Or, with a few laughs with friends. Whichever you prefer, the New Year is NOT welcome unless there’s a party! Grab your list and make sure you don’t leave anything out for a decent New Year Party for friends.

Guest list. You definitely wouldn’t want to start the New Year in the company of people you detest so better trim down your list to the people who matter. Make a list and check it twice. Phone ahead to invite them. If they don’t have any plans yet, then they will definitely spend time with you. Free booze and food would be more than enough motivation. Make it a friends thing and you’ll be the host for this year’s end.

Before you start calling up everyone and the neighborhood phones begin ringing off the hook, make sure you have everything ready for your guests.

Booze. You can’t go wrong with champagne. Your friends are sure to have a good time if you have several bottles ready for the evening’s consumption. You can also try serving wine with cheese. Try serving a variety of French cheeses with a sparkling glass of wine. You can even try and see if your recently-mastered cocktail experiment is a hit among your guests. But if you’re a cheap-o, a free-flowing supply of beer would always do great.

Food service. A buffet sounds hassle-free, but it can also mean you might run out of supplies fast. If a plated food is too fancy for you, you can portion-control your buffet to make sure the food you have will last all evening. Have cookies, biscuits, and a lot of chips and dips as backup. Cold cuts and other deli would definitely welcome treats too. You might also want to stock soda in case the wine bottles are emptied unexpectedly fast.

Better yet, as guests to bring in some of their own specialty dishes to complement your stock.

If you’re more of a meals-type of host for the New Year’s Eve dinner, you can go traditional Southern style with ham, corn bread, black-eyed peas and collard greens.

Poppers, tooters, and hats. May look corny but hey, it’s the New Year. And what New Year’s Eve party doesn’t have noisemakers?

The clock. No New Year’s Eve party is complete without the countdown. SO you better have a large wall clock for everyone to stare at counting 5…4…3…2…1… Happy New Year! and everyone goes singing Auld Lang Syne.