Why You Should Party on New Year’s Day Instead of Eve
Want to know a secret that nobody talks about? You don’t always have to celebrate the new year on New Year’s Eve. You can opt to instead celebrate it on New Year’s Day! New Year’s Eve parties make for fun, memorable experiences. It is a night well worth celebrating! But if you wake up the next morning (or afternoon) and feel a slight letdown that the party is over, then a New Year’s Day party may be just what you need to lift those spirits right back up and cheerfully start your new year. It’s basically like a New Year’s Eve party, except instead of anticipating an exciting count down to the new year, you simply celebrate!
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How to Throw a New Year’s Day Party
1. Create the Scene with Class New Year’s Decorations
It’s easy to decorate for the New Year! Classic decorations to look for are metallics, sparkles, stars, confetti, and anything that pops. Here you’ll find plenty of festive options to welcome the first day of the new year.
Welcome guests with hanging New Year’s decorations and banners:
- Happy New Year cursive gold glitter banner
- Happy New Year all caps gold glitter banner
- Happy New Year gold glitter banner with silver star accents
- Ring in the new year banner with bells
- Pack of 6 hanging strands with colourful New Year stars and hats
- Pack of 3 metallic New Year lanterns
Set a handsome table spread with New Year’s serveware:
- Happy New Year plastic table cover with polka dots
- Happy New Year gold glitter confetti
- Gold and black New Year’s paper napkins
- New Year’s gold clock paper plates (set of 6)
- Happy New Year gold paper cups (set of 6)
- Cheers to the New Year! 16-oz frosted shatterproof cups (set of 8)
- Gold glitter straws with silver glitter stars (set of 12)
- Cheers to the New Year glitter cake topper
- Sparkly gold or silver tinsel cupcake toppers (set of 12)
- Black and gold New Year’s party hats (pack of 8)
2. Prepare a New Year Spread
On a Diet?
Quick, hide the chips and candies! Now that it’s January first, everyone and their grandpa’s on a New Year’s resolution diet and so you mustn’t discourage any progress they’ve made so far (being only the first day of the year, there’s a high chance they’re doing well so far so let’s not ruin it yet!). Luckily, many of the traditional New Year foods are actually quite healthy as we’ll see in the recipes below.
Now, don’t think that means you can’t toast the near year with champagne! Here’s a fun fact: champagne has fewer calories than both red and white wines. So if everyone’s watching their new (or imaginary) diets, pour them some champagne (assuming they are partaking) and let them know they can rest assured that it’s ‘healthy’. For those who don’t drink alcohol, serve sparkling grape juice – which is also a healthy beverage option!
Hydrate and Nourish
New Year’s diet or not, it’s important to know that if you and/or your guests partook in libations for New Year’s Eve, it is paramount to provide nourishing food and hydrating beverages for your New Year’s Day party. Granted, that doesn’t mean you can’t also drink for New Year’s Day so long as you stay plenty hydrated! But regardless of anyone’s activities the night before, it’s always important to provide good non-alcoholic options, period. It is especially imperative in this case to ward off nasty dehydration and keep everyone healthy and happy!
Most people think water is the most hydrating beverage. While that’s a logical assumption, milk actually tops the list of hydrating beverages. Orange juice is up there, too. So if you’ve ever craved those drinks when extremely thirsty, that’s why! The nutritional composition of milk is such that it coats the lining of your stomach and allows the fluids to remain in your digestive tract long enough to absorb and hydrate your body. Water has no ‘staying power’ so to speak and no real nutrients so it immediately passed to your kidneys and urine tract.
Keep that in mind with your beverage provision: well-planned beverages will be most appreciated. While milk isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, other examples of drinks that hydrate more efficiently than water include water infused with lemon or cucumber, pure fruit juice such as orange juice, coconut water, and bone broth. So mix that champagne with orange juice (or any other juice of your choice) and serve mimosas! Mix rum with coconut water. Serve all cocktails heavy on the mixers: for each shot of liquor (or other alcohol unit), include at least 8 ounces of a hydrating beverage such as pure juice or sparkling water. You may need giant cups to accomplish this (nothing wrong with huge Solo cups), but that will keep everyone contentedly sipping away – without further dehydrating!
As for food, keep in mind that excessive drinking depletes nutrients. So to boost everyone’s nutritional profile and to get the New Year off to a healthy start, provide foods that are delicious and nutritious. Don’t just go for typical greasy hangover foods (that doesn’t bode well for dieters, anyway!).
New Year’s Recipes and Tasty, Fulfilling Foods:
- Over-easy eggs on buttered toast
- Pancakes made of whole wheat flour, flaxseeds, chia seeds, brewer’s yeast (crucial to replenish vitamin B6), milk, butter and eggs, served with organic naturally-sweetened jam or pure maple syrup
- Beans cooked in bone broth and seasoned with fresh herbs
- Rice cooked in chicken broth
- Gallo pinto (Costa Rican breakfast staple of black beans and rice)
- Black-eyed peas
- Collard greens
- Vegetable pizza
3. Set the Ambience with the Perfect Playlist for a Fresh New Year
Background music is key for a party’s vibe. If you want your New Year’s Day party to feel just like a hoppin’ New Year’s Eve dance party – except during the sunny hours, then you’ll of course amp up a killer playlist with music that makes people want to move. But if you’d rather prefer that everyone can have a conversation without shouting over their drinks, try something that’s upbeat but relaxed, such as lo-fi swing or an old New Year’s songs playlist. Regardless of the tunes you choose, just opt for anything that’s uplifting and fun to set a positive tone for the start of the new year!
4. Plan New Year’s Party Games and Activities
Time for fun and games! If any guests have trouble opening up or shaking off stress from the past year, games and activities are a great way to break through and unleash pure childlike fun. While games aren’t necessarily required to make a great New Year’s Day party, they can definitely make it more interesting and entertaining!
Just because the New Year’s Eve ball already dropped and the hours and seconds of the new year have already started ticking doesn’t mean you can’t still partake in traditional New Year’s Eve activities! We as a culture have such FOMO sometimes; it really doesn’t hurt to get a little sleep before partying in the new year while alert and refreshed. Here are some fun printable downloads to stimulate fun (and meaningful) conversation and test everyone’s New Year’s knowledge!
- New Year’s conversation cards
- New Year’s riddles
- New Year’s trivia
- New Year Tradition Around the World quiz
5. Establish Guest Participation
Guest participation is optional and consists of what (if anything) guests do to contribute to your New Year’s Day party. For example, you could opt to make it a potluck and request that guests bring a dish or drink to share. Just remember that as the host of a potluck-style party, you should provide at least one large dish that is both tasty and filling (just in case others end up bringing things that are less tasty or less filling).
You could invite guests to wear their most hideous Christmas outfit they got this year. So if aunt Lucinda got them another ridiculous Christmas tie, they could wear it loud and proud! Or, another option could be to wear their favourite new Christmas outfit and model a favourite jacket or blouse. Or you could choose a secret colour and invite each guest to guess what your chosen colour may be and to come wearing that. Whoever gets it right wins a prize! It would be interesting to see everyone’s guesses.
Of course, always choose your guests mindfully and prioritize friends who you know would really enjoy a New Year’s Day party. Who knows – you may start a new annual trend among your friends!
Checklist of Items You Need
This is a list of all of the physical things you need for this party:
- New Year’s decorations and party supplies
- Healthy, nourishing, and delicious dishes
- Champagne, sparkling grape juice, and plenty of tasty juices and hydrating mixers
- Music to start off the New Year with happy vibes!
- New Year’s games (downloaded/printed)
Checklist of Preparations for Your New Year’s Day Party
1. First, establish that your efforts aren’t in vain by confirming that people can come on any chosen date:
- Choose party date/time, and preferably alternative date(s) as well. This is the one party that really should occur on a specific day: January First. Since most people are off work that day, it seems reasonable that most should be able to attend if they’re in town! However, on the off chance that nobody can come but you really want to celebrate the New Year, opt to have it the following weekend! After all, nothing beats the after-holiday season blues like another festive party to look forward to in early January.
- Choose guest list and establish minimum number of guests you’d like (to make it worth your effort)
- Six weeks out, confirm guests’ interest in the party and availability on chosen party date(s)
- If your preferred minimum number of guests confirm interest and availability, have them secure calendar date for your awesome New Year’s Day party!
2. Then, proceed with the fun planning!
- Schedule time on your calendar for each step of party prep (securing and/or making food/drinks, etc.)
- Create invitations with all of the details and send them out 4 weeks before the party
- Order any party supplies and decorations 3 weeks out (so they arrive in time to prepare and set up)
- Shop for any party supplies/decorations you don’t order online, as well as non-perishable food/drinks
- In your planned time slots, acquire perishable food/drinks early enough in advance to prepare in time
- In your planned time slots, set up/decorate with any supplies and decorations
- In your planned time slots, prepare food/drinks (depending on how long things keep)
3. Day of Party (in your amply planned time slot):
- Complete any last-minute food/drink prep that’s too fresh to do any earlier
- Set up any quick/easy last-minute supplies and decorations you didn’t want up before
- Queue music
- Get dressed in your favourite party outfit, or in your worst/best Christmas gifted outfit if inviting others to do the same
- Once everything’s ready, meditate or do your preferred self-care to get in a good head space if you aren’t already. You want to start the New Year feeling relaxed, energized, and optimistic. You will be happier, and guests will pick up on your contagiously good vibe and automatically be happier as well – everybody’s best interest!
You are all set and ready to host a terrific New Year’s Day party! Have a blessed and happy new year.
Don’t forget to also ring in the lunar new year next month with a Chinese New Year party!