What are your plans for New Years Eve? We’ll be staying in as a family, but that doesn’t have to stop us from making a few fun and festive NYE cocktails.
Are you hosting a small get-together? My good friend Renee Dinsmore (who is the best party planner and host) is sharing 15 easy, last-minute ways to glam up your cocktail.
Yes, you have hit the NYE Cocktail DIY jackpot!
Upcycle Christmas into NYE – make a tinsel drink pick.
Cut a small section (2-3”) of tinsel garland. Use a hot glue gun to wrap and stick on top of a cocktail pick.
If you don’t have a cocktail pick, grab some wooden skewers online or in the grilling section of the grocery store. You can custom cut the picks to the perfect size for your glassware.
If you don’t want to use real champaign glasses (or don’t have enough) you can use these affordable plastic flutes!
Decorate with leftover curling ribbon or tie a wire bow around the flute stem.
Turn wrapping paper or bags into a flute flag.
Take a 1”x1” section of wrapping paper. Fold in half of the top of a long toothpick and glue the ends together with a glue stick.
I love these pretty, modern flutes!
Leftovers from the Christmas fruit display?
Skewer the fruit, freeze, and pull them out right before you pour your NYE champagne.
Convert Christmas letters printed on pretty paper or premium wrapping paper into NYE-themed paper fortune cookies like these, inspired by Unsophisticook.
You can also use real fortune cookies or make your own with this kit.
Add a splash of fun flavor, topping with raspberry, orange, or almond liqueur.
Pour chilled champagne into a flute, and then top with a ½ oz of liqueur of choice.
It is best if the liqueur is chilled too.
It is best if the liqueur is chilled too.
Keep it in the freezer or the iced-filled beverage tub. (Chambord is my favorite raspberry liqueur, Grand Marnier or Cointreau are great orange liquers, and any amaretto counts as almond liqueur.)
Enjoy a simple aromatic bubbly NYE cocktail.
Place peeled, shaved ginger root and a sprig of rosemary in a champagne flute.
Top with chilled peach bubbly. Barefoot Peach Fusion is delish and affordable. This beverage was my husband’s favorite, and he is a straight single-malt scotch man.
Decorate your glass – better yet, let your guests do it!
Use washable wine glass writers to decorate your flutes. Such a great way to personalize and keep track of your glass!
Rim the flute of your champaign glass with a decorative gold or silver sugar. So sparkly!
Let your guests make DIY-on-the-fly pipe cleaner drink charms.
Use festive sparkly pipe cleaners to shape names and dates that can easily be added to each guest’s glass. Such a fun personalized touch!
Concoct a simple champagne NYE cocktail – pineapple upside down fizz.
Mix 1/2 oz vanilla vodka + 1 oz pineapple juice. Top with bubbly (an affordable Brut is the absolute best for this drink).
Whip up a chocolate bliss champagne NYE cocktail.
Pour 1/2 oz chilled chocolate vodka and top with cold champagne. Note: dairy-based vodka makes this an ugly, not-so-great drink.
Add a strawberry or balance a skewered, sugared donut hole over the flute. I
cannot stress this enough. This drink is ahhh-mazing!
cannot stress this enough. This drink is ahhh-mazing!
Make a festive and fruity sorbet champagne NYE cocktail.
Place 2-3 Tbsp of the sorbet flavor of your choice in the flute. Top with champaign. Allow the sorbet to melt for optimum flavor.
Have some nostalgic fun with champagne Jell-o shots!
Nostalgia Alert: This is a modified Jell-o Jiggler Recipe. Boil 1 cup of champagne along with 1 ½ cup of water.
Add peach, raspberry, or strawberry jell-o mix and stir for 3 minutes. SKIP
THE COLD WATER STEP. Pour the jell-o into a brownie pan (8×8 or 9×9).Chill
in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
THE COLD WATER STEP. Pour the jell-o into a brownie pan (8×8 or 9×9).Chill
in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Before cutting into squares, run some warm water under the pan. Cut into squares and top with gold or silver sugar sprinkles.
Go tropical!
Fill the glass 2/3 full with champagne, and then top with orange-banana-pineapple juice, preferably the V-8 Fruit Fusion or Simply Orange. Garnish with an orange wedge/maraschino cherry flag.
See, I told you this was the NYE cocktail gold mine!!
And aren’t her photos divine? Thanks so much for guest posting, Renee!
I think I need to go pour myself a cocktail now. 🙂
Cheers!
xoxo
Audrey
Audrey