year's Elegant Evening Party!

Show off to your friends and co-workers with the best and last party of the year! Make this New Year's Party one they will remember for years to come...

Elegant New Year's Eve Party Invitations:

If this year it is your turn to throw the highly anticipated party of the season for your friends or coworkers, don't fret - we are here to help you with all of the sparkling details! Nothing says glamour and glitz more than a New Year's Eve party dressed up in gold, silver, and black! So, get out the champagne glasses and your favorite party dress and get ready to celebrate in style!

As with any party, the invitation that you send will set the stage for the upcoming event -- so choose one that will really spark interest and excitement among your anticipated guests! Here are a couple of options that we suggest:

Set the hands on the Clock Invitations to 11:55! Your custom message can be imprinted on the inside to explain all the details of the bash.

Out of construction paper, cut a champagne glass shape. Use a piece of small bubble wrap on the top to look like some bubbly champagne coming out of the top. Write a note outlining the "when and wheres" of the party and attach it to the base of the glass using a piece of gold Curling Ribbon.

An elegant choice for an invitation is the Star Lite Invitation. The translucent paper that holds your personalized wording is held to the black invitation with a "black as night" star. Also includes a gold pencil for addressing the envelopes in style!

Elegant New Year's Eve Party Table Decorations and Food:

The possibilities are endless when it comes to decorating your table for New Year's Eve, but here is a suggestion that works well together and adds instant glamour and magic that each of us wants to experience on December 31st!

First, cover your tables with Metallic Silver Gossamer.

Down the center of the table create a "runner" of white Sparkle Powder and on top of that, place some Votive Candles and Champagne Candles wrapped in silver wire-edged ribbon.

For a centerpiece, place the elegant Top Hat & Tiara Combo in the center of your table and surround them with the candles.

Make your guests feel welcome and special by placing Placecard Holders at their place at the table.

To make your cleanup process simpler (since you won't be getting much sleep that night!) we recommend that you use plastic disposable plates and silverware. The Marble Plastic Plates are classy and work perfect with the silver theme mentioned above. Use Black Plastic Cutlery to accent the dishes. Wrap the cutlery up in a bundle along with a personalized napkin and attach a Cocktail Charm with silver metallic cording.

Elegant New Year's Eve Party Food and Beverage Ideas:

For most New Year's Eve parties, the cocktails and the champagne take center stage, but what you serve for dinner can either make or break the party! Decide ahead of time how fancy you want to go when it comes to the main dish. There is absolutely nothing wrong with hiring a caterer to bring in the meal and this will free you up to truly enjoy your guests and the evening. If you do wish to spend some time in the kitchen, we have provided you with a wonderful menu that will impress your guests with your culinary abilities!

Appetizer

Shrimp Cocktail
Fill a large ring mold with water and freeze overnight. Turn the mold over and invert the ice ring onto a platter and return to freezer. When ready to serve, put cocktail sauce in the center of the mold and place shrimp over the edges of the ice ring.

Soup

Vichyssoise
2 small onions
2 C. water
½ t. salt
2 ½ C. instant mashed potatoes
2 T. chicken bouillon
4 C. whole milk
2 C. cream Chopped chives
Combine onion, bouillon, water, and salt in large kettle. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add milk and potatoes. Whip until fluffy. Gradually stir in remaining milk, heat just to boiling point, and remove from heat. Cover and chill in refrigerator. Just before serving, stir in cold cream, beating vigorously with a fork until blended. Serve topped with chopped chives. Makes 12 servings.

Main Course

Filet of Beef
6 lbs. beef tenderloin
1 lb. bacon
Place bacon strips on top of beef and roast at 325 for approximately 2 ½ hours. Cut into thick slices to serve. For mushroom sauce, add one pound of fresh, sliced sautéed mushrooms to one large bottle of mushroom sauce. Heat thoroughly in a pot, and pour over beef slices before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Buttered Red Potatoes
12 small red potatoes, peeled
½ C. melted butter
Chopped parsley
Boil potatoes until tender. Serve covered with butter and parsley.

Asparagus Tips With Hollandaise Sauce
This is a very elegant dish that requires little work!
3 lbs. frozen asparagus tips
2 bottles of hollandaise sauce
Cook asparagus according to directions on package. Pour Hollandaise sauce over asparagus as it is served onto guests' plates!

Dessert

Chocolate Symphony
2 T. cocoa
1/8 t. salt
1 C. whole almonds
1 pkg. (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter
1 ½ C. sugar
3 eggs
1 C. flour
2 pints chocolate sorbet
12 truffles

Chocolate sauce
Heat oven to 350. Heat ½ C. water to simmering. Stir in cocoa and salt, let cool. Grease 10" springform pan. Grind almonds and chocolate separately in a food processor; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in almonds and chocolate. Beat in flour. Add cocoa mixture; stir well. Pour into prepared pan; bake 35-45 minutes, until inserted wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack 1 hour. Remove cake from pan; cool on rack 1 hour more. With 2 ½" cookie cutter, cut 12 circles from cake. Place each on a dessert plate; top with a small scoop of sorbet and a truffle, and drizzle with chocolate sauce.

Dessert Cheeses

Once the dessert has been served, bring out a tray of dessert cheeses, such as French brie, American Liederkranz, Gouda, and Gruy'ere. If you served wine during the meal, return to champagne at this point.

Please note that if alcohol is not something that you wish to serve at your party, there are several non-alcoholic sparkling ciders and grape juices that can be substituted instead!

Elegant New Year's Eve Party Decorations:

Whether you are holding your party at a reception hall, a Country Club, or your own home, you will definitely want to decorate the site to give it a spectacular look for the midnight celebration! We carry lots of great decorations that are perfect for creating such an atmosphere. We have listed some ideas that we think are especially perfect to set this year apart from others!

Add drama and provide an excellent photo background with 5' Giant Magic Numbers. If the weather permits, place these outside next to your party entrance or on your front porch.

Greet your guests with the fun-loving Champagne Glass Arch.

The Giant Champagne Bottle is just the right prop to direct guests to where the bubbly is served!

New Year's Eve is one of those occasions that just screams for balloons and streamers! Hang Streamers from wall to wall and have them hang down over your doorways. Add balloons to your tables as well as your ceiling! Fill hundreds of our Pinwheel Swirl-Around Balloons with helium and let them pile up on your ceilings. For extra fun, add some Confetti in each balloon prior to filling, and at the stroke of midnight, have your guests pop them to create a shower of celebration!

Hang some gold and silver Twinkle Stars around your entire party site for added decoration. Add drama and excitement by using Metallic Foil Curtains in strategic places. This is a great way to block off your messy kitchen or areas of your home that you do not want guests to enter!

Elegant New Year's Eve Party Activities/Games:

A formal, sit down dinner is always a wonderful way to spend the last few hours of the existing year. Wonderful conversations occur during this time and are usually centered around hopes and dreams for the future as well as reminiscing about what the previous year has brought. We recommend that this activity be the focal point of the evening, but we have the following suggestions to help you make the transition from dinner to the all-out wild celebration that occurs at the stroke of midnight!

Hold a "Top This Toast" contest to see who can come up with the most impressive or exotic toast of the evening. Be sure to award the winner with a bottle of champagne!

Set up a champagne tasting table. Label several small Flutes with a letter or number. Let the guests vote for their favorite and reveal the winner towards the end of the evening.

Place a small decorative notepad on your coffee table or in another prominent place located in your party site. Have each guest write down their New Year's Resolution in the book and keep it to bring back out at next year's party.

The big activity, of course, (and the reason for the party) is celebrating the turn of the New Year.

You will want be well prepared for this grand celebration by providing your guests will plenty of noisemakers and party-inducing paraphernalia! One of our favorites is the Debonair Assortment which comes with enough party fun for 50 people! It includes hats, tiaras, noisemakers and serpentine throws and the silver and black colors add punch and elegance!

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See our Party Planning Section for more ideas!