If your home has always been the designated holiday party spot amongst your family and friends, keeping food and decoration expenses as low as possible is crucial to entering the New Year in the black. Thankfully, hosting a Christmas and a New Year's party allows you to put all of your purchases to good use. The following tips inspired by MarthaStewart.com can help you repurpose your gourmet Christmas gifts and decorations so you can pull off a stylish and affordable New Year's Eve celebration.
Delectable Delights
You've probably already made a dent in the meal and desserts you prepared for Christmas, but you may have a lot of leftover ingredients from your holiday grocery shopping trip. If you decided to buy strawberries and apples for a fresh batch of pies, you can use any remaining pieces as appetizers for your New Year's party. Add a dash of class to the hors d'oeuvres by serving hand dipped strawberries and caramelized apple slices. Pair these treats with a fondue pot - warm chocolate and cheese are surefire crowd pleasers.
If you have a few slices of ham leftover from last week's bash, you can use them as a slightly more elegant substitute for hot dogs to create pigs in a blanket. Take the string of popcorn that was wrapped around your tree and use it to line the serving table - just be sure to let guests know they may not want to eat them as they're most likely stale by this point.
Deck the Halls
Champagne is a must for any December 31 gathering, and you can use this bubbly beverage as inspiration for your table centerpiece. Place several ball-shaped ornaments that were previously adorning your tree in glass vases to mimic the carbonation of this traditional libation. Grab a pair of scissors, tape and glue to refashion your garland and tinsel to create the numbers 2011 and 2012. Attach them to a string so you can hang it from the ceiling. You may want to wait to unveil 2012 after midnight. If you want to infuse a bit of sparkle, spray-paint the garland in metallic colors like silver and gold.
Move all the string lights and candles you used for Christmas into the main socializing room so you can turn off all of the overhead lights and revel in the warm glow as you wait for the countdown to end. By implementing these tips you can enter 2012 with a couple extra bucks in your pocket.