If you are considering hosting a party, we have a few ideas and tips to help with decorating your home for New Year’s Eve.
With the end of the year just a few days away, if you are considering hosting a New Year’s Eve party, now is the time to start getting things together. You can always put it off until the day before or so, but the longer you leave it the more rushed it will feel. Plus, there are better deals to be found the week before compared to the day before.
Most of the ideas below are relatively easy decorating and design tips and involve using existing materials and furniture, or easily obtained party goods. We also include a few bigger ideas, but those will probably have to wait. Still, there’s no time like the present to start planning for the future.
Clear Space
Before you get to the actual decorating, you should start by removing anything you don’t need in order to make more room.
In general, during the winter you may decide to make your place feel a little cozier by adding furniture and highlighting warmer colors. You may want to go the opposite route for a party, however, depending on how many people you are expecting.
Having chairs and places to set things down is a must, but a dining room table may just be in the way. Push it over to the wall, or remove it and store it somewhere out of the way. That will create an easier flow for people to move around and allow for more people.
If you are still holding on to your Christmas tree, this might be a good time to take it outside. You can also leave it in front of your house with the ornaments and tinsel still on to add a little extra flair for when guests approach.
Create a Party Space
Designate one area as a party space and add something to make that area a focal point. If you have the room, call that the dance floor and add the proper lighting. If you have the right equipment, set up a karaoke machine. If you want to send the old year off with a thumb in the eye, set up a table for drinking games.
If none of those fit your style, you can always turn it into a serving area and lay out some food. Alternatively, turn it into a bar and set up a drink station if you are into that. Whatever you do with it, it’s good to have one area a little off to the side where you can direct people. Just make sure there is room for people to walk by.
Decorate for Tomorrow
When you are decorating for your New Year’s Eve party, consider the cleanup. Make sure you have plenty of places for people to toss their trash, as well as places for recycling. If you want to try to encourage people to add food remains to a compost, you can set up special bags for that as well, but it will get tougher to encourage people to separate their trash as the night goes on – plus it will begin to stink after a few hours.
Candles are also an easy and fun decoration, but make sure they are on a plate or something that can catch the wax, and make sure they aren’t in a place where someone can accidentally knock them over.
You should also consider decorations that look good and are easy to get rid of. Balloons are simple enough (if you have a way to inflate them easily), and streamers go a long way. Glitter, however, will never go away. It might make things look festive, but be prepared to be covered in it for a long, long time. Confetti may also seem traditional, but it makes a huge mess.
Remember the Outside
While the winter temperatures tend to keep most New Year’s parties focused inside, don’t neglect the decorations outside – just keep the weather in mind.
If it is going to rain (or even snow) your options are limited. Add some decorations to your door, and possibly even a New Year’s banner outside so people know they are at the right place. If it is going to be dry, however, you have more options.
One easy way to decorate the front if the weather accommodates is to use luminaries. These are easy decorations – just small paper bags from the store, fill them with dirt, and add tea candles. Light them when it gets dark to illuminate a path to your door. You can even buy special bags that feature designs, or you can create those designs yourself with a little effort.
If the weather allows and you have the space, push the party to your backyard as much as possible. Add some lights at strategic places and decorate as you see fit, and keep the drinks out back. This will spare your house the worst of it and create more room. Just make sure you have towels or mats for when people come back inside so they can wipe their feet.
Make Notes for the Future
If you are considering a party but you are noticing things that are causing some issues regarding the design of your house – accessibility, or maybe your kitchen feels too small, for instance – make some notes. Then after the New Year contact a professional and let them know your concerns.
Fleschner Construction offers remodeling and design tips. Contact us and let us know what you are thinking and we can offer you plenty of options to make any future parties you have stand out!