A Rockin’ New Year’s Eve

By Penny Warner with Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kits

Rock the ages with a Rockin’ New Year’s Eve! Fill the party room with helium-filled balloons and streamers, invite all your friends between the ages of Old Father Time and Baby New Year, and start the countdown. Ten, nine, eight…it’s time to turn the calendar to 2008!

Get the party off to a bang with these blowout invitations. Buy a balloon, a paper party hat, and a paper blower/noisemaker for each guest (for a large amount of invitations, a Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kit is recommended). Blow up the balloon, write “You’re invited to a Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Party!” in permanent marker, and deflate it. Write the party details inside the hat. Then roll out the blower, include your RSVP information, and let the blower recoil. Place everything in a small box, add confetti, and mail your surprise package to guests.

Decorations:

This is the party of the year, so go all out with decorations. Choose a color scheme, such as the patriotic colors or black and silver, and fill the ceiling with lots of balloons. Tie balloons to chairs, tables, furniture or even drink glasses! Drape matching crepe paper streamers across the room and down the walls. Create a canopy entrance from balloons and crepe paper. Hang clocks (real or made from poster board) on the walls, and set out sand timers around the room. Create headlines from the year’s major events and post them on the walls. Set out party hats, blowers, noisemakers, and poppers for guests to enjoy. Instead of renting an industrial-size helium tank to fill the balloons, purchase a couple Balloon Time Helium Balloon Kits as they are lightweight, recyclable, disposable and can be transported easily.

Set the table with shiny paper and cover it with metallic confetti. Make star-shaped place markers and photocopy pages from the upcoming calendar year for placemats. Use matching paper products for the food and drinks. Create a centerpiece by wrapping a banner around a baby doll that reads: “Welcome 2008!”

Games and Activities:

A Year in the Life. Ask your guests ahead of time to remind you of a major event that happened to them during the last year, such as the birth of a baby, a marriage, an award or a new car. Write them down on large index cards, mix them up, and have the guests try to put them in chronological order.

I Resolve… Give each player an index card and have him or her write down a resolution for the New Year, such as “I will quit complaining” or “I will learn karate.” Place them all in a hat or bowl, then have one player draw a card and read it aloud. He or she must guess who wrote the resolution.

Fruitcake. Have the guests bring the worst gift they recently received, beautifully re-wrapped. Take turns, going in chronological order according to age, choosing a wrapped gift and opening it. The next player may take any already opened gift or open a new one. Continue until everyone has a hideous gift to take home and re-wrap for next year.

Midnight Pop. When you’re filling the balloons, add confetti to some - one balloon for each guest. At midnight, give the guest a balloon and a pin and have them hold the balloon over their heads. At the stroke of midnight, pop all the balloons and watch the confetti shower everyone!

Refreshments:

If you’ve been snacking and drinking all night, serve a hearty breakfast buffet after midnight to fill their tummies and sober them up. Offer a made-to-order omelet bar, with all the fillings - grilled mushrooms and onion, grated cheese, bacon or ham bits, avocado, sour cream and salsa. Serve it with a cup of tasty, strong coffee or cappuccinos.

Penny Warner has more than 25 years of experience as an author and party planner. She has published more than 50 books, including 16 specific to parties. Additionally, Warner wrote a weekly newspaper column on family life for 11 years, penned a column for Sesame Street Parents magazine and has appeared on several regional and national TV morning programs.

Balloon Time is the leading brand of consumer helium balloon kits in North America. Balloon Time kits feature a helium-filled tank, latex or foil balloons and ribbon, and are available for $20-$30 at mass merchant, party goods and grocery stores nationwide. For more information, visit BalloonTime.com.