December’s here and everyone’s favourite holiday is just around the corner. That’s right – New Years Eve! All the food, lights, and booze make it a great celebration. That is, unless you’re the one organizing the New Years Eve party. One mistake and you can end up hating New Years forever. It shouldn’t be a worry though, there’re a lot of simple things you can do to get your house party-proof. Here’s a simple checklist to make sure you cover all your bases. (Note: some of the simplest things you should already have covered, such as invites and themes are not included in here).

1. First priority: know your guests. You want make your party the reason for the season. And getting that done is all about thinking systematically. In this case, the best way to approach the planning process is to plan on a stakeholder-basis. And that also depends on the kind of party you are hosting. The key is to have everyone accounted for and make sure they have a great time. Doing that means knowing what makes your guests tick.

2. “Baby-proof” the house. No matter how great the food or the music is, accidents always spoil everything. Keeping this from happening is actually quite simple. Imagine the flow of movement that will most likely take place during the party, and arrange the things to make that flow hazard free – no edges around sharp curves, stow away the figurines, etc. Most importantly, the things that should be kept out of reach of children must actually be out of reach of children (e.g. knives).

3. Booze, buzzers, and conversation starters. Even when it’s not your fault that some (or most) of your guests are high-strung, if they don’t have a good time at your party they’ll be blaming you. Thankfully, alcohol has a good record in keeping that from happening. Make sure you have a good variety for everyone’s taste – Merlot for the boss, scotch for the guys, cocktails for the girls, and beer in general. Even the quality of the cocktails’ mix can get a good conversation going. Or if you’re not familiar with mixing drinks, display your old trophies from high school or play some really good music. If all else fails, keep a drinking game or two up your sleeve – those never fail.

4. Food – lots of it. We all know that people get hungry in general, so make sure you can keep up with people’s alcohol intake by providing lots of food for people to nibble on. Another idea is to invite your guests to bring a plate of their own to cut down on your costs and give the party some variety. If you’re having the food catered, make sure you place the orders at least 2 weeks in advance (caterers get really busy during this time of year).

5. Enjoy. All you need to worry about are these basics. Anything beyond that makes you paranoid or insecure. Enjoy the planning process as well as the party itself. Just remember that you’re in the company of friends (to an extent) and everything should be fine from there. Trust me – people will be able to tell if you’re doing this to impress them or just to let them have a great time.

The team at Andersens wish you a very New Years Eve!