I am excited to share inspiration for a Glam New Year’s Eve party hosted at home for family, friends and even the kids! That’s right, why bother dealing with crowds or worrying about driving around town when you can celebrate with those who are nearest and dearest to you with a glam party featuring an impressive (yet easy!) fondue bar, decadent dessert display and of course plenty of champagne.
Thanks to my local Heinen’s Grocery Store, the fondue bar was incredibly easy to plan, shop and put together! My goal was to come up with a meal that felt cozy and homemade, yet still allowed me to mingle with guests once they arrived. With a fondue bar, I was able to prep all of the items ahead of time, and simply keep the fondues warm throughout the party.
Sometimes when I am styling a party, I take a less is more approach. But for an occasion like New Year’s Eve, this is an instance where more is definitely MORE! I focused on completely transforming my dining room for the party with the use of streamers, balloons and lots of glam details.
I started by coming up with a theme for the tablescape, which was inspired by a black sequin tablecloth from Cleveland-based L’Nique Linens. Although the glitzy tablecloth made a statement all on its own, that didn’t stop me from layering on the details! I worked with Ashley’s Floral to create a floral balloon garland centerpiece from a mini balloon garland kit adorned with an abundance of peonies, garden roses, spray roses, and more.
Each place setting at the table included a gold beaded charger, blush dinner plate and my favorite gold speckled appetizer plates from Anthropologie. Other details included a gold confetti champagne flute, white and gold modern flatware and double layered silk napkins held together with a decorative gold starburst napkin ring. I finished off each place setting with a mini bottle of Moet & Chandon that I placed on a Harlow & Gray mini hexagon plate, which also held the gold sipper that could be added to the champagne bottle once opened!
Next, I focused my attention on styling the fondue bar. I wanted the food to not only taste good, but to look good as well. I covered my dining room buffet with a blush pink satin tablecloth and used varying heights of stands and platters to display the dippable items for the fondue. I included a Classic Cheese Fondue and a Beer Cheese Fondue on my menu, and guests could pick from an array of items to dip such as steak cubes, shrimp, sausage, fresh vegetables, French bread, pretzel bites, and more. Visit the Heinen’s blog for details on how to re-create this fondue bar, including a class cheese fondue recipe, dipping suggestions, styling tips and more!
Above the fondue bar, I hung a DIY streamer backdrop that I made from black, white and pale pink crepe paper streamers that I accented with strands from a gold foil curtain. I used a 6 ft wide mesh grid to attach and layer the streamers for added dimension and thickness. To give the rest of the room a festive vibe without breaking the bank, I incorporated three dozen balloons in coordinating party colors. I kept the balloons in place by individually taping down the strings of the balloons to create backdrops on either side of my buffet, one for the dessert display and one for a festive photo op at the party!
Now to dive into my favorite part of every party – dessert! Many boutique bakeries are closed the week after Christmas, but that didn’t stop me from putting together a wow-worthy dessert display. My motto is that it is not necessarily what you serve, but how you serve it that can make it feel extra special. My New Year’s Eve dessert bar was made completely with items that I found at my local Heinen’s Grocery Store.
In keeping with the fondue party theme, the focal point of the dessert bar was a 4-tier chocolate fondue fountain. While the chocolate fountain looks impressive, it is deceivingly easy and inexpensive to serve at a party. I sourced the fountain on Amazon and made the fondue by melting 2 lbs of chocolate melts with a touch of coconut oil. I filled the rest of the dessert bar with items that guests could dip in the chocolate, such as berries, pound cake, brownie bites, rice crispy treats, chocolate chip cookies, marshmallows and more. I also added on a dozen vanilla buttercream cupcakes with a DIY tinsel topper for extra flair, because who doesn’t love cupcakes?
To complete the look of the dessert cart, I styled it with a lush pink feather floral arrangement, a gold clock, a champagne bucket filled with mini balloons, New Year’s Eve party hats, festive cocktail napkins, modern black and gold paper plates, gold noise makers and my favorite vintage pink wine glasses.
I hope this post helps inspire you to host your own Glam New Year’s Eve celebration at home this year, compete with a delicious fondue bar, lots of sweet treats and fun for all ages!
Thank you Heinen’s for sponsoring this post and for helping me create such a delicious menu to serve at my New Year’s Eve party!
Vendor Credits:
Photography: Brittany Gidley Photography, Styling: One Stylish Party, Florals: Ashley’s Floral,
Food: Heinen’s Grocery Store, Linens: L’nique Specialty Linen Rental, Chairs: Elite Wedding Chairs.
Patty Bare says
I saw your beautiful New Years Eve party in Mingle and looked up your party online hoping to find instructions on your DIY sparkle cupcake toppers, but they’re none. Any chance you could share how you made them? Also, I just love your dining room!!! The paneling, windows and colors! By chance do you remember the name of the color on top? I love how warm, yet neutral it is!