How to Save Money on Your New Year's Eve Party

Gift shopping may have us pinching pennies for other activities at this time of year, but that doesn't mean we have to skimp on throwing an incredible New Year's Eve bash for friends and family. From invitations and decorations to the food and drinks, I have some swank tips in my back pocket to share.

Invitations

The whole point in giving someone an invitation is to ensure they attend your soiree. Your guests need a date and time so they can pencil you in on their calendar before someone else lays claim to that day. Attendees who are not familiar with your home (or wherever you may be hosting your party) will need directions.

Historically, this information has been communicated on a beautifully crafted piece of card stock. But in this day and age, most people keep track of dates and locations on their smartphones. Consider saving yourself some money and provide your New Year's Eve party guests with an incredibly convenient alternative to traditional invitations -- the electronic invitation. There are several free electronic invitation services out there, but I love Evite for its graphic options, ease of use and social media integration.

Another option is to set up a Facebook or Google+ event. Your guests get all the info they need, automated reminders and a place to share their comments and pictures of the event. Of the two, Google+ makes it easier to send an invite to someone who might not be on the network, though Facebook has the better adoption rate. Just make sure you know who is viewing the invite -- you might get more guests than you expect!

For those of you who feel the need to kick it old-school style, the DIY options for printed invitations only get better every year. Pinterest is loaded with bookmarks to all sorts of free printables for any occasion. Lots of these options include not only the invitations, but also place cards, bottle labels, festive decorations and even coordinated photo booth props. If you want to take advantage of this option, I would recommend that you add paper and printer ink to your holiday shopping list now, and hit up the office supply chains during their end-of-year sales.

Decorations

While Christmas parties are trending to more fun and relaxed themes, such as the Ugly Christmas Sweater party, New Year's Eve is still considered a formal occasion. Many caterers and bakers feature New Year's themes in black and white, black and gold, or black and silver. So, as you go through the process of taking down your tree and getting your space ready for the big party, consider repurposing your Christmas décor. Hold off on packing away the posh sparkly bobbles. As you pull them off the tree, consider stringing them together to be hung from the ceiling, or add them to containers for your candlescapes around the room. If you only have a few ornaments in the right color, consider floating them in varying levels of water in clear containers ...when the lights go down, the ornaments look like they are floating in the space.

Since kisses are a big part of the New Year's tradition and this party is always a late-night event, candles are a perfect way to set the mood and give your home a totally different look. There are lots of places you can find candles for cheap, but over the years Big Lots has become my go-to store. I've hosted several large candlelight events in the past few years, for which I've needed hundreds of candles at bargain-basement prices. Big Lots always has white votive and tea light candles on hand for minimal expense. These candles also are completely unscented, so they will not interfere with the flavors of food or the possible allergies of guests. Add them to your containers of ornaments for sophisticated flicker and sparkle.

Food

Dinner parties can be fun, especially for a small group, but if you plan to go big for your New Year's Eve bash, you might want to consider serving appetizers instead of a big meal. You get a lot more food to go around on a frugal party budget, and you make it much easier for your guests to eat at their own pace and mingle. Keeping a flow of munchies throughout the night also can help your guests from getting overindulgent on the adult beverages.

If you really need to enlist the help of your guests with the food, I would recommend doing it up with style and let them know this will be a recipe tasting and sharing event. No matter what they choose to bring, they need to be able to serve it in bite-sized ways so that everyone can try everything. Then they can choose the recipe cards left by the sample or posted to your social media event page.

Drinks

Although champagne is traditionally used for ringing in the New Year, you don't have to stock up on cases of it. Don't pour the straight bubbly until just a few moments before the midnight toast. Consider serving a festive sangria or champagne punch leading up to the big moment. A coworker of mine recently served an absolutely delicious punch that included champagne, white wine, club soda, and fruit juice. This punch enables you to serve something with the same sparkle and potency of champagne and fudge a little on the really good stuff until the end of the night.

If punch or sangria isn't really your style, consider serving decadent spiked drinks. Turn tasty lattes, hot chocolate, and cider into something that keeps the guests both warm and a little giddy. A rummy egg nog also will do very well. These drinks are more about presentation than the booze.

So get creative, look at the things you have with fresh eyes, and launch the New Year with a party that will be the toast of your social circle.

Michelle Stinson Ross is the social marketing manager at Offers.com. She's a working mother of three teens and a digital diva who loves a great deal.