24 Ideas for Hosting a Glitzy New Year's Eve Cocktail Party

New Year's Eve Party Ideas

The key to a great New Year's party? Good food, great friends, and a signature cocktail. Whip up a batch of your favorite party drink and have it ready to go when the party starts. Add a few drops of food coloring to add extra flair.

Set a Dress Code

Send the year off in style. This party's dress code? Something that sparkles. Whether it's a sequined dress or a metallic bangle, add at least one piece that shimmers or shines to your outfit for a look worthy of Times Square.

Make an Entertaining Station

Cheers all Eve-ning long with a well-stocked (and well-dressed) drink station. Offer a selection of both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Fun garnishes, stirrers, syrups, and straws let guests play bartender so you don't have to! Try using a bar cart on wheels so the party can go where you do!

Did You Know? To toast after sipping or with an empty glass is considered bad luck.

Raspberry-Champagne Fizz

Pop. Fizz. Clink. Every party needs a signature drink. Serve a fizzy berry drink at this New Year's Eve bash. A cool pour of fruit syrup gives each flute easy, dramatic color.

Rim Cocktail Glasses

This New Year's Eve, give your cocktail glasses a festive double dip: first in lemon or lime juice, then in colored sprinkles. Edible glitter also does the trick.

Create a NYE Playlist

Jam out to a playlist packed with the year's best tunes. Upon RSVP'ing, ask guests to send in requests for their favorite songs and artists.

Make a Cupcake Holder Garland

Surprise! Cupcake liners are for more than just baking. Round up your favorite patterns and colors, fold each in half, then staple together for a garland.

Get the Perfect Party Look

Quick! Get in all on the happening hairstyle secrets. This easy party hairstyle comes together in minutes but looks like you spent all afternoon.

Use Glitzy Servingware

Pretty your table with standout trays, plates, napkins, and more. Go gold or silver, printed or plain. No matter what, your New Year's table never looked so good.

Charcuterie

Charcuterie in English is a meat-and-cheese tray. The French trend is easy to customize and welcomes items such as paté, salami, pickled veggies, aged cheese, and chutney.

Gruyere Cheese Straws

Mingle while munching on light-as-air cheese straws. The golden crispies get their European flair from Gruyere cheese. You'd never guess they were based on frozen puff pastry.

Triple-Olive Tapenade

Trade the standard bowl of olives for blender-spun tapenade. This umami version gets three salty hits—green olives, oil-cured, and kalamata—and goes great on crusty crostini.

Nachos

Nachos say party, no matter how upscale the gathering. This piled-high starter is best dressed in classic fixings: cheesy ground beef, pinto beans, sassy jalapeños, cilantro, and salsa.

Compound Butters

Treat your bakery-fresh baguette to six delectable butters. Each starts with a stick of store-bought butter and finishes with an infusion of delish flavorings:

- Dill-Chive

- Tarragon-Shallot

- Gremolata

- Cilantro-Lime

- Raspberry

- Blackberry-Honey

Beef Tenderloin with Parmesan-Herb Stuffing

On a scale of one to fancy, this rich beef tenderloin is as lavish as they come. Wrapped in a buttery blend of cremini mushrooms and salty prosciutto, this dish melts in your mouth.

Vanilla Holiday Cookies

Treat guests to a starry surprise: sparkly vanilla cookies. A quick swipe of homemade icing and some edible gold glitter make them look as good as they taste.

Confetti Cookies

These slice-and-bake cookies are the perfect easy party dessert. They call for just four ingredients and can be made ahead. Serve them on your New Year's buffet surrounded by colorful sprinkles.

Cranberry Fruit Jellies

Crisp pomegranate juice and snowlike sugar coating mean this festive treat balances sweet and tart.

Glittery White Chocolate and Cranberry Pot de Creme

Edible glitter tops these festive New Year's Eve desserts. Perfect for a party, these bite-size treats can be made ahead and stored in the fridge until the stroke of midnight.

Set Up a DIY Photo Booth

Capture your party's special moments with a do-it-yourself photo booth complete with a handcrafted backdrop, goofy props, and (of course) the right camera.

Pick Your Fortune

Don't wait for next year to recieve your fortune. Make your own before the ball drops! All you need are pretty paper or fabric circles, hot glue, and strips with handwritten wishes and resolutions.

Make Confetti Poppers

Greet the New Year in grand, glittery fashion with confetti. Make your own homemade poppers using empty Push Pop containers and a mix of colorful cut paper scraps—use patterned, tissue, and wrapping. Hole punches and ridged scissors create fun shapes.

Editor's Tip: Leftover confetti makes fabulous table decor.

Ring in the New Year

Scraps of tulle and mini bells make any wooden crafts stick instantly adorable. Tie or hot-glue the materials on at least a day before the party, then ring away when the clock strikes midnight.

Light Sparklers

Light up the dessert tray with festive sparklers and cute numbered candles to commemorate the year. Just be sure you don't get too close to this sparkly send-off!