Hot NYE Party Trends 2012

One thing's for certain: Nothing is certain. Especially heading into a new year. More and more hosts are having fun with the unknown and hiring a tarot card reader or an astrologer. It gives the party a special feel but doesn't cost as much as hiring a professional DJ. You'd be competing with the bars for a DJ, anyway, and they're going to have a bigger budget, says Marta Segal Block, editorial director for gigmasters.com, an online entertainment booking agency.

Plenty of parents are embracing the idea of partying together with friends who also have kids. Instead of each couple hiring a babysitter, they can pool their funds and get a single one for the night. Adults can party in one part of the house, and in the rec room or basement, you can set up sleeping bags, movies and popcorn, says Block.

If you're hosting an at-home party, then consider serving organic, sustainable food, from lettuce wraps to vegetarian curries. It's a stark contrast from Thanksgiving and Christmas, when everyone is looking to indulge in comfort food, says Susan Holland, event designer for SHE Events. Plus, eating this way on the big night will kick-start New Year's resolutions.

Large parties featuring a photo booth let guests be narcissistic and entertained at the same time. (Plus it'll give them something to share on Twitter and Facebook throughout the night.) Taking photographs is an entirely social, interactive experience, says Holland. Plus you can set it up where the images are projected in real time.

Champagne is divine, but seeing as how the weather can be below zero in most parts this time of year, guests are hankering for a mug of a delicious adult beverage. It'll be a really big trend for 2012, says Linnea Johansson, chef and author of Perfect Parties (Skyhorse Publishing). A great twist on a hot toddy is to make it hot chocolate–based, apple cider–based or wine-based—all perfect for cold-weather entertaining, she says.

If you do venture out to a local neighborhood bar, do what the cool kids are doing: Order up a dessert cocktail. What you'll see behind the bar now are dessert-flavored vodkas—they come in whipped cream, cotton candy and cake flavors—and they make cocktails that much more fun. Ask for a pineapple upside down cake, a signature drink, says Dean Phillips, president and CEO of Phillips Distilling Company. It's probably the best tasting drink I've had in my entire life, he says. It mixes the cake-flavored vodka with pineapple juice and tastes great as a shot or a martini.

What's old is new, and punch is the hottest thing in cocktails, says Mike Henderson, bar manager at Root Down in Denver. Punch has been something that's been going on in higher-end cocktail bars around the country for the last several years, he says. Whipping up your own is easy. You can't go wrong if you have some rum, some sugar, some citrus and a little bit of Champagne, says Henderson.

Let's say you're not so much into drinking like a co-ed on the big night out. You're not alone. Gabrielle Bernstein, author of Spirit Junkie, says she likes doing yoga when the clock strikes midnight. A lot of people are bringing in the new year doing a yoga class. All throughout the country, there are places where people will be doing yoga until the clock turns midnight, she says. For an at-home option, simply clear out the furniture, dim the lights and put on a playlist of calming music. Ta-da! Instant Zen party.