On New Year’s Eve, most of us gather together with friends and family to celebrate the ending of one year and the start of another. 

While there are certain traditions that can be found at almost every party – champagne toasts and the televised countdown to the ball drop in Times Square – you can set your shindig apart from the rest by adopting a creative party theme.

Here are few theme ideas that we love: 

Decades Party

Ring in the new year by celebrating those that have come before with a decades party. Ask each guest to come dressed in a fashion representative of a prior decade. As guests show up in their leisure suits, bell-bottoms and ’80s neon, they will fill your party space and create natural conversation points. Decorate with classic photos from years past, placing these images across a dominant wall in your party space in chronological order so that, as guests move along the wall, they can reflect on the past and revisit events that have shaped their lives.

The Future

Start the new year by thinking about what the future may hold with a future party. To make your event futuristic, serve up a menu of contemporary-looking dishes such as oddly shaped or uncommonly filled sandwiches, freeze-dried ice cream, or speared fruit and vegetable creations. Decorate in metallic hues and with round, geometric shapes that provide a subtle nod to potential future space travel. Ask your guests to come dressed as they imagine citizens of the future may dress in their daily lives. Hold a vote to determine which guest most effectively embodied the citizens of the future in her dress, awarding this creative costumer a special prize for her efforts.

Masquerade

Give your New Year’s celebration a classic feel with a masquerade theme. Decorate your party space in bold blacks, purples and crimsons that fit well with the dark and mysterious feel of a traditional masquerade. Ask guests to come in classic masquerade masks and dresses or other costumes to match. Purchase an assortment of masks to present to guests who fail to adhere to this dress request to ensure that all of your guests’ faces are appropriately covered. At midnight, ask guests to remove their masks, representing the act of opening their eyes to a new year full of possibilities and promise.