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December 15, 2005

Quick & Easy New Year’s Eve Party Tips

Throwing a successful party is a time consuming process that can become a daunting task for most. There’s guests lists, food, music, flowers, decorating and tabletop design to worry about, among several other things. I’m lucky enough to have a little talent when it comes to decorating, but it doesn’t hurt to have a good friend and client that makes a good living in this field.

Marc Blackwell is a premiere interior and tabletop designer based in New York whose dinnerware has been featured in all the major publications and at one of Oprah’s private soirees. He sat down with my to come up with a check list of what I need to remember when throwing my New Year’s Eve party, and so I’m passing along his knowledge to the masses. Enjoy!

Invites:
• Send your invites using an online service like www.Evite.com. This will save you time and money, and allow you to send one mass invite you all your friends and family. You can also keep a running tally of who will be attending.

Party Design:
Start with a theme based on a favorite color, song, food, etc.
• Start with a favorite color palette and build your design from there. Rich colors work great for the holiday season.
• Candles ad ambience to any party, but if you have a full house, they can be a hazard. Keep candles clear of heavy traffic areas and if possible, keep them in votives and hurricane vases. This will also help prevent accidental wax spills, which can be a pain to cleanup.

Centerpieces:
The day after Christmas is a great time to catch sales on holiday decorations – especially glass ornaments.
• A clever use for these glass orbs, aside from decorating a tree, is to use them in colorful centerpieces and in fruit bowls (instead of fruit).
• Take a glass hurricane vase and fill it with an assortment of ornaments, or other festive objects, that fit into the theme and/or color palette for your party.

Floral Arrangements:
When it comes to floral arrangements, most people are completely lost.
• Choose two to three pieces of foliage that fall into your color scheme.
• Before assembly, remove all leaves and foliage that fall below the water line. They decay quickly, have an acrid odor and distract from the design.
• Cut stems on a slant under water, making sure to crush the ends of thick stems.
• To assemble, group clusters of different colored foliage together, making sure to position flowers at different heights in the vase.

Tabletop:
Large parties are great because you can often get away with using inexpensive and/or disposable plates (saving on cleanup time). For more formal parties where a meal will be served, keep the tablecloth and dinnerware simples. Use accessories to play up the mood of the night.
• Start with a backdrop of a plush velvet or satin material. You can find these items at your local fabric store for little money. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about food stains because you can dispose of the fabric when you’re done.
• Use plates with solid or simple patterns, in colors that complement your overall design.
• Have fun with accessories. Place a floral arrangement in the center of your table and give each guest there own mini version. Use the card holder that comes in most bouquets of flowers as the place setting for each of your guests.
• Place a mini bottle of champagne or liquor beside each guests place setting. This brings another element to the table and your guests will love that they have their own bottle.

Food/Drinks:
• Always plan for more people than you think will attend your party. People bring friends, so if you prepare extra food, you are sure to have plenty to go around – and your guests will love to nibble throughout the night and into the New Year.
• Make cocktails by the bunch, instead of single servings. This will cut down on prep-work so you can spend more time with your guests.

Cleanup:
Parties are great fun, but cleanup can kill the mood.
• Clean dishes as you go along. This clears up counter space for your party and will leave you with little to do after your party is over.
• Line your baking dishes with tinfoil. After you’re done preparing food you can simply pull out the foil and give your cookware a quick rubdown with soap and warm water.

Removing Stains:
• Red Wine Stains:
o Gently dab the stain with a clean cloth.
o Poor water or club soda onto the cloth and dab more (do not rub).
o Keep dabbing until the stain comes out.
• Oily Food Stains:
o Sprinkle talcum power over the stain.
o Wait ten minutes and shake off the excess.

Posted by Lance Buckley at December 15, 2005 03:47 PM

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