New Year's Eve Party Planner

Who this is for

Plan a New Year's Eve at home. Keep the guest list with plus-ones and who is staying over, list the food and drink with what each costs, and see the total and the cost per head from your own figures.

Anyone hosting New Year's Eve at home, from a dinner for six to a house full, and friends splitting the cost of a party between them.

What this helps you track

• Who is invited, who has replied and how many are coming
• Who is staying over and what each guest is bringing
• The food and drink to buy, with quantity and cost
• The total spend and the cost per guest coming
• The midnight plan, the music and how everyone gets home

How to use it

1. Write the date, venue, start time, host and any theme.
2. List each guest with their plus-ones, their reply and whether they are staying over.
3. List the food and drink with the quantity and the cost you expect to pay, and tick each item when it is bought.
4. The number coming, the total cost and the cost per head are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, divide the total by the number coming.
5. Work through the checklist for midnight, music and lifts in the last few days before the party.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How is the cost per head worked out?

The total of the food and drink costs you enter is divided by the number of guests marked Yes, counting their plus-ones. Nothing is supplied for you; the figure comes only from your own list.

Does it count me as a guest?

Only if you add yourself. Put the host household on the first row if you want the cost per head to include you, which makes sense when everyone is splitting the bill.

How much food and drink should I get per person?

The sheet does not say, because it depends on your guests, the hours and what they bring. Write your own quantities, and use the bringing column so you can see what is already covered.

Can guests see the list?

The browser version saves in your own browser only. To share it, print it, send the PDF or share the Excel workbook with the people helping you host.