Chyka Keebaugh’s tips for the perfect New Year’s Eve party
Chyka Keebaugh is a professional party powerhouse who plans hundreds of events throughout the year. Here she gives her expert guide to throwing an unforgettable New Year’s Eve party.
Lifestyle
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Given her day job is putting on lavish events and organising large-scale launches and overseeing a catering and events company charged with executing hundreds of celebrations throughout the year, you’d forgive The Big Group’s Chyka Keebaugh if she were to give
the whole New Year’s Eve thing a miss.
But the party powerhouse says it’s her favourite night of the year. “I love any occasion to celebrate, but New Year’s Eve is still quite special to me,” Chyka says.
“People say, it’s just another night. Well, really it’s not. It’s the end of the year and the start of a new one. It gives you a chance to reset, chance to think about the things you have done, the things you haven’t, the things you want to change. I like the fact you get to start over again and put a whole new set of wishes into place and see what happens.”
While this professional party planner has putting on a celebration down pat, she says anyone can become a host with the most with a little forethought.
“Unlike Christmas or Easter or a birthday, no one really plans New Year’s Eve that far out. You see who’s around, who wants to do something. It’s OK to be a bit more casual in that respect.”
Chyka says the key to a truly memorable event has less to do with location, food and even the drinks being served than the guest list.
“I think the most important thing is the people, and it’s the one thing people don’t realise because they’re so busy thinking about the way it’s going to look, what food they’re going to serve and what drinks they’re going to have but making sure you have a combination of people that are actually going to have a good time, who know how to mingle,” she says.
But duties for the perfect party go both ways.
“It’s your responsibility when you’re invited to a party to be a good guest. And I don’t think everybody realises that,” Chyka says.
A good host will set the tone for mingling, ensuring different groups of guests are introduced and feel comfortable.
“If you’re adding different groups together, make sure there’s some synergy or connections to make it work,” Chyka says.
“It’s so easy as a host to sit back and have your own chats, but you really need to be watching and seeing where everyone’s at.
“Making sure no one is by themselves, making sure groups aren’t just staying with themselves and not chatting with anyone else. Creating a party.”
Your guests are, however, the final element in the equation that starts a couple of days before with a list.
“You need to be organised. You need to know what your menu is, have the food prepared and organised the day before. If you’re doing a bar and you want to set one up, or making cocktails, whatever it is you’re doing, making sure you have enough glassware, plenty of ice, have the alcohol in the fridge so it’s cold when everyone arrives.
“If you need to shuffle your house around to fit everyone in, make sure you do that a day or two before. You want to do everything so you can enjoy the night, so you’re not doing it all at the last minute. The guests don’t want to see you trying to ice down the drinks, or move a table or set the table when you could’ve done it earlier. Being organised and prepared makes it easier.”
Chyka suggests offering a themed drink to guests on arrival is an easy way to set the mood. “Everyone’s obsessed with gin, so creating a gin bar is fun, or a vodka bar, with different flavours, having plenty of different mixers, ice cubes, mint and basil and cucumber, other things you can add to it. Even if it’s just one or two drinks that you do for everyone, it’s a really nice way to set the tone for the night ahead,” she says.
And as the clock edges towards midnight, Chyka says it’s important to mark the beginning of the new year.
“You need to do something fun — whether it’s a countdown, whether you burst balloons, a favourite song you put on so everyone starts dancing. Getting poppers and blowers and hats. Whatever it is, you need to create a moment.”
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Chyka has recently adopted the Russian New Year’s Eve tradition of writing wishes for the year ahead and then burning the pieces of paper at midnight to hopefully make those wishes come true.
“I love this one. You can make it part of the night, something you can do with your group. Make it fun and lighthearted,” she says.
“People are getting a bit lazy and not entertaining as much as they used to. Why wouldn’t you want to on New Year’s Eve be with your closest friends and do something really fun? To see in what will hopefully be a fabulous year.”
Chyka Celebrate (Hardie Grant Books) RRP $40.