How To Throw a New Year's Eve Party

Plan a menu of appetizers that people can munch throughout the night, but think beyond chips and dip. Even if you’re no top chef, platters of cheeses, nuts, cold meats, bread, and crackers are always popular.

Buy booze, booze, and more booze. The most popular choices are beer, wine, and vodka. Figure four or five drinks per guest and, of course, champagne to pop at midnight. Don’t forget the ice—one 16-ounce bag per guest.

It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without noisemakers, streamers or confetti, and party hats, so put them on your shopping list, along with that stuff that’s easy to forget—mixers, garnishes, stirrers, and nonalcoholic drinks.

Make sure you have enough cups, plates, cutlery, and napkins for everyone.

Make several long mixes or a playlist of fun, upbeat music so you can concentrate on dancing instead of babysitting the stereo.

As guests arrive, make sure there’s a place designated to stow their coats and bags, and get a drink into their hand right away.

A minute or two before midnight, lower the music and propose a brief toast for the new year. A popular one is, “May all your joy be true joy and may all your pain be champagne.”

Direct the revelers’ attention to a clock with a second hand or a live TV countdown to tick off the last ten seconds in unison, then cue a recording to “Auld Lang Syne” and continue partying like it’s 1999.