What are you doing New Year’s Eve?

If you think no-date means no-fun on New Year’s Eve, think again. Then pick up your phone and call your friends, because some of our most memorable New Year’s Eve parties weren’t at all romantic.

Today, we’ll share two of our favorite friend-celebrations with you.

The first is a classic: the potluck supper. Put a fresh spin on it by using a little imagination.

Start by choosing a theme for the evening, such as:

· a region of focus, like Italian cuisine.

· the recipes of a particular chef. The Food Network site offers all kinds of recipes by celebrity chefs, like Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten, AKA the Barefoot Contessa.

· foods that are all the same color.

· an interesting era. (The medieval feast never gets old, especially when you take away the cutlery and make your guests eat with their hands.)

When we were roommates, we once threw a 70’s themed party, where everyone brought food from that era—including a huge glazed ham decorated with maraschino cherries and marshmallows. Disgusting, but hilarious!

After you’ve chosen a theme, you can decorate your dining room accordingly, create a theme-related playlist, and consider dressing the part. A 70’s party isn’t complete without a disco ball, and medieval feast must have a wench!

With potluck, the host never gets stuck with all the work and expense, however. Be sure to assign everyone a course. If your group is small, you may only need four courses. If it’s a big group, try doing what the big chefs do and create a tasting menu featuring many very small courses. Think soup in shot glasses, a scoop of salad on a romaine leaf, a skewer with a few chunks of grilled chicken and a veggie or two. Sorbet makes a great palate cleanser between courses and a pasta course is always a winner, especially before the cheese course. Sliced fruit makes a nice break before dessert, followed by espresso cups filled with hot chocolate. As the host, you can decide if you want to assign a specific dish to each guest, or simply share the theme and some general guidelines and allow your friends’ creativity to rule.

The second friend-celebration still involves divvying up the work and cost, but this time, you’ll get some exercise too. If you all live within walking distance of each other, why not plan a “progressive dinner”? This is where you have a different course at each house, giving everyone a chance to host.

Again, you’ll need to improvise, depending on the number of people participating. Let’s suppose there are six of you.

· Host One offers a fancy drink. (And by fancy, we don’t mean alcoholic—go online to find hundreds of tasty booze-free drinks).

· Host Two offers up hors d’oeuvres.

· Host Three makes an interesting salad (and yes, salad can be interesting!).

· Host Four makes a one-dish main course, like a pasta, curry or stew.

· Host Five treats you to a yummy dessert.

· Host Six closes out the evening with something bubbly for a toast, along with chocolate dipped strawberries.

Turn on the TV and watch the ball drop in Time’s Square, before playing your favorite tunes and dancing off those calories into the wee hours.

Now that sounds like a Happy New Year to us!