5 Super Tips For Having A Memorable New Year's Eve Party!

"Happy New Year!" 
That'll be the words on just about everyone's lips at midnight this December 31'st. Hopefully your guests will be talking about your New Years Eve party until next New Years Eve when you'll have a chance to top yourself! Here are few things you can do to ensure your party isn't a snoozer!

1. Make it original - New Years Eve is a Special Night!

New Years Eve is a really cool night. It's the one time of the year when we can leave behind the heartaches of last year and open up our dreams and aspirations into next year. We also look back on all the cool things we did, new friends we made, vacations we took and successes we had! 

Make your party YOUR party! Add your flair to it. It's not difficult to do. Think back on what happened in your life last year that was memorable. Did you take an awesome vacation, maybe get married? Did you get a promotion at work or meet the love of your life? Now what does that memory conjure up? Warm tropical breezes or maybe the chill of the Antarctic? Does it make you feel romantic or even powerful? Base the theme of your party around one of those feelings. 

If you remember the feeling of the tropical breeze on your face, make it a tropical theme. Remember Tropical can be either goofy and fun sort of cartoon-ish, or suave and sophisticated, sort of like a beach party in a James Bond Movie, you remember, tuxedos and martinis etc! 

If it's been a romantic year for you, make it a romantic party, again it can be goofy and fun, with couples games that always seem to place one or the other in lets say... ahem...compromising positions! Or Sophisticated with Roses and wine tasting. 

The most important thing is that you make it personal. You'll be surprised how what seems like your memory will be echoed by your guests!

2. Create a new Cocktail for your Party!

Just about everybody likes to try a new colorful cocktail. Recently I had a party and the menu was based on Cuban influences. Instead of serving Mojitos, I created a MoJohnny! It was limeade, with vanilla rum and a splash of seltzer. I then rimmed all of the glasses with some "Mojito Rimming Sugar". These babies were an incredible hit! I get requests for them all the time! You can find a link to the special rimming sugar at the weblink below! 

Don't underestimate creating a signature drink for your party. If you watch the Apprentice, this past season Rebecca created the "Yahootini" for her High End Party with Yahoo.com. It's a fun way to add your signature to the party and tasty!

3. Give out a "Cool" Party Favor!

Everybody likes to take something home. Not only does it give them something to take with them as a keepsake (other than your good silverware) it also makes sure that every time they look at your "gift" or "party favor" they'll remember your New Years Eve party! 
One of the newest never fail items is the light up ice cube. These are plastic non-toxic cubes that have an LED light inside. If you need a quantity of them you can even have the name of your party or company printed on the cube. They come in a bunch of colors so finding something to match your theme and cocktail should be easy. You can even get some that will blink, strobe or change color! See more about them at the link below too!

Glow Necklaces are always fun, personalized shot glasses are cool too. You can get a ton of things personalized these days. You can have wine bottles made with your label, golf balls with your name or logo, even playing cards with your picture on them! The sky is the limit, just remember to keep it close to your theme and have fun with it!

4. Create Theme Music for your Party

This is a lot easier than it sounds. These days just about every computer has the capability to "burn" a CD. 

All you need to do is come up with a dozen or so songs that are special to you or the gang you invited for the party. 

I'm a big fan of Jimmy Buffett so I would put on some of his music as well as other "tropical" sort of songs. 

My wife has songs like the Weather Girls "It's Raining Men" that cause her girlfriends to jump up and down and scream as soon as it comes on! That would be a must for our party! 

Everybody has songs that bring back memories. Now you just have to create a CD with all those special songs on it. If you don't own them, there are tons of places to purchase and download the songs. I'm a fan of Itunes myself! 

If you are having a DJ play the music, ask him to slip them in every now and then wherever he thinks is appropriate. If your just letting your 5 disc CD player be the DJ, set it to random and it will grab a "favorite" song whenever it feels like it. 

Here's another cool tweak on that idea! Burn a CD for each guest. What a cool party favor! Hey that's 2 ideas in 1!

5. Nothing Screams Happy New Year Like Confetti!

Don't you just think, "Happy New Year" every time you see confetti falling. It always reminds me of Times Square in New York City on New Years Eve. ! 

There are a number of ways to add confetti to your party. Confetti Flick Sticks are really cool party favors. You just give them a flick of the wrist and voila, an instant burst of confetti. 

For bigger parties you can add Hand Held Confetti launchers. They'll do a similar effect to the flick sticks, just a lot bigger! 

For large events you can even rent professional confetti cannons, again they all launch confetti, it just depends on how big a burst you need

Most importantly, have fun. Once the party has started, if you forget a side dish, or the DJ isn't playing the music "exactly" as you thought he would, relax. Michael Cerbelli "Entertainer Of The Year" of Total Entertainment in New York once told me his secret was "Never Let Them See You Run Across The Dance Floor"! Truer words were never spoken. 

Most of the time whatever goes wrong will only be noticed by whoever planned the party. Period. If you try out one or two of the above tips, relax, enjoy yourself and have fun with your friends. You'll be certain to have a New Years Eve party that's a hot topic for weeks, and memorable!