I bought a ready-to-serve cooked shrimp tray for my New Year’s Eve gathering as well as the Daily Chef Beef Filet wrapped in Peppered Bacon frozen appetizers. Both of these were super yummy and neither one of them contained gluten which I had to be really aware of as a few of my friends are sensitive to gluten foods!
For dessert, I found a huge package of giant fresh strawberries at Sam’s Club that I decided to dip in the best dark chocolate. I always think chocolate-dipped strawberries are such a posh dessert, not only are they pretty to look at they are gluten-free too!
To decorate for the party I decided to use shimmery gold accents to help with the “Hello 2013!” party theme. I placed a bunch of gold and glittery Christmas ornament balls into a large glass vase, simple and classy!
Here is a picture of one of my tablescapes. I forgot to take a picture of the other table…that one had wine, non-alcoholic sparkling cider, veggies with gluten-free hummus and a few other goodies brought by my friends!
I left some strawberries un-dipped so guests could eat them while they sipped the moscato.
I made these cute little chalkboard thought bubbles a while ago and decided to tape them to wooden skewers and use them to label the different cheeses on the cheese tray.
Cute, right?
I also served olives marinated in olive oil…yum!
I’ve found homemade bruschetta to be easy and cheap. All you need is a baguette, tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, fresh basil, and balsalmic vinegar! Takes a few minutes to make, and usually disappears quickly too!
I would love to do something like you did and maybe add a big punch bowl to the mix and jazzy wine goblets!!
I feel bruschetta would be another great appetizer or sausage balls would be great with that spread!
jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com
I love doing fondue for new year’s eve – a simple cheese one for savory dipping items, and a decadent chocolate one for sweets – YUM!
I love Sam’s Club’s mini quiches and meatballs. We always have them at our parties!
we are huge fans of cocktail shrimp. We have lots of kids (and so do our friends) so we always have special chx nuggets for them or meatballs in a crockpot. =0)
Nachos and bacon wrapped shrimp.
dlatany at gmail dot com
I love to bring the outdoors in and make fresh winter arrangements with greenery from outside and spray painting it with glitter or silver to add a little bling for the new year–add in a pomegranate or two for colour
Small plates instead of larger ones. And to make it easy one or two signature drink, not splurging on a whole bar set up.
I love Sam’s Club for this reason! It makes feeding a large bunch so much more manageable! I save money by watching for after holiday sales for such goodies as paper plates, napkins and cups. Also I try to get traditional decorations that can be used in a variety of ways from year to year.
Thanks for the chance!
Sandy A
I’m planning on picking up a few quick, easy, yummy appetizers from Sam’s along with a few bottles of bubbly and then hosting a game night with a few of our closest friends.
Definitely a “dump” punch in which you can put a bunch of whatever in there..can never go wrong with sausage cheese balls, either; may not be sophisticated, but they always disappear!
Love what you are doing for Luxe, but I’m allergic to seafood so tend to steer clear of it with large crowds as it is more difficult to avoid coming in contact with it in situations where people are mingling. But – I always like to have a champagne punch – with a fountain if you have one or can borrow one. Looks pretty on the table and adds a festive touch to toast in the new year.
I like to use cheap strings of white lights to add a nice touch in the evening.
Having appetizers and one “spotlight” item, such as a fancy drink, goes a long way to being luxe.
We like to grill at home and then eat dinner by candlelight.
I would add a simple dip like my sister’s 1,2,3 dip – easy and inexpensive but very habit forming: 1 lb. Italian Sausage browned and drained, 2 pkg. creme cheese and 3 cans of Rotel – easy when done in a small crockpot to keep warm.
I love having a fondue party. Each person brings a dip and it’s really fun
I love making whoopie pies, a recipe I got from the food network. Quick and easy to make
My staple food for the New Years are deviled eggs. It’s really easy to get eggs for a great price and it does not take long at all to make them.
I recycle decorations from last year
Shopping at bulk stores have helped me a lot