New Year's Eve party dos and don'ts

If you’re planning on ringing in 2013 by throwing a bash, Melañio Gomez has hints on how to pull it off with maximum elegance – and minimum stress.

What common mistakes do people make when they throw parties?

Where they set up the drinks and the food. Although it’s tempting to set up the bar and food table in the kitchen because the sink is nearby, people tend in fact to congregate at three places during a party: by the food, the drinks and the host. Unless you want to have everyone hanging out in the kitchen, put the food in the largest room and the drinks in a separate space to avoid a traffic jam. If you have the space, place the food table in the centre of the room so that people can approach it from all sides – this avoids queues.

Are there any specific extras you need to remember when organising a New Year’s bash?

New Year’s Eve is actually the easiest party to organise: the food is generally buffet-style with hors d’oeuvres and finger food – which is a lot easier than organising a sitdown dinner. Since it’s a late night occasion most people have usually already eaten. In the past, I have served a selection of fine cheeses, and classic caviar with blinis and crème fraîche. I have been to a party where they ordered from the Italian restaurant Mamma Roma and served small slices of focaccia pizza. It’s always good to buy in festive extras to go with the Champagne or Prosecco, like strawberries, rosemary sprigs, grapes (a Spanish tradition), sugar cubes, blackcurrant liqueur and Aperol liqueur. Have lots of bowls of nuts, dried fruit and crisps handy, too.

When it comes to decoration, it’s likely you won’t have to do much as you will have probably already decked out your house for Christmas. Champagne bottles, party poppers and party hats are generally sufficient. It’s a good idea to turn them into centrepieces by arranging them in bowls or trays with confetti. Always have empty vases on hand for guests who might bring you a bouquet. Lighting is key: use pillar candles and tea lights as opposed to tapered candles (which you need to watch as they burn down).

But how do you make it a night to remember?

Everyone is focused on one point – midnight. One great idea is to ask all your guests to bring a wind-up alarm clock with them. They should set them for midnight and put them on the mantelpiece or a table. This solves the common problem of New Year arriving without anyone noticing.

Anything else?

Don’t be afraid to enlist your friends to help. People like something to do – especially if they arrive early and are waiting for the party to get going. Assign one person to handle the coats, for example, and another to open the door or serve the first drinks. Remember, as the host, you should be introducing people to one another.

If you’re putting drinks on a table, accommodate friends who might want to make a cocktail by placing recipe cards for drinks by them so they can mix their own. Guests can then mix according to their own tastes.

Coats are usually thrown on beds at parties. What’s the elegant way of getting round this?

Ikea sells racks for less than €30, and inexpensive coat hangers – and Brico, Casa, and Blokker have them, too. If you entertain often and have an extra room to store it when not in use, it’s a good investment. Or buy one that comes apart or folds down. Otherwise, empty your own closet, put your clothes in a room where people won’t be going during the party, and put guests’ coats in your closet.

How can a host avoid having everyone congregate in one area?

Keep food and drink in separate areas, and, as the host, circulate. Also, don’t put out too many chairs: once people sit down, they generally stop mingling.

How should wine spills be handled?

For sturdy fabrics, coat stains with salt and let stand for five minutes. If possible stretch the stained material over a bowl or sink; carefully pour boiling water over the stain from a height of at least a third of a metre.

But what if the stained item is your sofa?

Coat stain with salt; let stand for five minutes. Blot with a warm wet clean cloth, feather edges and continue to blot... What’s important is to stop the stain from drying.

What’s a good party survival kit for making sure your home looks good afterwards?

This is where prevention comes into play: Casa, Ikea, Heytens and Madura sell throws that can be used to cover upholstered furniture. Put them on before the party, remove afterwards and wash.

This being Belgium, some of us have friends who are smokers. How does one accommodate them without having half the party queue for the terrace to puff away?

Designate an area, and most smokers will oblige: if you have a balcony or terrace, so much the better. If not, make sure your space is cross-ventilated and choose a room with less fabric (this absorbs smoke) which, in most people’s homes, is the kitchen. Anti-tobacco candles sold in supermarkets may help, and if you have a few fans available to extract the smoke out the window, use them.

What about the lavatory?

Use candles to light this room – either a row of tea candles or a tall candle inside a hurricane vase. For hygiene, buy some inexpensive dinner napkins from the usual suspects – New De Wolf, Casa, Hema, Inno, Carrefour – and put them next to the basinfor guests to use after washing their hands: this is much more elegant – and hygienic – than the shared dry towel hanging on a hook that is probably damp by the time you use it.

We’ve all either attended or hosted parties where the turnout ended up being lower than expected. As a host, how does one switch gears from big bash to intimate gathering?

Lighting and music are important here: overhead lighting should be killed, first of all – you should not be seeing shadows. Dim lights using Ikea’s light dimmers that can be plugged into your existing lamps. Remember this only works with incandescent and not fluorescent bulbs. Switch the music from dance or pop to lounge, jazz or classical. Also, serve more drink.

As a guest, how does one ditch a loser party without losing a friend: the host?

On New Year’s Eve, people generally accept that you’re doing a round of parties – so, if there’s enough of a crowd, the host won’t even notice that you’re gone. If there’s a low turnout and the host is a good friend, you don’t leave… at least until after midnight.

How do you get people to mingle?

If you’re going to do party hats, a good idea is to have everyone write their names on their hat: this saves you from the embarrassment of forgetting someone’s name after having been introduced – or not hearing it when introduced. Also, if the group is small enough, play the Six Degrees of Separation game: finding out who knows whom through whom generally gets people going.

And finally, how does one deal elegantly with the guest who will not leave?

Start cleaning and ask the guest if he/she wants to give you a hand. Either they help out or they leave, which is a win-win situation.

www.melaniogomez.com