Make your place spiffy in a jiffy

Don't even think about having a New Year's Eve party without decorating -- remember, this is the real party of the century. Even if your aesthetic skills are on a par with your cooking abilities (see "Menu Planning"), it's possible to spiff up your place with minimum effort. The major rule of thumb is that your decorations should not occupy space that a guest could. Here are three more tips.

---

Celebrate like it's 1999
The guest list
Menu planning

---

Light things up. Cool lighting always adds to a party. Luminarias can be atmospheric indoors: weight a paper bag with about an inch of sand or rock salt, then set a votive in the base, which yields the effect of a lantern. Make candlesticks out of unexpected objects: cut a votive-shaped circle into the top of an apple; float a votive in a glass candy dish; tie candle stems together (teepee style), invert into a vase (so the wick ends fan out), and make a burning bouquet. The fewer of your overhead lamps you use at a party, the better.

Unify it. Find a small detail that can be repeated throughout the space. If you use flowers, those with many petals (Gerbers, mums, daisies, and the like) can serve you well: station one vase in a prominent place and sprinkle petals on tables and countertops; if it's a sit-down dinner, thread the stem of a flower into each napkin ring. Pick several locations to float one blossom in a small glass bowl. Or go celestial: cut stars of various sizes from gold foil and gently tape them to the walls (not in a strict pattern); ransack post-Christmas markdowns for stars to dangle from ceilings and doorways; buy a foil star garland to outline a room, table, or whatever (perhaps twining it with leftover clear holiday lights).

Clean the place first. And that means clutter: shoes, stacks of magazines, unfinished projects -- they should all go into the closet or under the bed for the evening. Things will feel more spacious and people will feel more comfortable, increasing the chance that they'll notice what a knack you have for using luminarias and flowers. That, of course, is what really matters.

-- David Valdes Greenwood