New Year’s Eve Party Planning with Pretzels

New Year’s Eve is a holiday for amping up the glam! From your outfit and attitude to the décor and menu, hosting a New Year’s Eve party is the perfect excuse to be fancy! Here’s the best part – planning a New Year’s Eve party doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, it can be super fun and easy with this plan for a glamorous and ridiculously delicious New Year’s Eve party with pretzels, of course!

The Menu

Every party needs delectable eats. For New Year’s Eve, we think having multiple courses is the way to go. For appetizers, have everything preset and out when your guests arrive. This way, you can greet everyone and mingle without worrying about the food. Glamorous doesn’t have to be difficult. Our favorite make ahead appetizer with pretzels for New Year’s Eve is a gorgeous (and very full) charcuterie and cheese board. Be sure to think ahead about design when you are choosing the board, as well as what to feature on it! We like to use a variety of hard and soft cheeses, salami that you can fold into waves, small bowls to hold olives and pickled veggies, little dollops of hummus, sliced fresh veggies and wintry fruits, and of course a selection of savory OMG! Pretzels for crunch! 

HINT! Here are a few flavor combos we love: goat cheese with a drizzle of honey pairs nicely with our Lemon Pepper Pretzels; smoked gouda and Chesapeake Spice Pretzels have the perfect blend of smoky and salty; and crumbles of aged parmesan drizzled with Balsamic vinegar along with our flagship Garlic Pretzels will delight the taste buds.

The appetizer course can also include a variety of other room temperature snacks, such as mixed spiced nuts, stuffed mushrooms topped with pretzel crumbs, and store-bought dips served in elegant bowls with OMG! Pretzels on the side for dipping. 

We also like having a sparkling wine bar set up, so that as guests arrive, they can help themselves to something celebratory and customizable. All you need are a few kinds of sparkling wine – Prosecco, Cava, Sparkling Rosé – are all good options and won’t break the bank. Then, add little pitchers of orange juice, pomegranate juice and peach nectar along with a bowl of fresh berries to the table. Next, grab whatever wine or bar glasses you have (they don’t have to match since this is all about personalization). This way, guests can create their own New Year’s Eve cocktail! 

For dinner, opt for something that can braise or be easily warmed in the oven and quickly served. We think short ribs are perfect because they are elegant and after the prep, do all the work on their own. You can serve them with roasted vegetables and fancy store-bought bread. Another main course idea is a roasted vegetable lasagna with béchamel. This is ideal because you can make all the components and build the lasagna early in the day and then just bake it before dinner time. Served with a simple salad, it’s classy and light. 

Don’t serve dessert right away! People will appreciate the break from the table and for their full bellies. This is the perfect time to turn on some music or break out the party games! 

The Décor

When you are planning your New Year’s Eve party with pretzels, don’t forget about the look and feel of the party. Decide early on if you want the décor to be simple and clean or more colorful and loud. If you opt for a minimalist approach, use simple vases with fresh white and green flowers, pillar candles, and some small touches of silver or gold. You can add these elements to the table and the spaces where you are serving drinks and appetizers. If you prefer a more “in your face” style of decorating, choose colorful streamers to hang and lay on the table, along with fresh flowers that come in a variety of types and hues (we love using roses, daisies and carnations in various shades of pink, red or purple for this), and some metallic balloons. 

You can also have a variety of hats and crowns on hand for people to wear as part of your party vibe. It makes for fun photos and accents the décor you choose! 

The Entertainment

While we love eating, you need to have other activities available at a New Year’s Eve party – you have to make it until midnight, after all! So, as you are planning, keep in mind who’s coming and choose your entertainment options accordingly. You can designate areas for various activities if they are happening at the same time or, if you don’t have space for that, choose two or three and rotate them throughout the night. 

• Game time!
  Games are a great way to pass the time and keep people connected to one another. For a New Year’s Eve party, we think charades, trivia, and games like Pictionary and Cards Against Humanity are ideal because they keep people talking and, no doubt, will have people laughing. You can also have sets of cards for a pop-up poker game or other more subdued board games like Scrabble on hand for those who prefer things to be a little quieter.
• Dance party!
  Make a fun party playlist ahead of time – be sure you have a good mix of tunes that will appeal to a majority of your guests. Give chances for a few slow dances! 
• Head outside!
  Enjoy the crisp air for a few minutes and encourage people to wander out onto your patio or balcony. Bonus if you can set up a fire pit for the evening!
• Virtual party hop!
  Figure out ahead of time which other friends of family members are also having New Year’s Eve parties and schedule times that video calls can happen. This way, you can see more people and celebrate with them virtually. This is perfect for people in different time zones! 
• Interactive dessert!
  We know we said you needed a break from eating, but a holiday treat on New Year’s Eve is a must, so why not make it part of the entertainment? Chocolate fondue is delicious and easy to set up. Plus, it’s plenty glamorous for New Year’s Eve. To really amp it up, serve three different chocolates – white, milk, and dark – with plenty of dipping options. Before the party, you can set up all the tasty dippers in various sizes and shapes of bowls and platters, so that during the party, you only have to heat up the chocolate. Some of our favorite things to dip in chocolate fondue are pieces of pound cake, marshmallows, cheesecake squares (HINT: freeze them before the party so they don’t fall apart), fresh strawberries, sandwich cookies, and, of course, sweet OMG! Pretzels. Place the Sweet & Salty Pretzels and Salty Butterscotch Pretzels near the white chocolate, the Sweet & Spicy ones by the milk chocolate and pair the Sweet Chili Pretzels with dark chocolate.
  

The Midnight Surprise

Wow your guests with something fun to ring in the New Year. A few really fun options are sparklers (if you can go outside), a piñata (you can fill it with fortune cookies, mini bottles of booze, or candy), or if you are feeling crafty, rig up your own ball to drop! 

We hope these tips for New Year’s Eve party planning with pretzels will help you have a fun and stress-free night ringing in 2022 with friends and family. Happy New Year!