New Year’s Eve is the last hurrah for the holiday season. Ushering in a brand new year gives people the hope of a fresh start and reminders of good times past during the previous calendar year. What better way to observe the passing from old to new than getting together with friends to celebrate the occasion? Still, with Christmas and Hanukkah bills in the mail, splurging on this winter holiday might put too great a burden on the household budget. The good news is that we can enjoy these festivities without any danger of bankruptcy. We simply focus on simplicity.

1- Free Decorations

This is one area where you can scale back. If Christmas decorations are still up and hanging, these are perfectly appropriate to leave in place. Otherwise, you can ditch the tree and string the lights along walls, around picture frames, and over doorways. Ornaments can be repurposed as centerpieces and house plant adornments.

2- Call It a Night Before Midnight

A party that starts and finishes early might be more popular than imagined. Having a lunch, brunch, or informal dinner can wrap everything up before 9 pm. In this way, you spare yourself the cost of expensive champagne and continuous noshing.

3- Make It a Game Night

Playing board games and focusing on recreation will result in less consumption of food and beverages. You can post wins and losses on social media while keeping an eye on the clock and the dropping ball at Times Square.

4- Dance the Night Away

All you need for dancing is music and space — both of which cost little to nothing. Survey the guests in advance as to their favorite tunes. Hosts, of course, should be willing to lead off by getting down first. It breaks the ice.

5- Improvised Confetti

With a paper shredder in nearly every home, the creation of New Year’s confetti is no longer a tedious chore with scissors and paper bags. Instead, you can simply shred the recyclable paper in the house. For this holiday, magazines with color photos work best.

6- Party with a Panatela

Cigars are associated with the idea of celebration — a new baby, e.g. When it is time to welcome the baby New Year, there are many ways to indulge. One must be to have cigars available. They need not be expensive to complement the party.

7- Clique Over Crowd

A party need not be a blow-out to be festive and memorable. Having just a few familiar faces over means you can splurge without overspending. A candlelight supper followed by good conversation seated around the TV in anticipation of midnight is often a preferred way to spend the evening.

8- Snap Your Way to Memories

Creating a makeshift photo booth in a well-illuminated area of the house helps guests to mingle and memorialize the night. Phones work for these spontaneous photos and attendees can preen, pose and perform for friends and for their posterity.

If you want to throw a NYE party for your family or friends, don’t let money or a small budget stop you. You can do amazing things with a small budget and make it a night to remember.