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Champagne & Gold: A New Year's Eve Champagne Party

Sparkle, bubbles and fancy little bites, building to a toast at midnight. This one feels expensive and is mostly store-bought plus a few easy recipes.

Host tip: Chill the bubbly the night before, and keep the midnight bottles in their own ice bucket so they're cold when the countdown starts.

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The menu

Bite
Smoked salmon blinis with crème fraîcheRecipe from Ina Garten, Food Network ↗
Gougères (French cheese puffs)Recipe from Once Upon a Chef ↗
A cheese board with honey, nuts and dried fruitRecipe from A Couple Cooks ↗
Dessert
Chocolate-dipped strawberriesRecipe from Natasha's Kitchen ↗
Late night
A tray of mini sandwiches or pizza at 11pmYour own

Drinks and ice

  • A champagne bar: a few bottles of bubbly plus small carafes of add-ins (cassis or Chambord, St-Germain, peach purée, orange juice) and berries for garnish
  • Champagne punch: recipe
  • Sparkling NA wine or sparkling cider for anyone skipping

Raspberries frozen in round cubes

Freeze one raspberry or a few pomegranate seeds in small sphere molds and drop one into each glass of bubbly; it keeps the glass cold without diluting much. Keep the bottles in a bucket of ice, water and a handful of salt so they chill fast.

Make ahead

  1. 1 week before: Make and freeze the gougère dough (pipe it, freeze on a sheet, then bag).
  2. 2 days before: Freeze the raspberry spheres. Buy the champagne and chill it.
  3. 1 day before: Dip the strawberries. Set up the champagne bar and a photo spot.
  4. Day of, 1 hour out: Assemble the blinis and the cheese board. Bake the gougères straight from frozen.
  5. 11:50pm: Pour a glass for everyone. Countdown on the TV or a playlist timed to midnight.

The music

The 25 songs
  1. Celebration, Kool & The Gang
  2. Glamorous, Fergie
  3. Diamonds, Rihanna
  4. Treasure, Bruno Mars
  5. 24K Magic, Bruno Mars
  6. Gold, Spandau Ballet
  7. Golden, Harry Styles
  8. Raise Your Glass, P!nk
  9. I Gotta Feeling, The Black Eyed Peas
  10. Good Feeling, Flo Rida
  11. Starships, Nicki Minaj
  12. Dynamite, Taio Cruz
  13. Firework, Katy Perry
  14. Cheers (Drink to That), Rihanna
  15. Champagne Showers, LMFAO
  16. 1999, Prince
  17. Countdown, Beyoncé
  18. New Year's Day, Taylor Swift
  19. Happy New Year, ABBA
  20. This Will Be (An Everlasting Love), Natalie Cole
  21. Can't Stop the Feeling!, Justin Timberlake
  22. Sparkling Diamonds, Nicole Kidman
  23. Tonight Tonight, Hot Chelle Rae
  24. Shake It Off, Taylor Swift
  25. Auld Lang Syne, Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians

Little touches

  • A gift for the host

    What guests can bring.

    A bottle of champagne, or nice coupes

  • To take home

    A little something at the door.

    A mini bottle of bubbly or a gold party favor bag with a resolution card

  • Something to do

    Resolution guessing: everyone writes one anonymously, you read them out and guess whose it is

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