If you’re hosting a New Year’s Eve party this year, then decorating your home is an important part of the preparations. A beautifully decorated home will help get your guests in the party mood and make it a night to remember. Instead of spending a fortune on store-bought decorations, why not have a go at creating your own using the following 10 ideas?
1. Make a piñata
Piñatas are not just for children’s birthday parties. Inflate a large balloon, and then cover it with paper mache. Leave it to dry out thoroughly overnight. Pop the balloon, and decorate the outside. Fill the paper mache with sweets, party favours or confetti. You can also create custom piñatas using balloons of different shapes and sizes.
2. Decorate your champagne bottles
Make your champagne bottles extra special. Coat the outside of the bottles in glue before dipping them in glitter. You can also use glitter pens to decorate the outside of the bottles. Once the bottles are empty, they can be used as candle holders.
3. Design your own party hats
Party hats are an essential accessory for New Year’s Eve and are simple to make at home. Cut some large triangles out of colored paper, and fold them into a cone shape. Decorate the outside of the hats using glitter and tinsel. You could also write each person’s name on the hat and use it as a place setting.
4. Make drink stirrers
Create some customized drink stirrers using just straws, pipe cleaners and tinsel. Bend your pipe cleaners into various shapes such as stars, numbers or letters, and wrap them in tinsel. Stick them onto straws before placing one inside each glass of champagne. You can also make candy cane stirrers to boost your festive mood.
5. Use origami to make string lights
There are many easy-to-follow tutorials online that show you how to make 3D shapes such as stars or cubes using origami. Take some colored paper, and create whatever shapes you like. Decorate the outside of the shapes, and fix them onto a string of fairy lights to create custom string lights. Although it may take the time and effort to make this decoration, you will make beautiful string lights that will last for many years.
More: 10 Important Things to Do on New Year’s Eve
6. Recycle your Christmas decorations
Instead of throwing away your old and damaged Christmas decorations, save them all up to create your New Year’s décor. You can cut up pieces of tinsel to make sparkly confetti or cover Christmas tree baubles in glitter. Make sure you recycle wrapping paper to make streamers.
7. Decorate some shot glasses
Purchase some paint pens in bright colors, and use them to decorate your shot glasses. If you have many glasses, you can paint each person’s name onto the glass. You can also decorate the glasses using glitter pens, tinsel or any other shiny material you have to hand.
8. Make a glitter ball
Make a glitter ball to hang from your ceiling or use as a centerpiece. Purchase a cheap paper lantern from a store, and decorate it using glitter, tinsel or even aluminium foil. Alternatively, you could glue aluminium foil squares onto a balloon.
9. Hang a party backdrop on your wall
Create a party backdrop for your guests to take pictures in front of. Hang strips of tinsel in vertical lines across one wall to create your back drop. You could also glue large sequins to a big piece of cardboard and hang it on the wall. Take a Polaroid photo of each of your guests in front of the backdrop so you can present them with the photos at the end of the night as a keepsake.
10. Create a balloon ceiling
Buy a small canister of helium and blow up enough balloons to cover your entire ceiling. Tie strings to the balloons and decorate the strings with glitter, stars and tinsel. Release the balloons so that they float up to form an eye-catching effect.
More: 10 Fun Ways to Celebrate New Year Alone
Making your own decorations is far more rewarding than simply purchasing ready ones from the store. You can also personalize them with the names of your guests or use any photos you have. Involving your kids in preparing the decorations will make a fun project for the whole family and is a great way to get them interested in arts and crafts. Do you have any other ideas to share with us?