If you’re like me you haven’t even thought past Christmas and into the New Year yet, so I thought I’d give you a good start if you’re running behind.

New Year’s Eve Cocktail Recipes

• A trio of cocktails to warm your party guests.
• Jim Beam holiday cocktail recipes
• Harbour Restaurant Holiday Cocktails
• Christmas Cocktails from RDV Restaurant (These would still be festive for New Years or any holiday season party)
• A couple more warm holiday cocktails, perfect for cold nights.

New Year’s Eve Appetizer Recipes

• A trio of healthy holiday appetizers from Wild Harvest
• A list of 20 easy holiday appetizer recipes
• Baby Brie and Crab Appetizer

New Year’s Eve Dinner Ideas and Recipes

• If you’d like to feed your guests without breaking the bank check out these New Year’s Eve dinner on a budget ideas.
• Setting the table for your dinner party
• Tips for holiday wine and food pairings

I’ll be back with more New Year’s Eve and New Years Day party planning ideas over the next few days to help you thow together those last minute party details.

Image (c) L Gerlach

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Here are a couple cocktail recipes for you from Cruzan Rum, Jim Beam, and Canadian Club. You can make one of these cocktails the signature drink for your New Year’s Eve bash, or sip on a Snow Storm Toddy while you ring in the New Year with family.

Snow Storm Toddy

• 1¼ parts Red Stag by Jim Beam
• 1/2 part DeKuyper Peachtree
• 2 parts Fresh Lemon Sour
• 2 parts Ginger Beer
• Steaming hot water

(Build in a pre-heated coffee mug; dust with fresh ground cinnamon)

Rumosa

• 1 part Cruzan flavor of choice (mango, pineapple, guava, black cherry, etc.)
• Top with chilled Champagne

(Serve in a champagne flute; garnish with cut fruit such as a mango slice or watermelon triangle)

Canadian Winter

• 1 part Canadian Club Classic 12
• 1 part DeKuyper ButterShots Schnapps
• 3 parts Cream on the Rocks

(Combine ingredients in shaker; shake vigorously and pour into a 6 oz. rocks glass over ice)

Always remember to drink responsibly, and remind your guests to do the same if they’re driving home.

Images: Jim Beam/ Cruzan/ Canadian Club

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Have your guests divide into teams of three or four so they can compare notes, mingle, and figure out the answers together.

You don’t just have to stick with trivia, you can do charades, or guess the picture type games based on famous happenings or celebrities from the last ten years.

Here are a few sample questions you might use for your trivia game.

• Who won the Superbowl in 2005? (Answer: New England Patriots)
• Who won the Academy Award For Best Picture in 2003? (Answer: The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King)
• Who was the voice of Dory in Finding Nemo? (Answer:Ellen DeGeneres)

You get the idea, look through the decade to find big moments and test your friends to see how much they remember.

Image: sxc.hu

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• Shrimp Tray (5 servings)
• Vegetable Tray (10 servings)
• Hillshire Farms Little Smokies (8 servings)
• Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (6 servings)
• Land O’Lakes Egg Nog (8 servings)
• Red Velvet cake

With many budgets tight this holiday season it’s good to know you can put together a New Years Eve meal for your guests without breaking the bank.

Check out the spread! Definitely looks delicious to me. The cake looks wonderful! I think I might have to make it next week (from scratch). I like red velvet cake, but I haven’t made it for a while, and that cream cheese and coconut icing sounds wonderful.

Creamy Coconut frosted Red Velvet Cake

• 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup of softened butter
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut (about 6 ounces), divided
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of lime zest

Preparation:

1. Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in medium bowl until smooth.
2. Beat in powdered sugar; fold in 1 cup flaked coconut and lime zest.
3. Spread frosting on cakes, leaving 1/2-inch plain border; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup coconut

Smokies filled Mushrooms

• 6 little smokies, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon of chili powder or cayenne
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic garlic
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• Olive oil
• 24 large (about 2-inch-diameter) mushrooms, stemmed
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Preparation:

1. Sauté sausage,oregano, chili powder and garlic in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until sausage is cooked through and brown, breaking into small pieces with back of fork, about 7 minutes.
2. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage mixture to large bowl and cool. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce and cilantro , then cream cheese. Season filling with salt and pepper; mix in egg yolk.
3. Brush 15×10x2-inch glass baking dish with olive oil to coat. Brush cavity of each mushroom cap with remaining olive oil; fill with scant 1 tablespoon filling and sprinkle with some of remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
4. Arrange mushrooms, filling side up, in prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)
5. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered until mushrooms are tender and filling is brown on top, about 25 minutes.

Coquito ( puerto rican style egg nog)

• 2 cans of egg nog
• 1/2 cup of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup of coconut cream (optional also called coco lopez)
• 1 cup of white rum
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Preparation:

Place all ingredients in a blender and puree for 3 minutes at high speed till frothy.

Serve chilled and with a dusting of cinnamon.

Mexican shrimp cocktail

• 12 cooked large shrimp (1/2 lb)
• 2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 jalalpeno finely diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1tablespoon of chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 California avocado

Garnish: lime wedges
Preparation:

1. Stir together tomatoes, scallion, jalapeno ,cilantro, lemon and lime juices, salt, and pepper.
2. Just before serving, finely dice avocado and stir into tomato salsa.
3. Chop shrimp into quarter inch piece and toss into tomato avocado salsa. Great served on top of tortilla chips.

Blue Cheese Stuffed Rolls

Ingredients:

• 1 tube crescent rolls
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 pound chilled blue cheese (preferably Stilton or Gorgonzola), crumbled
• 1/2 cup of diced apples
• 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.
2. Cut crescent rolls into 1-inch cubes. Put cubes in a large shallow baking pan and drizzle with melted butter, gently tossing to coat. Arrange cubes in 1 layer and bake, turning occasionally, until pale golden and crisp around edges but still soft inside, 12 minutes.
3. Cool crescent cubes slightly in pan on a rack, then poke a hole three fourths of the way through each cube from top using large end of chopstick, making hole about 1/3 inch in diameter. In a small bowl add blue cheese, apples, walnuts, parsley and olive oil mix well and season with salt and pepper. Press about 1/2 teaspoon blue cheese mixture into each hole, mounding slightly.
4. Just before serving, reheat cubes , cheese side up, in baking pan in a 400°F oven until warm and crisp, about 5 minutes.

Images: Walmart/ Aaron Sanchez

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I hope you and your family have a wonderful New Years celebration. I look forward to sharing many more party ideas, recipes, activities, cakes and more for with everyone in 2009.

Don’t forget to check out my look back at the best of 2008. Cheers!

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• Ted Allen shows you how to open a bottle of champagne with style.
• Rachael Ray offers a recipe for a Spitfire Shrimp appetizer.
• Tyler Florence offers Grilled Beef Tenderloin on Focaccia Toast.
• Watch Tyler mix up some New Years Eve cocktails.
• Michael Chiarello’s Spiked Milk Shakes.
• A Mulled Wine recipe from Ina Garten.

There are a ton more ideas there, I only listed a few of my favorites. They also have a layout for a New Years Day Open house.

Image via Stock.xchng

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If you’re planning a New Years Eve party this year here’s a roundup of ideas to help make your job a little easier.

New Years Eve Cocktails and Beverages:

• Get things started with these 10 New Year’s Eve Cocktail Recipes
• PINK Cocktails for New Years Eve
• Ginger Champagne Cocktails

New Years Eve Party Appetizers and Desserts:

• French Yule Cake, Um just yummm!
• Dijon Ranch Chicken Wings
• Mango Shrimp Tostaditos
• Artichoke and Bacon Spread 
• Champagne Desserts
• Last Minute Party Appetizers

New Years Eve Party Tips:

• Going Green for New Years Eve? Here are 8 tips to get you started in the right direction.
• Make your own New Years Party Favors
• New Years Eve Safety Tips

New Years Eve Party Game Ideas For Adults and Children:

• New Years Eve party game ideas for everyone.
• Have a mixture of kids and adults, then try some of these New Years Eve Party games for children.
• More New Years Eve party activities for kids (and adults).
• Staying in and letting the kids have some friends over? Check out these New Years Eve Party ideas for teens and tweens.

Other Fun New Years Eve Party Stuff:

• Want to throw the worst New Years Eve party ever? Here are the guidelines for throwing a really bad New Years Eve party.
• And for the day after, if you had too much fun, here’s a hangover home remedy you can try out.

Hope you have a wonderful New Years Eve whether you’re planning the party, attending the party, or just hanging out at home with your family.

Images via Stock.xchng

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• Get out some board games like Pictionary, Scene It, or Partini, check out the She Knows Parties Game Guide for more board game ideas for parties.
• Come up with your own trivia game where you have guests answer questions about events that have happened over the last year. You can use local, national, or celebrity news, or a mixture of all of them to create your questions.
• You can turn the trivia game into a fun game of charades, where someone acts out an event from the last year, and the other guests try to figure out what event they’re doing.
• Play bits of old songs, and have your guests guess what year they came out, the artist, and the title.
• Have everyone write down their New Years resolution on a slip of paper, then put them all in a hat, draw them out and read them while you have all the guests guess who’s resolution it is.

Whatever games you decide to play, have fun with it, and don’t forget to let the guests have some time to mingle and chat.

Image via L Gerlach

Post from: She Knows Parties

Post from: She Knows Parties