NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY Celebrate and slumber

If you're planning a party, first come up with a theme.
By STACY DOWNS
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DON'T CUT OFF YOUR NEW Year's Eve celebration a few strokes after midnight. That's when the fun begins. Instead, toast the arrival of 2004 with a slumber party. Guests will get the perks of sleeping late and not driving among the reckless and overserved.
Activity is the key to any good New Year's party, says Melinda Konopko, event planner extraordinaire and co-owner of the New York-based supply store PlumParty.com.
"Otherwise you're just sitting around, which is what people end up doing," Konopko says. "I think that's why people have this dread of New Year's -- they want to do something different."
Theme necessary
Hosts need to come up with a theme for a New Year's sleepover before they start asking guests to haul inflatable mattresses into their living room. Otherwise, Blah City. Here are a few of Konopko's ideas:
UCasino Night. Send dice and confetti as invitations. Guests should wear black and white (tuxedos optional). Set up a blackjack table and roulette wheel. Get a poker game going.
UCharades and games. Send a charades card as an invitation. Play charades, but have other games, such as Cranium and Twister, that make the players perform or move around.
UDiva Night. Send (or give) chocolate as an invitation. Women can wear tiaras and feather boas. Set up spa stations with manicures and mud masks. Eat dark-chocolate brownies.
UIf you're having a special theme, mail invitations to get guests excited. But if it's a close crew, just be sure everybody knows what's up. Ask them to bring their best flannel pj's (the night is about elegance), pillows and sleeping bags. Start the evening about 8, a little later than usual because they'll be at your house until the sun shines.
UCreate a menu that keeps everyone active. Fondues are perfect for any New Year's party, whether the guests are couples, families or singles. They're simple yet fun, romantic, sophisticated. Don't forget breakfast: Doughnuts will do -- guests have 364 more days to start their diet resolutions.
URemember to deck the place out in shiny, sparkly accessories: silver candlesticks, candles and beaded garlands. And though a sleepover defies tradition, you still want to stock up on timeless favorites: champagne, confetti, streamers, noisemakers and silly hats. They set the tone to the all-important New Year's countdown.
UHave popcorn and a stack of videos for a movie or TV show marathon for the true all-night crowd. For you: earplugs and a few hours of sleep.
COUNTDOWN TO NEW YEAR'S
Take this action plan if you're going to play host to a sleepover to toast 2004:
Right now
URound up videos for a wee-hour marathon
UBuy champagne, confetti, streamers, noisemakers and silly hats
UBuy or borrow games and supplies that fit the theme
(To get ideas, check out the film database www.allmovie.com; for TV, go to the library to peruse The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows.)
A day before
UBuy food and fuel for fondue
USparkle up the house with shiny stuff
A few hours before
UClean
USet out games, supplies and party favors
UClear areas for guests to sleep
A few minutes before
ULight candles
ULight fondue fuel
A few minutes after guests arrive
UEat
UPlay games
11:59 p.m. and 50 seconds...
UCountdown to 2004
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!
UShoot streamers
UThrow confetti
UMake noise
UHug guests