Plan Plan Plan

Planning is key to cutting costs. Make New Year’s Eve a pre-booked event so you know approximate numbers in advance. Offer deals on drinks bundles when customers pre-book to give you a better indication of what to order.

Start marketing the big night after Halloween – posters, social media posts and flyers on the bar all work well. Get your team to drum up interest by telling customers about the party plans too. Think about passing footfall and use traditional methods such as A boards to let people know what you are planning.

Food

Keep it simple with sharing platters. Source ready-to-cook items to save time such as breaded prawns and onion rings with dips. Jazz up big bowls of low-value items such as chips with pre-grated cheese, tomato salsa and jalapeno to be able to charge a premium.

Or offer a special themed menu with prep-ahead dishes. Go Italian with pizza slices plus garlic bread, followed by the super easy affogato (scoop of vanilla ice cream with a shot of espresso that the customer pours on top).

Drinks

To kick things off , offer customers a free drink on arrival. It doesn’t need to be of high value – think a glass of cava or house wine, or a pint of beer. Make sure you advertise the freebie when marketing the event. It’ll impress customers and hopefully make you stand out from the competition.

The look

You don’t need to spend lots of money to create an attractive ambience. Balloons can create an effective display and could double up as a fun balloon drop with prizes inside at midnight. Buy biodegradable balloons to be more eco-friendly.

If you have a bare wall, create an exciting photo backdrop for selfies, which your customers should be encouraged to share on their social media channels for some free publicity. Create a #tag.

Music

If you have space and the budget, why not create an area for dancing and a live band?

If not, create a buzzy playlist that ramps up as the evening goes on to get everyone in a celebratory mood. It is illegal to use streaming services such as Spotify in businesses. However, there are other similar options such as Soundtrack Your Brand and Soundsuit, which have been developed for commercial use. Sign up for a free trial and monitor how well it goes down with customers before investing in a subscription.

Whichever music option you go for, ensure you have the correct licence to play music in a public place. Find out more from the official music licensing website: pplprs.co.uk

Entertainment

Consider an activity such as themed bingo with prizes or a 2022 trivia quiz, or hire a photo booth and go fancy dress.

By charging an entry fee, you can recoup the money spent on these extras.