New Year’s Eve is one of the best nights of the year to entertain at home. Everyone is always eager for a great night, and many find that a simple yet colorful and fun evening spent in the company of friends and family is always preferable to an expensive club or restaurant celebration. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for pulling together a simple, but chic New Year’s Eve party:
New Year’s is all about glitter and sparkle, and nothing says glitter or sparkle more than Brut Cuvée. This sparkling wine is a great option for entertaining a crowd. Take things a step further by serving a signature drink, like Countdown Cuvéethat combines Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée with honey-flavored whiskey and a lemon twist. Keep things easy by making and placing the sugared lemon twists in glass flutes ahead of time, then pour and serve the drinks as your guests start to arrive.
Keep the party moving by skipping the large plates and opting for smaller portable eats your guests can enjoy while walking around and mingling. Serve easy dishes like bite-sized sandwiches, mini vegetable kabobs, or chilled soup in small glasses.
Have fun with tradition by creating a DIY Resolution Station in a corner of your party space. Set up a small table with pens, markers, stickers and index cards for guests to write their resolutions and pin them to a fabric-covered bulletin board. These can be super fun and silly or totally serious. You can even include a few prompts on the cards to help guests get started. Think positive questions like “This year I’ll be brave enough to _______” or “In 2017, I will finally visit ______” or “This is the year when I will learn how to _______”
Save fridge space (and time spent walking back and forth to the kitchen) by creating a long-lasting ice bucket of chilled sips like the Brut Cuvée near your bar or buffet area. To make, start with a large galvanized tub (these can be found at hardware or crafts stores) and fill the base with frozen ice packs, which will keep cooler longer than individual ice cubes. Pour ice on top, and tuck in the bottles. When planning out your bar, place the ice bucket in the coolest part of the room (perhaps near an open window if you live in a cold climate) or at least away from any radiators, stoves, or heat vents.
Memories are always the best part of the party, so keep track of the pictures your guests share on social media by creating a unique party hashtag and noting it around the room. Or take things a step further by creating a mini Instagram photo booth with a sparkly tinsel backdrop purchased from a party store, and a nearby basket of silly props like hats, funny glasses, feather boas, and masks.
Countdown to Cuvée
Ingredients:
4 ounces Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée
1/2 ounce honey-flavored Whiskey Liqueur
Lemon Peel
Sugar
Directions:
Cut a long and wide strip of lemon peel.
Dip both sides of the lemon peel into sugar.
Place sugared lemon peel inside champagne flute, circling the inside rim.
Pour chilled honey whiskey liqueur and Bubbly Brut Cuvee into the flute through the center of the sugared lemon peel.
