Decorating for a New Year’s Eve Party

If you plan on staying home this New Year’s Eve, whether it’s to have a small get together with a few close friends or throw an extravagant New Year’s Eve bash, don’t forget that one of the most important details to pay attention to is the decorations. Depending on your style and the look of the decor in your home, there are so many ways to spruce things up for the last night of 2011.

First, decide which is most important to you: The colors that you feel strongly about using or perhaps a specific theme that you want to implement into the party, and then go from there. For example, one common jumping off point for New Year’s Eve decorating are objects that are glittery, metallic and eye-catching; silver is often used. If you want to have as much glitzy and bright colors as possible, perhaps you might want to throw an 80’s-themed New Year’s Eve party. I don’t know what it is about 80’s-themed events, but they always are fun and most people seem to enjoy them.

Have everyone show up in 80’s gear and play movies and television shows from the 80’s throughout the evening. Stash away as many appliances and modern items as you can; instead, try to work in some inexpensive items from the era throughout your home to really go all-out with the decorating. This even means putting away your cell phone for the evening–unless it’s the clunky, Zack Morris version. One of the more challenging parts, assuming you want to try to make the decor as authentic as possible, would be moving your current television into another room and replacing it for the night with a much older television and VCR. Instead of moving one year forward, it would really feel like moving 30 years into the past! If it sounds like too much, just forget the television and focus on 80′s music instead. Try thrift stores for some authentic pieces or ask friends, family, or other guests to loan you some of these things that may be in their storage room collecting dust. Don’t forget to decorate the walls with movie posters from the 80′s, too. Of course, any era will do, or you can choose no theme at all. The great thing about an 80′s theme, though, is that it is much easier and realistic to actually find a bunch of things to decorate your home with for the evening.

If you celebrate Christmas, there’s a good chance you will still have your Christmas tree up for New Year’s Eve. Everyone has their own idea of when to take down the tree, but the tradition is when the twelve days of Christmas are over: January 7th. If you don’t like the idea of having your tree up for New Year’s Eve, consider purchasing a white one. It will look less Christmas-y and will match any color scheme or theme that you’re choosing. For Christmas ornaments and other decorations, try not to go too overboard the way you may have for Christmas. You may even want to swap out your colored Christmas lights for white ones. Consider putting away a lot of the red and green, and sticking to mostly white, silvers, or golds.

Remember that the smallest details count, and things such as candles, silverware, garland, and tinsel, can really make a difference. If you have a Party City in your area, this would be a great place to start for supplies and additional ideas. Just remember to stick to your theme and/or color scheme for a truly stylish party. But also don’t forget to just have fun with the decorating; you are about to celebrate the beginning of a new year, after all.

Don’t forget the confetti!