Cheers!

Here are my best New Year's Eve Party ideas!  You already saw the fabulous buffet idea.  Now here are some ideas for a more intimate party.

Roast beef sliders with some horseradish mayonnaise.  Easy and delicious!

Savory Shrimp Shooters

Serve this great soup in some shot glasses and make some toast points.  I used a heart cookie cutter to cut them out and then cut the hearts in half.  Viola!

Chocolate Mousse served in martini glasses!!!  So elegant!!!

Mimosa Poached Pears in Chocolate Orange Champagne Sauce

   

Chocolate Champagne Cheesecake Tartlets

Scattering masks and noise makers around the tables is and easy and inexpensive way to decorate.

These champagne flutes are from the dollar store and they are decorated with Sharpies!

The Sharpie can be removed from the glasses with rubbing alcohol after the party!!!  Genius!!!

Using the hats, streamers, noise makers and champagne glasses on your table will make it look so festive!  Keeping the silver theme throughout makes it look very elegant.

I hope these ideas help you have a great celebration to ring in the new year.  If you use any of them, let me know!  If you make any of the recipes, tell me how it turned out!!!

New Year's Eve Buffet

Well it's that time again!  Time to ring out the old year and ring in the new year.  Here is my idea of how to set up a great buffet and bar for your celebration.

I have a great cut glass decanter that I got at Macy's. I put ice water in it and, if I use a second one, I put iced tea in that one.  I set out a bucket with a bottle of champagne, some sugar cubes in a bowl, and a pitcher of cranberry juice.

This is a twist on a mimosa.  Instead of orange juice, you use cranberry juice and it's called a poinsettia!!!  How cool is that for a holiday party?

I picked up this rectangular tin tray that is actually for a bathroom on a whim.  I decided it would be perfect to hold my silverware for this buffet.

 The table cloths and balloons are from Dollar Tree.

The gold star plates are also from Dollar Tree.

I made roast beef, roast turkey (but you could use roast pork to bring luck on New Year's Day) and gravies to go with them.  I have two crock pots for the meats and one that has three small pots in it for the gravies.  I had a chafer for garlic smashed potatoes and green beans with butter.  

Dessert was Cannoli Dip and Chocolate Covered Marshmallows.  I decided to stud the marshmallows with chocolate chips (both white and milk chocolate).  This proved to be very time intensive.

It was all a huge hit!  Hope this helps to give you some ideas for your celebration.

Chocolate Fever!!

I love chocolate, this is no secret.  So, when it comes to Christmas, it just wouldn't be Christmas without chocolate and a LOT of it!  So, here are the treats that I have made this Christmas. 

P.S.  No baking was involved!

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows with Nonpareils

These are HUGE marshmallows!  The bag actually recommends you cut them in thirds to eat them.  I love how they came out.  One of these wrapped in cellophane with a bow is a nice little treat for your child's classmates.  P.S. No eggs, peanuts, etc.  Not sure of other allergens.

Chocolate Spoon Stir Ins

These spoons are great for adding some flavor to coffee or for just stirring in to hot milk to make hot chocolate.  I put 3 each in a snack size ziploc bag and tied them with some tulle.  I put them on some dollar store tin trays.  Fancy looking and really fun.

The spoons I used are plastic that look like silverware.  So the overall look is really elegant.

And last, but by no means least, Cannoli Dip!!!  Oh my!

Cannoli Dip Recipe

This is a super quick and easy recipe and look how great it turns out!  I have this little red wagon that I thought would be a great presentation.  I just used a Pyrex loaf pan to put it in.  Then I have little pinch bowls that I am putting wedges of pizzelles in to use as dippers.  I know this stuff won't last long tonight!

Thankfulness Jar

Last year I gave some family members "Thankfulness Jars".  They are little jars with small note pads and pens.  They were instructed to write down everything good that happened during the year.  Fold up the things they wrote and put it in the jar. Then, on New Year's Eve, read what a great year they had.

Here is our jar from this year:

Rather chock full of things for which we are grateful.  I can't wait to read them!!

I am giving the same folks (hope I remember who they all were) new pads of paper and pens this year to keep up their jars.

People really loved this last year.  It's a very thoughtful and thought filled gift.  You can easily get this together at the last minute.

Legend of The Bayberry Candle 2013

The Legend of The Bayberry Candle is one that came to America with Irish and Italian immigrants.  The Legend holds that a bayberry candle must be burned all the way down without being blown out on Christmas even to bring good luck to the household in the coming year.

Hallmark sells sets of two Bayberry Candles with the legend printed inside the box for about $5.  If you add in a couple of dollar store glass candlesticks, you have a cute little gift for less than $10.  Great for a neighbor, coworker, you name it.  People really love this one!  Here is this year's version that I am giving to my family:

"A Bayberry Candle burnt to the socket brings food to the larder and gold to the pocket!"

Quick and Easy Gift

I like to give a little something to my next door neighbor.  She's an elderly woman who is recently widowed and I don't really know her well.  But I like to send a little something over.

Here is what I came up with this year:

I found this cute oven mitt and pot holder set at Home Goods a little while ago.  I picked it up not knowing exactly who it was going to, but knowing it would be good for somebody.  Then I put tissue paper in it and added a little not pad and a nice pen.  I think it's a really nice little gift that anybody would like to get.  If you have a Secret Santa at work or you have family Pollyanna and you got your matron aunt who is impossible to  buy for, this is a perfect gift!  Not perfume they will never wear or a scarf they may or may not like, this is sure to be sued and loved. 

Wrap Session

It's that time.  Time to take all of the things you have purchased through all of those hours of shopping online and in stores and WRAP IT!!

 If you are like me, you take this task very seriously!!!  I like my packages to match and/or coordinate.  I want every thing to have some type of bow or ribbon.  I want printed tags for the majority of them.  All tags are in a fancy font on removable address labels.

I actually leave some things unwrapped and, this year, I used one gift as a container to put other gifts in to.  I got my grandson a canvas toy hamper and I put some toys in it.  Win, win!

Jacket for my son, also not getting wrapped.  I mean seriously?  That is just torture and it would not be pretty. 

What I have done to make wrapping fairly easy each year is to take just the LIDS of the boxes and wrap them!  In addition to that, I have used Mylar wrapping paper.  Mylar is sturdy and doesn't rip like paper.  Then I use the removable labels so that the boxes can be reused for many years.  I save the boxes in a closet in my basement from year to year.

I also use tulle instead of ribbon.  Tulle is very forgiving!!  It doesn't fray, it doesn't crush, it is pretty indestructible.

Here is my ultimate Bow Making Tutorial video on how to make some great bows from tulle:

Bow Making 101

Here is a video with some hints on wrapping gifts.  As I said, I only wrap the lids on the boxes with two pieces.  But here is how to wrap a one piece box:

 

Gift Wrapping 101 

I hope these tips help you to get your treasures wrapped beautifully in no time!