Party inspiration is everywhere—even in the date on the calendar! With a new decade we’re getting ready to roar—with a roaring 20’s party inspired by the year.
Here are some ways to make yours something special
Bring the Bling
Invite guests to come dressed to the era or have accessories on hand. Try some of these:
-Porkpie hats
-Bow ties
-Flasks
-Fringed dresses
-Long strings of pearls
-Feather boas
-Cigarette holders
-Long gloves
-Round glasses
Serve Party Bites
No one wants to stop doing the Charleston and sit down for dinner. Instead, set up stations of hors d’oeuvres
-Deviled eggs and oysters Rockefeller are two that were popular in the 20s.
-Mix the classics with updated versions of small but swanky bites like these caviar bowties which are featured in my book Celebrate Everything! and made by my friend caterer Peter Callahan
Pour Prohibition-Era Drinks
Turn the party into a speakeasy by giving guests a password to get in and serve signature cocktails. Add a twist with 20’s inspired names like:
-Hot Coco Chanel (spiked or virgin for non-drinkers)
-F. Scott Spritzgerald (let guests mix their own at a Spritz O’Clock bar)
-Piscasso Sour
-Bathtub Gin & Tonic
-The Bee’s Knees (a real cocktail invented during Prohibition)
-Tequila Sun Also Rises (in honor of Hemingway’s 1926 novel)
-Death in the Afternoon, an absinthe and champagne cocktail invented by Ernest Hemingway
And since it wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve without champagne, set out a station that lets guests bedazzle their bubbly with a custom sugared rim at a Champagne Bar.
Dazzle Them With Decor
-Hang up a disco ball- Did you know that disco balls were first widely used in nightclubs in the 1920s?
-Dress up everyone’s drink with our downloadable disco ball wine charms; you can even write names in silver sharpie so everyone knows their glass.
-Dress the room up like a flapper—use fake pearls and fringe as garlands
-Pass out copies of The New Year’s Times with a disco ball swinging across the front page. The handout invites guests to write down their resolutions for the new year.
Have Fun and Games
In the Bag Bar – After Prohibition speakeasies would hide bottles in paper bags. Get in the spirit and set up a station of mini champagne, wine, or beer bottles, some brown bags, and Sharpies, and invite guests to write anything from their names to resolutions, regrets, or the first line of their own great American novel on theirs.
Blow them Away – Keep spirits high with New Year’s Party Blowers that let guests shout out what they’re toasting to in the year to come.
Tell Some Fortunes – Let guests find out what the new year has in store with our downloadable fortune tellers.
Don’t Forget the Music
Play tunes from the era – Think jazz, blues, ragtime and artists like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Django Reinhardt, Bessie Smith
Host a dance contest – Guests can choose their favorite dance whether it’s the Charleston, Foxtrot, Waltz, American Tango or Samba