Bashlo · Guides for hosts · New Year’s Eve party planning checklist
New Year’s Eve party planning checklist
New Year’s Eve has a fixed deadline at midnight. Plan the evening backwards from it.
Invite early, confirm numbers a week before, and plan the evening backwards from midnight so the food, any activities and the countdown each have their time. Keep one clear moment for the countdown and leave the hour after it open.
Four weeks before
Decide the size of the party and the kind of evening: a dinner with close friends, a big open house, or family across the generations. New Year’s Eve plans form early, so send the invitation as soon as the date is fixed.
Send one link with the time, the place and what kind of night it is. Guests answer going, maybe or not this time from their phone, and the guest list counts the answers for you.
Two weeks before
Ask your guests what they cannot eat, and decide whether the food is yours or shared. A potluck list lets people say who brings what, so the table is balanced without a long thread of messages.
Check the maybes. A short reminder from the host turns many of them into a clear answer, and it is easier to plan food for a number than for a guess.
One week before
Confirm the numbers on the guest list and buy what keeps. Plan the shape of the evening backwards from midnight: when food is served, when any shared moment happens, and when everything stops for the countdown.
If you plan activities for the room, keep them before about eleven, short, and optional. Start light while people arrive, and save anything louder for the hour before midnight.
On the day
Set up the space early: somewhere for coats, a clear table for food, and one spot where everyone can gather for the countdown. If guests will join activities on their phones, put the join code or a QR code somewhere visible.
If the time or the address changes, edit it on the party page; guests see the change the next time they open the invitation.
The countdown
Choose your clock in advance, whether a television broadcast or a phone, and give a ten-minute warning so drinks are poured and people are in the room. The countdown is the one moment everyone shares, so keep it simple.
After midnight, the plan is over. Let the night run itself.
The checklist
Four weeks: the date, the kind of night, the invitation sent. Two weeks: food questions asked, a potluck list if you share the cooking, the maybes chased. One week: numbers confirmed, the evening planned backwards from midnight. On the day: the space set, the join code visible, the clock chosen.
The day after: thank your guests. If you hosted with a party page, the guest list is still there for next year’s invitations.
Questions hosts ask
How do I invite guests?
Share the party’s one link or its QR code in a group chat, a message or an email. Guests open it in any phone browser and answer going, maybe or not this time; the guest list updates as the answers arrive.
How many guests can join?
Up to 80 guests can be in the room for the live program, each on their own phone. Guests must be 13 or older to join.
Do guests need an account?
No. Guests answer the invitation and join the party from the link with only the name they want to be called: no account, no password, no email address and no phone number.
What happens to my data?
Guests give only a nickname, and the answers to the host’s questions are for the host only. A finished party is deleted 365 days after it ends and a cancelled one 30 days after it was cancelled; guests can delete their answer from the invitation page, and the Privacy page explains the rest.