There’s no party night filled with more pressure than New Year’s Eve (except perhaps your own wedding but that’s a whole other thing). Because this isn’t just about having a crazy, epic night that rages all night long (although that’s certainly part of it); it’s about feeling like your New Year’s Eve party will set the vibe for the whole year to come. Is your night filled with beautiful people in glittering rooms clinking champagne glasses — ending only when your perfect midnight kiss turns into a hot fling? Then, you assume, your resolutions will all come true! You’ll lose weight and get a promotion and meet the woman or man of your dreams!
But if your night is filled with a bunch of weirdos in skeevy clubs, weak, overpriced cranberry vodkas, and vomiting into a public toilet right as the clock turns midnight, you’re in for a year of pure ruin. “This is the moment when my life went off the rails,” you’ll think sadly, next December. “The day my dreams turned to dust.”
So why would you put that kind of trust into a bar or restaurant (presumably advertising with a New Year’s Eve party flyer designed in someone’s basement in the early 2000s)? You have no idea if they’ll put the kind of care into an event that will literally define your entire year and thus, existence. Hosting your own party allows you to control the variables and cut down on the hassle. Pick only the guests who are charming and fun, the food and drinks you love, and the music that you’d dance to forever. It’s really the only way to go.
So get ready to send out the last-minute email invites of your choice, because these are the reason that you should absolutely host a party this year.
1. You’ll save so much money.
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Going out on New Year’s Eve is like taking piles of hundred dollar bills and just flinging them off the side of a building. Although actually, it’s worse. Because at least if you did that, you’d be making a lot of people’s day with surprise “sky money”.
For most places you go on New Year’s Eve, you’re spending an exorbitant amount of money simply to walk through the door. Throw on top of that the food and drink (in which you’re paying double or triple normal prices), surge prices on Ubers, and a hotel stay and you might as well assume your future offspring will never go to college because you’ve just taken out a loan that would fund a small country for a year and you’ll never pay it back.
Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but it’s not THAT far off. And why blow all that cash? By staying in and throwing your own party, you’ll keep your money right where it belongs — in gold bars, buried in your ancestral family graveyard.
2. You won’t need to worry about losing your coat.
Or your gloves or your hat or your wallet or your phone. And your nice shoes won’t get covered in slush or puke, nor will you get a terrible case of frostbite or slip on the ice or attacked by a gang of roving land pirates!
Point being, you’re inside where it’s safe and warm. Because in winter, going out it is a pretty big pain in general, but on New Year’s Eve (when you’re trying to look your sharpest), it’s especially a challenge. You either go no coat and freeze to death or you end up with ten pounds of winter gear that (your drunk ass) will inevitably leave in a booth somewhere (because weirdly, you don’t feel AT ALL cold on the walk home).
By staying warm and toasty in your living room, you’ll save the hassle of losing your nice winter digs or getting lost at some point, ending up in a new city, and having to start over as an accountant in Omaha.
3. You don’t need a DD.
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Rideshares and cabs are a billion dollars on NYE, so it’s tempting to just drive. But then you end up in a situation where one or more of you can’t party. Or worse, where someone tries to drive after having a few drinks. Avoid having to make one person have less fun or risk endangering others. With a party at your home, you (and multiple friends) can just do whatever feels fun, crash, and be ready to start the New Year with hangover burritos.
4. You’ll get to see way more of your friends.
Unless you’re flush with cash and can buy everyone’s ticket to a party (and then have people pay you back at their leisure) — organizing 30-40 of your closest friends to individually all get tickets in time to a specific event is nearly impossible. You might get a few people together for one place, but most likely, people will end up scattered in the wind like the confetti you throw at midnight — each to their own parties or bars (probably with extra consideration given to whatever is nearest to where they live).
When you throw a party, friends are usually so relieved to have plans (and nonexpensive ones that they don’t have to organize), the turn out is great, and you’ll see a lot more of the folks you love, all in one place.
5. You never need to wait for drinks.
Bars and restaurants are packed on NYE and while a good place will staff appropriately, many won’t and will get overwhelmed. Spending all that money and not being able to get drinks in a timely manner is frustrating. And the complicated dance of trying to make eye contact for a drink may leaving you spending more time gazing into your bartender’s eyes than your date’s. At your house, the champagne is only as limited as the amount you bought and your tolerance for the bubbly stuff.
Fill up over and over in only seconds and spend your time at the party actually partying.
6. The Food Will Be Better
Let’s face it, massive prix fixe dinners on holidays (like NYE and Valentines Day) are rarely worth the price you pay. They’re often produced in mass quantities (and quickly) — both harbingers of shit meals. That’s pretty miserable when you’re throwing down a lot of dough. By having your own party, and making the food, it might be a little more work, but you’ll ensure you get to pick the menu and (probably) feed all your guests for the cost of a dinner out for two.
You can also potluck it for minimum work but maximum deliciousness.
7. You get to pick the music.
Curating your own playlist with only the songs that get you and your crew moving is one of the biggest advantages to hosting a party. Because unless you specifically know a DJ is awesome, going out can be hit or miss. You want the songs that build from music for chatting to dancing with each song better than the last. And that’s subjective. Make it your own.
8. Things can get as wild as you want them to be.
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Being in public can seriously cramp your vibe when you want to have a truly crazy time, or alternatively if you want more of a chill dinner party thing as other people’s version of partying can encroach upon your classy evening. When it’s your own event you can do drugs and dance on a table (or eat fancy cheese and play charades) without worrying that anyone will judge you, kick you out, or ruin the mood you’re trying to create.
9. You won’t feel like you need to “get your moneys worth” at an open bar
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When you pay a lot of money for an open bar, there’s a good amount of internal math that goes on (and you shouldn’t have to do math, it’s a holiday). If a cocktail is 12-15 dollars and you paid 100 for an open bar, you begin to think, “If I don’t drink 8-9 drinks, I’m losing money.”
This means you end up chugging libations at every opportunity — 30 minutes before the night ends, you’re pounding shots in a panic. And that kind of attitude can lead to you getting drunker than you realize — which is never any fun. When you’re at a house party, there are no rules about when things will end and the booze will still be there tomorrow. Now, you can drink exactly the amount you want and feel good without any pressure.
10. You can go right to bed at the end.
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When the party is over, you kind of….want it to be over. Bars mean struggling to find transportation, stumbling into the cold, long conversations with drivers who have decided now is the best time to ask you some political opinions, and the realization at the end that you’ve lost your keys or your phone or your dignity. All of which is tough to stomach at 3 am. When you throw a party at your place (the minute the last guest either leaves or crashes) you’re mere steps away from your own comfy bed. So strip off your fancy wear and leap right into the best sleep of your life. It’s instant gratification at the end of a super fun night.
