Just in case I have one little chance . . .

The 24 Hour New Years Eve Party Plan

Here's the jackpot question in advance: What are YOU doing New Years Eve??? I must confess my darling husband and I have spent our fair share of New Years Eves at home by ourselves eating snacks and feeling a little lame for not having more going. But not this year . . . this year we're planning and pulling off a quaint little New Years Eve Party for 8 adults plus 2 babies and we've got less than 24 hours to do it! Not to mention the fact that Christmas has left our wallets and my creativity bank quite depleted . . .but I'm up for the challenge!

Step 1: Figure out menu and guests.

If you think you're the only one with no New Years Eve plans, I assure you you're not! Send out some feelers on facebook or ask your family. We're keeping it small, both sets of parents and my brother and his girlfriend.

On the menu is the Melting Pot's recipe for Fondue time to swipe the cobwebs out of my fondue pot and use the skewers for something other than testing if my cakes are cooked through :) We're a non-drinking bunch so we're going to do a Italian Cream Soda bar.

Here's what the grocery list looks like:
Fondue - Beer, Shredded Cheddar, swiss, worsheshire sauce (the kind with no anchovies, it pains me to think how long I didn't realize they were an ingredient in this), mustard powder, garlic, and bread, apples, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower for dipping.
Italian Cream Soda Bar-Torani syrups (already had!), club soda, half and half

Step 2: Decorate

I've found the easiest way to get a lot of wow factor for parties is to have a strong color scheme. For new years: GOLD.
I have a fake white pre-lit tree that I kept in my kitchen this season, but since the real tree has now made it to the curb, we moved the white one to the living room and redecorated it with gold ornaments and garland (which I purchased at the dollar store for HALF-OFF since Christmas is now over).

I also made that amazingly cute glitter banner for my mantle this evening stay tuned for a quick tutorial and free printout

Tomorrow I'll set up a "photo booth" using a crinkly gold tablecloth as a backdrop and maybe a quick Happy New Year Banner (if time permits)
I bought a bag of 20 gold balloons which I'll send my darling husband out to fill with helium when we get down to the wire (walmart does this for only 25 cents a balloon!) Plus our lovely party guests in sparkly hats should make for the best decorations of all!

Step 3: Plan Activities

Keep it simple, our plan: make hats, eat, play games, watch movie, countdown and ring in the new year!

See, it's totally not too late to plan a party!!!