10 NYE Party Ideas For Your Student Party

If you’ve decided to stay at your luxury student apartment to see in 2023, you might be thinking about throwing a big party for your friends. 

It can be daunting to host a party at your apartment, and there are loads of things you need to consider – the numbers you invite, the food and drink you put on, is there a theme? 

We’ve thrown together some NYE party ideas for you to consider, for those looking for a quiet party atmosphere with good food and a few friends, or if you’re looking for a wild party this New Year’s Eve with drinking games and plenty of dancing.

It doesn’t have to cost you loads to put on a good NYE party as a student, there are budget and DIY ways to host the best celebration of the year.

1. Have A Party Theme

One of the best NYE party ideas is to have a theme for the night. Everyone likes to dress up, it’s inside us all. 

Sure, you’ll get people to come to your party for New Year’s Eve if you have a theme or not, but this cranks up the potential for laughter and fun as everyone dresses to impress and to match the theme you have for the night. 

It also means that you can match the music, the food, the films in the background, and the decorations with the theme you’ve put together. 

Some will go for the luxury Great Gatsby look, others a 1970s disco with glitter everywhere and a mirror ball lighting the dance floor, a 90s kids party, or anything else that takes your fancy. 

Luxury, glamour, and fun festivities are all the rage for a NYE party, so go over the top and make it count.

2. Get The Party Food Right

The food on offer will depend on what your tastes are, the type of guests you’re inviting, and how much faff you want to put up with. 

Some people will have a staple New Year’s Eve tradition with a few close friends, cooking something in the slow cooker that can easily be done throughout the day and keep the home smelling amazing as the guests walk through the door. 

A sit down fancy meal is always another option, with three courses and guests maybe bringing a dessert or a starter as part of the fun. 

If you just want easy finger food and a buffet to match the theme, can you go wrong with a kiddie tea, a beige buffet of mozzarella dippers, chicken nuggets, sausage rolls, quiche, and crisps? You can’t, surely that’s the winner right there. 

If we’re honest, you can’t go wrong with ordering a takeaway later on in the night either as this way, everyone chooses what they want to eat and when they want to eat it – student life would be nothing without UberEats! 

3. Choose Your Drinks Wisely 

Depending on how many people you’ve got coming and whether it’s a boozy party or not you might provide the drinks for everyone. 

If there is going to be alcohol, always have a few spare drinks on standby in case your guests don’t bring enough but ask everyone to bring their own booze to cut down on your costs. 

As a welcome, get some cheap soft drinks in for mixers, coke, lemonade, and the like.

More good fun can be had by making your own vodka (or other alcoholic) jelly shots to hand out throughout the night and keep the party going. 

A bowl of punch that’s constantly topped up with a bit more of some warming alcohol is always a winner too.

If you’re not going to be drinking alcohol, that’s fine too, have a think about what kind of drinks you want whether it’s mocktails, soft drinks, hot chocolate, you name it!

4. A Party In Every Room

Inventive NYE party ideas are always some of the best.

If you’re living in a student home with space for different themes in different rooms, why would you choose not to do this for New Year’s Eve? 

You can make one room the main hub with the carefully curated playlist constantly spinning, with a chill out room in another space, the games room in another space, and a karaoke space too!

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden in your student house make the most of this too.

For those living in student accommodation, you can still kit your flat out to the 9’s!

5. Create The Perfect Playlist 

 Talking of which, you need to take some serious time to put together the right playlist. 

You know what’s gonna make your mates get up and dance, and the last thing you want is a boring playlist that no one likes – It’ll kill the party dead. 

Why not make a collaborative playlist on Spotify for your friends to add their own favourites too?

That way if the mood dampens you can point the finger at someone else for the rubbish music!

6. Plan Some Activities

Party games and activities are a fun way for different people to get to know each other (if you have invited a few different sets of friends to your NYE party who might not know each other). 

One good idea is to put together a small arts and crafts station on a table in the corner. 

Ask people to make their own hats to wear during the NYE countdown later on in the night – the wackier the better.

A resolution jar is a good idea, where every guest can write down what their resolutions are for 2023 and place them in the jar. 

Play some games – Cards Against Humanity is always a great (sick) way to see what your friends are really like! 

Another great way to loosen everyone up and to have a good time is to bring out a pack of cards and do some drinking games. 

Drinking games needs its own section though, as there are some crackers out there for you to try.

7. Drinking Games

NYE party ideas would not be complete without some attempt to give you great drinking games for you and your friends. 

We’ve put together a couple of examples below where you’ll need a pack of cards, but as with anything like this, the world is your oyster. 

Let us know what your own favourite drinking games are. 

Friends & Enemies: 

Deal out a pack of cards evenly to people in a circle, the first person to pick a card must place it in the middle and say the name of another person, who then drinks for as many seconds as the number on the card. 

If another person has a card with the same number from a different suit, they can choose to ‘save’ the drinker and pass it on to someone else.

As it is passed on the drinking time doubles though, so it really is a case of making friends and enemies.

Around The World – 

There are many different names for this game and slight variations, but here’s how we know it.

The dealer places four cards in front of the player, who has to guess if the first card is red or black, if the second is higher or lower than the first, if the third is in between the first two cards, and the suit of the fourth.

Each correct answer means they can give out drinks – a wrong answer means they drink. 

In the second round, eight cards are placed in two columns – a give and a take column.

If the number of a card matches a number on one of the cards dealt in the first round, the player can give or take a drink.

8. Have A Film Night

If you’re not sure about a wild one and you just want to bring in the New Year with some close friends and a quiet one, why not consider having a film night? 

There’s enough time to have a few movies run back to back. 

Make some easy food options where everyone can serve themselves when they want (a chilli, stew, or something similar that’s warming), get the popcorn and treats in, and choose what you’re going to watch together. 

Maybe it’s a chance to watch everyone’s favourite film of 2022, everyone’s favourite film of all time, or festive favourites that are always on at this time of year – put it to a vote to see what you’re watching! 

9. Countdown Wall

 A countdown wall is a cute interactive decoration that you can install at your apartment as part of your NYE party celebrations. 

With a few balloons, you can make a DIY countdown clock, with numbered balloons that you pop every hour as you countdown to midnight. 

You can fill the balloons with confetti for that party spirit every hour, and why not include everyone in the balloon popping. 

Another good idea is to have a shot alongside every balloon popped, getting everyone into the party spirit as you ramp up the celebrations throughout the night. 

Other options for the countdown are to project a countdown on a white wall, the ceiling, or have the countdown on in the background on your laptop or TV.

10. Be Prepared With Party Items

Finally within our guide of NYE party ideas is supplies of course!

For the countdown especially, you want everyone to have some party poppers filled with confetti in their hands, their homemade crazy hats on their heads and a glass of bubbly to toast the new year. 

Alongside the countdown clock these are all part of the fun you’ll have when midnight rolls around, so don’t leave yourself short!

You can get cheap party items to suit your student budget from most supermarkets, and they make a great addition to your NYE student party. 

Here are just a few NYE party ideas for you to consider this year. You want to see off 2022 and bring in 2023 with a bang, and we’re sure you’ll host a great party for you and your friends whatever you decide to do!

 Let us know what your plans are for New Year’s Eve, whether you’re staying in with a dinner party, having a proper wild party with plenty of drinking games and dancing, or you’re heading out into town with your mates to a student bar or club for the night @urbanstudentlife.

Happy New Year from us at Urban Student Life! 

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