There are many benefits to entertaining at home on New Year's Eve. It is more intimate, less expensive than going out and you don't need to drive home. We, your devoted Girlfriends, have borrowed ideas freely from our friends, books and websites. We have brought it together to bring you party tips that will enable you to throw a great party everyone will enjoy - including you. Don't think you are too late. We know from personal experience that a surprising number of people don't have plans for New Year's, even on the day.    First decision - to include the kids or not. One party idea that is good for a family event comes from Suzanne's childhood - the Pajama Party. All the attendees wear pajamas, which loosens everyone up from the outset. The children can decorate pillowcases with fabric markers as an activity. Buy the markers at any craft shop or art-supply store. When it gets late, make the children comfortable in another room in beds or in sleeping bags and let them watch movies while the parents continue the party.  For more family-oriented party ideas, we recommend the New Year's Party at good old Family Fun (www.familyfun.go.com).   For an adult party, we recommend a buffet-style cocktail and appetizer party. Appetizers are easier to prepare and cost less than a dinner party. Send your invitations electronically out by Evite (www.evite.com) and ask for RSVPs. Start the party at 9pm or later. We have found an excellent party-planning guide at Epicurious (www.epicurious.com). Click here or follow the link at the end of this email.   Everyone and everything looks better by candlelight (especially at midnight!).     Pull out those candles and put them everywhere. Group them for more impact. Your buffet table will be stylish with votive candles in hollowed-out apples, oranges or lemons, or in small glass holders. We're sure we don't need to tell you to keep scented candles far away from any food. Think about your color scheme. Food looks good on white dishes and serving platters. Touches of gold or silver will dress up the tables. You can bring in color with flowers, whether in vases or scattered on the table. Keep the color scheme consistent between areas.   For beverages, consider the size of the crowd. A signature cocktail can be a lot of fun for a party of 30 people or less, or a party with a catering staff. As a rule of thumb, the larger the crowd, the more basic the bar. If you do have a signature cocktail, we like the idea of ice cubes made out of a complimentary liquid, rather than water. Wouldn't martinis with olive-water ice cubes be tasty? For an extremely elegant touch, edible gold- or silver-leaf is a showstopper. Buy 23 karat gold leaf without copper added, or pure silver leaf. You can buy these edible metal leaves at an art-supply store or a baking-supply store, or you can have the leaves express shipped from cheftools.com. Delicious non-alcoholic drinks are in order for designated drivers, pregnant women, children and anyone else who wants to ring in the New Year with a clear head. We have found just the ticket at Epicurious.com. Please remember Alex's mother's first rule of entertaining: put the liquor in a room with two doors, or your guests will be fighting their way in and out of that one room all night.   On the buffet table, present one item with panache. Your food will look more attractive if you put only one or two types of food on each serving dish. Consider varying the height of the serving dishes using boxes, cake pedestals or anything else you have in the house. Imagine how elegant cold food that is eaten with silverware (such as seafood cocktail or crackers and dip) would look served in a martini glass. Serving food in natural containers is a different and interesting look. Examples of natural containers would be hollowed peppers, radicchio or a purple cabbage. Remember the vertical! Breadsticks or long crudites look smashing standing on end in a simple glass vase or a water glass. Some of our friends take pride in making all of the fabulous food by themselves or with one friend, but we both gratefully accept any offers of "bringing something." Just tell your friends what to bring!   Make the food ahead, but serve at least one hot appetizer. When we want to find delicious recipes, we go to Epicurious.com. They have menu suggestions, they feature recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit and their advanced search feature will help you to find just the right information.   We know that your party will be the talk of the town.   Your Party-Girlfriends,   Suzanne and Alex   planning guide: www.epicurious.com/features/entertaining/new_years06/index   epicurious appetizer search - click here	sponsored links         our very best wishes for a wonderful New Y