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Tips to Make Your New Year's Eve Party Memorable

New Year's Eve parties are a fun and festive way for friends, family and co-workers to get together and enjoy some good food, good drink and good company as you welcome the new year. Each holiday season, the first few parties are always a novelty, but by New Year's Eve, some people may start suffering from holiday party fatigue.

With the many parties being thrown this holiday season, here are some tips and easy things you can do to help make your New Year's Eve gathering unique, memorable and run as smoothly as possible.

• Develop a seating plan for dinner so guests can sit with people that they don't always get to talk with or know very well. This will help keep conversations flowing throughout the night.

• You can also create unique personalized place cards to help dress up your table by simply printing your favourite photo of each guest and placing it at their seat. To help get the conversations started you can also print some ice-breaker questions on the back of each photo/table card for your guests to use.

• Ensure that you have a good selection of music styles to play throughout the evening. A great way to enhance the listening pleasure for guests is to use a CD player like the Sony AVD-C700ES with a 5-disc changer so the tunes never stop playing throughout the evening.

• When preparing and serving hot hors d'oeuvres, it is a good idea to invest in a double layer toaster oven, like the Rival® 6-slice toaster oven. This will allow you to make more delicious starters at one time, keeping the food circulating and your guests happy.

• Once everyone has arrived, take a digital photo of the entire group. You can then print out the picture on a photo printer, like the Sony PictureStation™ DPP-FP30 printer. This printer allows for lab-quality photos without needing to hook up to a computer. You can then give each guest a copy of the picture as a memento when they leave.

• Create a themed signature drink that can be pre-made and handed out to guests as the walk in the door. It can be something festive to reflect the holidays. For example, Carolans Kiss Under the Mistletoe, made with Carolans Irish Cream Liquor, Polar Ice Vodka, McGuinness Crème de Cacao and milk or cream.

FINE LIVING, a new television network dedicated to inspiring viewers to live better, offers hints on how to have fun while entertaining guests:

• Open house. Have a casual gathering where friends are invited to simply "drop by." Stagger the arrival of guests so that you don't have to entertain too many people at one time.

• Food. Avoid wearing yourself out with cooking. Serve foods that are eaten at room temperature and can stay out for the whole party.

• Space. Have lots of space for people to mingle, and plenty of places where guests can sit and relax.

• Atmosphere. Your party should be festive, enjoyable and relaxing. Play your favourite holiday music and spend time with your guests rather than stressing over little details.

• Have Fun. The best parties are when the host has as much fun as the guests, so plan ahead and let yourself have a good time!

For more party ideas, tune into FINE LIVING's The Perfect Party on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT or visit www.FINELIVING.ca.

Shoana Jensen, professional bartender, offers the following easy steps that accommodate most drink requests from guests, while offering two or three speciality cocktails that tie in with the holiday theme.

• Take stock and make a shopping list of what you need.

• Stock a selection of red and white wine, beer and premium spirits, such as flavoured vodkas by Absolut. Flavoured vodkas go a long way in terms of versatility and drink mixing. Buying expensive liqueurs that cater to just one or two drinks will increase your bar bill and leave you with unfinished bottles. Champagne for toasting the New Year should be on your list.

• Have a good assortment of mixes and garnishes, such as fizzy water, pop, juices, fresh limes, cocktail olives, maraschino cherries and lots of ice.

• Don't forget the right accessories including martini shaker and strainer, measured shot glasses, corkscrew, a variety of tall and martini glasses, cocktail sticks and a paring knife for cutting garnishes.

Make a pitcher of pre-made drinks in advance, such as the following spritzer, that can be poured when guests arrive so that you're not running from behind the bar to the front door at every ring. Slightly reducing the amount of alcohol in the first round of drinks ensures that your party will get off to an easy pace. Responsible serving is the key to a safe and enjoyable time.

ABSOLUT HOLIDAY SPRITZER
1 part Absolut Mandrin
1 part Absolut Kurant
3 parts dry white wine
Sprite
Strawberry simple syrup to taste

Build vodka, wine and sprite over ice in a shaker glass. Add simple syrup and stir with a bar spoon. Strain contents into a wine glass and garnish with an orange spiral. For more great holiday drink ideas visit absolut.com.

Take the stress out of holiday hosting by being prepared for drop-ins as well as planned get-togethers. Having the essentials on hand can go a long way to keeping guests happy and your stress levels down.

- News Canada