New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, and the pressure is on to throw the best party ever—one that will have your guest talking about how much fun they had until next year. Choosing a winning theme or concept will set the tone for the entire evening, so you must choose wisely to make your party a big hit.
New Year’s Eve-themed parties are fun, but why not go for something a bit more exciting and entertaining? Costume parties are the most fun and memorable, so prioritize themes that would involve wearing costumes. Remember to use decorations that are aligned with your theme.
14 super fun party concepts
Below are 14 super fun concepts (and a list of extras) to help inspire you. Whether you’re planning a casual gathering or a formal event, these themes will keep your party going past midnight.
1. Time Travel
Instead of limiting costumes to a single decade, your time-travelling guests can take inspiration from any time period—past, present or future. The possibilities are endless: from ancient Rome to the Victorian Era, from the court of Louis XIV to the Vikings, from the Stone Age to the Space Age.
2. Art Work, Book Character
If you move in artsy social circles, this theme will engage your friends. Ask your guests to choose a famous piece of artwork (painting, sculpture) or character in a classic novel and use it as inspiration for their costume.
3. Zombies and Vampires
With books, movies and TV shows about zombies and vampires being more popular than ever, why wait until Halloween to have a zombie and vampire costume party? Your guests will enjoy playing with rags, dark coats, latex and makeup to make themselves look as creepy as possible. They can find costume and makeup ideas, as well as makeup kits, online.
4. Masquerade Ball
Masquerade balls have been around for centuries, and they’re ideal for more formal events. Guests dress up to the nines and wear beautiful masks for a night of mystery and glam. Ask guests to bring their own masks, or supply different kinds of masks for them to wear. Consider awarding a bottle of champagne to the person wearing the grandest, most creative mask.
5. Fortune Telling
Hire several fortune tellers, such as a tarot card readers, astrologers, numerologists and palm readers, to do short readings for your guests throughout the evening. The readings will spark conversation among your guests as they share their fortunes with each other.
6. Midnight Brunch
New Year’s Eve is one of two nights a year, Christmas Eve being the other one, when it’s customary to host a midnight brunch or breakfast. Along with mimosas, you should serve coffee, juice, eggs, bacon or sausages, pastries, French toast, and pancakes or waffles.
7. Wine Tasting
Round up some of your favorite wines and have a cozy wine tasting party for your guests. You could ask guests to bring a bottle or two of their favorite wines as well. Encourage them to wear wine-tasting attire. For a fancier bash, include sparkling wines and hire a sommelier. Save the best bottle for the midnight toast.
8. Glitter
New Year’s Eve is a night of light and glitter. For a glitter theme party, use sparkly decorations, glasses and tableware, and ask your guests to wear clothes made of metallic fabrics, sequins or anything shiny. Hand out glitter headpieces, and encourage the most adventurous guests to wear glitter or tinsel wigs.
9. Prom Night
For this nostalgic costume party, guests recreate their senior prom (or school party) looks—the dresses, suits, shoes, hair and makeup they wore. Encourage your female guests to go all out with hair and makeup and your bald male guests to consider wearing wigs.
10. Heroes and Villains
This classic costume party theme has been a favorite of Americans for decades. Guests dress up like their favorite heroes (super and non-super) and villains. Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, The Joker, Neo, V, Gandhi, Judge Judy, Keyser Soze, the Pillsbury Doughboy—anything goes!
11. Las Vegas Casino Night
Bring Las Vegas to your guests by hosting an entertaining, small-deposit casino night featuring a variety of casino games such as poker, blackjack, bingo, craps and roulette. Have your guests dress like Las Vegas tourists, and offer them a buffet style meal and plenty of drinks.
12. Pajama Party
Make comfort a priority at your New Year’s Eve party and save your guests the trouble of dressing up by throwing a pajama costume party. They can wear nightgowns, flannel pajamas, onesies, two-piece sets, any kind of pajamas.
13. Movie & TV Characters
Admit it—you often fantasize about being a movie or TV character, with all the drama, charisma and super powers that come with it. Make your fantasy a reality by throwing a New Year’s Eve costume party based on this concept. Your guests can use movies like Austin Powers, Grease, Wizard of Oz and TV shows like Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, The Big Bang Theory and The Walking Dead for inspiration.
14. Decade Party
Everyone loves a fun decade party dedicated to the 20s, 70s, 80s or any other colorful decade. Ask your guests to wear over-the-top costumes that represent the decade you choose, and make sure your decorations and music match the decade. Make it an even better party with a karaoke machine loaded with that decade’s top hits.
Whatever theme you choose, include it in the invitations you send your guests. Describe the theme in detail and offer ideas or examples of the costumes they could wear. Your guests will start enjoying your party before they get there, while dressing the part.
Additional Ideas
Classic Party Themes
- Black and White Ball
- Pirate/Treasure Island
- Hollywood
- Wild West
- Carnival
- Famous Dead People
- Animal Kingdom
- Under the Sea
- Black Light Party
Pop Culture
- Star Wars
- Horror Film Classics
- Rock Stars
- Favorite Kids Show
- Game of Thrones
- Star Trek
- Reality TV Stars
- Downton Abbey
- Mad Men
- Avengers
- Disney Characters
- The Great Gatsby
- Rocky Horror Picture Show
- Wizard of Oz
- 80’s Movies
- Harry Potter
- Toy Story
- Lord of the Rings
- Alice in Wonderland
Cultural Themes
- Around the World
- Times Square NYC
- Tropical Paradise
- Mexican Fiesta
- Paris Nights
- British Punk
- Japanese
- Roman Empire
- Bollywood
- Miami Nights
- Winter Wonderland
- Hawaiian Luau
- Havana Nights
- Oktoberfest
- Arabian Nights
- African Safari