How to Plan the Perfect New Year's Party 2009

You are probably overwhelmed with the anticipation of planning your New Years Party. You want to make it light, fun, and memorable for all your guests. Before you get over your head and start creating more problems and stress than needed, take a look at a couple of the following suggestions to keep the stress of party planning to a minimum.

First, who are you inviting? Make sure that you have a complete guest list. Remember to get this guest list together well in advance as some people have probably started making plans for New Year's as early as November.

Next, you will want to know what is going on around the city. There may be a firework show or parade that you may want to incorporate into your overall party plans. If you have guests that are coming from out of town, make sure that they have reserved a hotel well in advance if they will not be staying at your house.

When you finally get your invitations ready to be mailed, make sure that you have included an RSVP so that your guests can let you know in advance whether or not they will be attending.

Now, do you want to have a party with a specific theme? This can add to the fun, but make sure that you let all your attendees about the theme so they can plan accordingly.

While you are planning whether or not your party will have a theme is also a great time to decide if you will be providing alcohol, if your attendees should bring their own, or if your party will not be celebrated with alcohol. Even if you are going to have alcohol you should also plan for some other type of non-alcoholic beverage to be served.

Make sure that you are prepared to take care of your guests. If you are planning to serve alcohol or have alcohol present at your party then you need to understand that you are responsible for your guests making it home safely. Plan to have intoxicated guests stay at your home or call a taxi and have them taken to their homes or hotels safely.

Your food menu should be very simple. At a New Year's Party everyone is mingling and moving around, chatting, dancing, etc. There is no need for a formal sit down meal; there has been enough of that already with Thanksgiving and Christmas. Make finger foods, this will allow everyone to continue about their business and it also ensures that you aren't stuck in the kitchen.

Finally, kick back and enjoy with your friends. Forget it, forget everything of the year past and get ready to bring in the New Year with lots of fun, friends and family!

Source- Personal Experience in holiday parties and traditions