Last Minute Dollar Store New Year's Eve Party

New Year's Eve is just 2 days away. There's barely enough time to shop Amazon Prime, so you've got to do something different. How about checking out your local dollar store? They've got everything you need to throw a really cool party on a budget. Don't believe me? Check out the loot I got from my local dollar store!

Note: not everything in this post cost me $1, but they were all under $3 at the local dollar store. I've also linked some items on Amazon in case you can't find them at your dollar store. This post contains affiliate links.

Light up the New Year

Sometimes when you're browsing the dollar store, you'll find some cool items that can be repurposed. 

For instance, I found these really cool flashing number cake toppers, intended for kids' birthday parties, that would fit in perfectly with New Year's decor. They're meant to hold candles, but I think they look fine on their own. They'd probably look really cool with sparklers in them, but I never use sparklers (I'm scared of them!) so I'm not sure how that would work ;)

DIY Metallic Confetti Balloons

At the dollar store, I found these metallic shreds that go in gift baskets, but I thought of a much prettier use for them- confetti balloons!

You will need:
Clear Balloons
Metallic Shreds
Funnel or rolled up paper (here)
Scissors
Drink Stirrer or pen
Helium Tank or Balloon Pump

1. Take your clear balloons and give them a stretch, especially the neck.

2. Grab a few strands of the metallic shreds and roll them up. Squish them into the opening of the balloon, using the drink stirrer to carefully push them through the neck and into the balloon area. 

3. Repeat this a few times until you fill up the balloon. Remember that once it's blown up, the shreds will take up a lot less space.

4. Optional Confetti: Take a funnel or rolled up piece of paper and place it in the neck of the balloon. Cut up the shreds to create a confetti and use the drink stirrer to push them into the balloon. I used a paper funnel, so I pushed the confetti down, then used the neck of the balloon to pull the confetti into it. This was easier than trying to shove it all through the tiny hole.

5. Blow up your balloon using the helium or a balloon pump. Remember that air will escape, so it's best to blow these up on New Year's Eve, but you can pre-fill them so they're ready to go :) Then you can pop them at midnight for a fun confetti explosion!

DIY New Year's Eve Hair Accessory

This is probably THE EASIEST New Year's Eve hair accessory tutorial you'll find. All you'll need are some alligator clips and self-stick foam numbers!

To make these clips, peel the backing off the numbers and stick them onto the hair clip. Didn't I tell you it was easy?! If you want to jazz them up a little more, you can put a piece of ribbon on the alligator clip so it isn't silver, but I don't think it's necessary and I like the extra shine of the metallic silver.

New Year's Eve Accessories

We are going to step away from the DIY projects to focus on the stuff that you can purchase from the dollar store. This stuff is MUCH cheaper than what you can find at Party City or similar stores. I think these hats were $1.29 but at Party City, similar ones were $3+. 

My local dollar store also had a lot of really cool 2017 glasses. I thought these two styles were the nicest and made it obvious that it was 2017 (not 2007) so I picked 'em. Also those rhinestone ones had the nicest pink color plus they're so Y2K that I couldn't resist. They also kinda remind me of the Times Square ball drop.

I got 2 different types of noisemakers. These small streamer ones in pink and blue (above) and the traditional cone shaped ones (below). The cone ones were cheaper and came with twice as many for just a little more than the small ones. Plus they're appropriately themed! 

I also got some nice trays, cups, plates, etc. for the table, plus all the silver and multi-colored disco balls. They're cheaper than the ones on Amazon and a decent size, so that was a win! I've been wanting to do a fun color scheme for New Year's Eve for a few years now, so I'm really excited that I get to try it this year.

Have you tried any fresh color schemes for NYE? What color palette do you usually use? Let me know in the comments! And don't forget to follow my NYE board on Pinterest :)