NYE Archives – A Well Crafted Party

Appetizers

Last Minute New Year’s Eve Party Tips

December 31, 2024 No Comments Appetizers

The end of the year is here. Again. And, if you’re like me, you’re not going out for the evening but rather, staying in and inviting others to join you! Per our usual style, we are inviting our family and a few friends over to enjoy an evening of delicious foods, sparkling cocktails, and board games while we wait to ring in the New Year together. Need a few last minute ideas to throw together the best New Year’s Eve party in a pinch? Look no further! Watch my recent spot with KATU’s Afternoon Live and read below for my tips!

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Fun & Festive New Year’s Eve Tips

For my last segment on KATU’s Afternoon Live in 2024 I shared some tips on how to ring in the New Year with style (and ease). Read on for some tips to throw together a last minute end-of-year soiree!

Last Minute NYE Party Tips

I feel like the entire year of 2024 has been last minute and behind. And, this year is no different. While I have a strong plan for tomorrow, my actual preparation time has been limited by work, life, and all the things that can get in the way of these things. But, by 6 PM on the 31st, ready or not, I’ll have a house full of people who don’t really care about much of anything other than getting to spend time together celebrating and having a good time. I’d still like to wow them a bit, and I’m sure you feel the same when people come to your home!

Decadent & Easy to Make Bites for New Year’s Eve

One of my favorite things to do for a NYE party is to serve an evening full of delicious appetizers and finger foods. I love to make them a bit fancy. Suggestions include:

steak crostini with horseradish – recipe by Lena’s Kitchen
blinis with caviar – recipe by my friend Kate who previously wrote the blog Fork & Vine
oysters with tabasco shaved ice – sharing my tips on this!
cranberry prosciutto goat cheese bites – delish, festive, and easy!
salmon and caviar bites (as shared on KATU)

Do some of these rich and decadent appetizers with a great charcuterie board, vegetable platter, and a selection of sweets and you’re set for your last-minute New Year’s Eve menu needs.

Layer on the Sparkle and Shine for NYE Decor

My favorite thing about New Year’s Eve is the excuse for sparkle. I mean, to be fair, I don’t need an excuse. But, what I love about this holiday is EVERYONE enjoys the sparkle. Gold and silver, sequins and mirror balls, twinkle lights and candle lights… it all goes!

Household Items to Gather for Last Minute NYE Decor

Dig into your holiday decor and pull out all the white lights, white/gold/silver bulbs and baubles, and any and all tinsel available! No need to go out and buy new things, dig into your holiday decor and I bet you find a few things that’ll pile together to make great elements to set your New Year’s Eve party apart.
Find every single clock in your house and pull them together. The thing about NYE is that everyone is counting down to one single time. Midnight. Bring out all your clocks and utilize them throughout the party space.
Utilize white, silver, gold, and black linens and paper goods to layer together a cohesive look.
Cut off the top of balloons and slip them on stemless glassware to give glassware a custom look. You can then write on then balloons with a paint pen to mark glassware!
If you want to add in another color —DO IT! Use all the tips above to add in some fun color.

New Year’s Eve Cocktails

Whether you are spending the evening with kids and celebrating with the best mocktails available or with friends enjoying a great cocktail… New Year’s Eve is the time to bring out the drinks! My favorite tip to make sparkling cocktails or sparkling mocktails even more sparkly and delicious is to garnish them with a stick of rock candy*. It adds a special and sweet twist to a traditional drink. Need cocktail ideas? Check out these great recipes!

NYE Cocktail Recipes

Bourbon Apple Punch: A good punch is fantastic for a NYE party with friends at home. They can serve themselves and still get feeling of having a crafted cocktail!
Spiced Negroni Cocktail: This cocktail is tart and spicy and delicious. It is not for the weak. If you need a lighter cocktail, for sure cut this one with soda water!
Rosemary Bliss Cocktail: A gorgeously balanced cocktail that has a fantastic seasonal flair.
Classic Manhattan: The classics are classic for a reason. This one is perfect for the new year. Subtle, sweet, and nuanced. Search for your word of the year deep in one of these!

Hopefully this post serves as a helpful tool for a.quickly thrown together ( but who would know that!?) NYE celebration. Wishing you and yours the best in the new year!

A Well Crafted Party

Celestial Themed 40th Birthday Bash

December 30, 2023 1 Comment A Well Crafted Party

Fortune favors those in their forties. Or, at least, that is what I’m telling myself.

My 40th Birthday Bash was inspired by the moon, stars, and the future itself. This sparkly evening was filled with family, friends, fantastic food, and so much fun. While I obviously think this makes for a great 40th birthday theme, I hope it serves to inspire for a celestial themed wedding, New Year’s Eve bash, or maybe even a birthday of a much smaller number. My son’s first birthday was a Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme and many of these elements would have fit right in!

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Collage of four photos depicting party decor with blues, golds, silvers, and moon and star decor

When I walked into the venue, an octagonal barn in the Portland-area that was over one hundred years old, I knew I wanted to host my party there. I had been to a wedding in the space previously, and knew I liked the menus from many times eating at McMenamins restaurants. Seeing the old wood and lights in the space made me instantly think of twinkly stars and my theme was set.

Moon and Star Party Decor

While I love creating gorgeous floral bouquets and often share tips on how to do so, this time I wanted something that would be a little more long lasting. I opted to purchase 5 glowing moon lights* and strands of star fairy lights* for centerpieces at each of the main tables.

The venue was really so beautiful that I didn’t go overboard with the decor. I used plenty of fairy lights*, star garland* (some of it cut up and placed around on the tables), and printable items that served as decor, activities, and party favors to boot.

Shaking it up a bit, the kids table had a slightly different vibe than the other tables. It was decorated with the same menus and ornaments, but instead of moons it had three large glass canisters on it. One canister held glow sticks*, one held crayons and markers, and the other held star sunglasses*. I designed star themed printable coloring sheets for the kids to color throughout the evening.

Party Favors That Do Double Duty

Each seat had a circular menu that listed out the evening’s meal and a custom hand-lettered ceramic star ornament that I created with each of the guest’s name. This served as both a place setting sign as well as a party favor.

I like giving gifts on my birthday. So one party favor would simply not do. But, I do like favors that do double duty! Similar to the place setting favors, my next favor did a job beyond being a fun guest takeaway item. We set up a small photo booth using star garland and a fairy light curtain*. We placed my instax mini camera*, instax mini printer*, and plenty of film* on a table with signage encouraging guests to take photos for themselves and for me.

Guests took a photo for me to keep and placed it in a desktop photo calendar*. They also took one for themselves and selected either a photo frame magnet* or keychain* to take home with them. I added star charms* to my keychains to keep in theme.

The next double duty party favors are probably some of my favorite designs I’ve ever created. As soon as I had the thought to do a celestial theme, I thought of the future and what it might bring.

I came of age in the early 90s so Cootie Catchers, or Fortune Tellers, were all the rage. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how to fold one of those— instantly knew I wanted to design one for the party. Along with the fortune tellers I created Decision Wheels for guests to take home. Both served as activities during the party, party decor, and as take home gifts.

Portland-area DJ & Party Entertainment

My party favors were not the only thing playing many parts in this party!

Our DJ was a wonderful find on the site Gigsalad. I discovered this site a few parties ago and have gotten quotes and hired before from the site. I was so pleased to get a responsive and engaged quote back from Troy, DJ Burn PDX. He not only was a great DJ who brought a wonderful set up and prepared music to my requests. But, he also set up karaoke for us— we love Karaoke! And he did a wonderful juggling show during dinner.

My kids absolutely loved him and he kept the party going. He didn’t know I had a blog and doesn’t know I’m writing this now. But, I very much recommend him and wish him nothing but success.

Here is to turning forty and hoping that fortune does indeed favor those in their forties! Cheers!

A Well Crafted Pantry

Easy Holiday Party Appetizer: Cranberry Prosciutto Goat Cheese Bites

December 30, 2023 No Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

Are you hosting a holiday gathering this year and need a simple holiday appetizer to drive home the flavors of the season, while not taking forever to make? These Prosciutto, Spiced Cranberry, and Goat Cheese Bites take little time to put together and are the perfect holiday bite. These are a perfect QUICK appetizer to make for your New Year’s Eve get-together or any winter event.

First off… DO NOT USE STORE BOUGHT CRANBERRY SAUCE. Okay, fine, if you have to… you can use store bought, just avoid the cranberry sauce that retains the shape of the can. Use something with discernible berries. I do highly recommend taking the time to make the spiced cranberry sauce as it will give just a bit more depth of flavor and holiday flare than store bought. (I created my spiced cranberry sauce while making my spiced cranberry simple syrup by straining the berries from the syrup.)

Second… crisp your prosciutto. It makes a word of difference. While you can absolutely do this with prosciutto straight out of the package, the crispy, salty goodness that comes from taking the time to throw that prosciutto in a pan or airfryer will add to this recipe. You can sub bacon if that is more readily available, but I’d recommend a thin sliced bacon so that it doesn’t overpower the dish.

Cranberry, Prosciutto, Goat Cheese Bites

This is more of an assembly than a recipe.

Ingredients:

1 Log of Goat Cheese – I used a plain goat cheese, however a honey goat cheese would be lovely in this.
Approximately 16 oz of Cranberry sauce of choice. The spiced cranberry sauce linked above worked really well with this as it had wonderful notes of cinnamon. However, a traditional cranberry sauce or even my pomegranate apple cranberry sauce would make for a fun addition.
4-6 slices of Prosciutto crisped up in a pan and broken into smaller portions.
1 Box of Fig and Olive Crackers (or a cracker of choice)
Fresh thyme for garnish.

Directions:

Take a cracker and top it with cranberry sauce and a spoonful of goat cheese. Top with crispy prosciutto. Sprinkle fresh thyme leaves on finished bites for a pretty and tasty garnish.