New Year's is just about a little more than a month away. Can you believe that 2014 is about to end already? Which brings us to another related topic. Three words. New Year parties. It's the same drill year after year, right?– cocktails, finger food, dinner, and the depressing countdown till the clock strikes 12. It's dreadful really, and chances are, you might just want to sidestep all this hype and curl up in bed with a tub of ice cream and watch a rom-com (that is not about New Year, hopefully). But no. We urge you to try out something new this year. Add some much needed spice to your New Year parties by going Indian. Yes, we are suggesting that you plan an Indian-themed New Year party. Here's the lowdown to get you started.

Décor

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of India? For me, it's colours. Yes, and elephants too. But mostly colours – vibrant, bright shades of fuchsia, orange, green, red, yellow, gold and so on. So ensure that your décor is bright and vibrant without being tacky or over-the-top.

Cushions:

And where do you start? If you are a bit overwhelmed and confused about the whole thing, the easiest way to bring some clarity to your Indian-themed décor is to start with the cushions in your living room. You might want to use something bright and festive with embroidery, perhaps, like these here. Or if elephants are more your thing, then you will find them here too.

Rugs:

Indian décor is all about fabric and colours. A classic kilim (a Persian rug popular in India) or an Ikat rug can help set the tone for the party. For a more informal décor, you could prop floor cushions on the rug around a low wooden centre table, maybe. You could look here for some options.

Lights:

What's a party without some lights! In keeping with the Indian theme, you could use diyas (or small clay lamps) and light them up using some oil, wick and a lighter. Else, you could place little LED tea-lights on the said diyas to avoid risk of a fire.

Diwali Oil Lamp

Or if you are looking for something more colourful, modern and quirky, you could go for a Rajasthani mirror-work lamp, like this one.

Rajasthani Mirror Lamp

Drapes/curtains:

You could design elegant drapes yourself by using dupattas (stoles) and sarees in materials as diverse as silk, chiffon, georgette or even cotton. Finish it up with some fresh flowers tied together in loops; wrap them around the drapes or simply let them fall from the ceiling to the floor. With the heady smell of flowers, you will not even need an air freshener.

So, now that you have a chic bohemian Indian-themed décor, your job is more than half done. In a later post, I will take you through the furniture and setting for an Indian-themed outdoor party, the menu that you can plan, and so forth.

Image Sources:

Indian lamp (diyas): By Arne Hückelheim (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons