If your house is the natural gathering spot for your friend group or family get-togethers, people might be asking you if you’re going to be throwing a New Year’s Eve party. If you’ve never thrown a New Year’s Eve party, it can be a little bit intimidating to set everything up on your own. In this blog, we’re going to chat a bit about how to throw a stellar New Year’s Eve party, including what to have on hand for New Year’s Eve drinks!

Why Throw a New Year’s Eve Party?

For many people, ringing in the new year is an incredibly important moment. The people they are with and the things they are doing when this happens officially sets the tone for the year ahead. For family and friends, being together to bring in the new year can be incredibly powerful – even if you and your loved ones don’t necessarily place that much importance on the moment itself, celebrating together can still be fun!

When Should a New Year’s Eve Party Start?

Now, the purpose of a New Year’s Eve party is to ring in the new year at midnight. But, when should your party start? Generally speaking, popular times to start a party range between six and eight at night on the 31st of December. When you start your party will depend on how much entertainment you have planned for your guests. If you don’t have much planned, a party that starts later would be better, of course.

When Should a New Year’s Eve Party End?

This also depends on the company you have over (and how much everyone’s had to drink). If all of your guests are close family and friends, you may want to have them stay until they are sober enough to drive. Or, if you want to have a hard cutoff, encourage people to get an Uber. Usually, small parties will dissolve sometime between midnight and one in the morning. Although, some party-hard friends may want to hang out into the morning. 

Remember, you can throw whatever kind of party you want. Just set proper expectations when inviting your guests so that they know what to expect.

Games and Entertainment Ideas for Your New Year’s Eve Party

If you’re looking for fun ideas to help entertain your guests until the “ball drops,” here are a few ideas to help you brainstorm:

• Play “name that tune” with the year’s most popular songs
• Have a game of trivia that involves the past year’s events
• Play bingo – but don’t forget prizes!
• Have a karaoke face-off
• Do a masquerade-type event and give an award to the best costume

Food & Snack Ideas for Your Party

Parties and snacks simply go hand-in-hand. You can’t have a party without snacks! However, finding something that everyone will enjoy can be tough, to say the least. Luckily, if you’re throwing a party for close friends and family, you’ll know what they all like! Here are a few ideas to help you get the creative juices flowing:

• Fondue (cheese or chocolate)
• Different kinds of dips (like artichoke or seven-layer dips, etc.)
• Miniaturized foods (burger sliders, mini hot dogs, etc.)
• Bite-sized baked goods
• Cracker and cheese stackers
• Charcuterie

A Few New Year’s Eve Drinks for Your Party

Having plenty of Champagne flutes on hand for when the ball drops is a quintessential happening at a New Year’s Eve party. Get the bottle ready for exactly midnight and pour everyone a small glass! This night is all about celebration, after all. However, before midnight, your guest might want a little something special. Here are a few ideas that tend to work well, regardless of your guests’ preferences:

The “Happy New Year” Cocktail

This drink is made with brandy, champagne, orange juice, and ruby port. Each serving will need 1 ½ oz brandy, ¾ oz ruby port, ¾ oz orange juice, and 4 oz Champagne. Reserving the Champagne for topping, shake the other ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain the mixture into a margarita glass or similar-shaped glass, then top with Champagne.

The Melon “Ball Drop” Cocktail

This fun twist on a melon cocktail is a nice, fruity drink to have on New Year’s Eve. To make one serving of this cocktail, you’ll need 1 oz citrus vodka, 2 oz melon liqueur, ½ oz elderflower liqueur, ¾ oz lemon juice, and melon balls for garnishing. Into a cocktail shaker, shake the vodka, liqueurs, and lemon juice with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with sugar and garnish with a melon ball.

The “Espresso Martini”

If you’re looking for something caffeinated to offer your guests, this drink is perfect. To make a single serving, you’ll need 2 oz neutral vodka, ½ oz coffee liqueur (like Kahlua), and 1 oz very strong coffee like espresso or cold brew concentrate. Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a chilled glass. You can, optionally, garnish with a few coffee beans.

Finding Local, Craft Spirits for Your New Year’s Eve Drinks

If you’re looking to support local distilleries for the ingredients in your New Year’s Eve drinks, you can browse our “by state” listings for your area. It’s always good to support local businesses, and you might even find your new favorite spirits and cocktail ingredients this way! 

From all of us here at Distillery Nearby, we hope you enjoy your New Year’s Eve party and have a wonderful New Year!