The complete New Year's Eve party kit list
A New Year's Eve party shares most of its kit list with a Christmas one, but it has to be booked, built and run in the shortest, most understaffed week of the hire calendar. Here is the checklist, with quantities for 100 guests.
A 100-guest New Year's Eve marquee party typically needs: a 30m-class marquee with an insulated lining, trackway for deep-winter ground, a 40 to 60kVA generator sized to cover heating as well as lighting and sound, 25kW-per-100sqm indirect heating, around 15 tables and 70 chairs for a mixed seated and standing format, a 20 sqm dance floor, a countdown lighting and sound rig, 2 toilets plus 1 accessible, a 3m bar for the midnight toast, and fencing for a firework exclusion zone if a display is planned. Typical hire budget: £5,500 to £12,000 before catering and drink.
The kit list, line by line
Worked at 100 guests. Every line links to the full category guide with prices.
| Item | Quantity logic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marquee (insulated lining) | 1.4 sqm per guest → 30m-class for 100 | Book early: much of the same stock is still out on Christmas party dates until the 23rd or 24th |
| Trackway | Gate-to-marquee distance, near-certain on deep-winter ground | Late December is usually the wettest the site will be all year |
| Generator | From the load list including heaters: typically 40–60kVA at 100 | Give the supplier the heater kW figure, not just the lighting and sound load |
| Heating | 25kW indirect per 100 sqm of lined marquee | Indirect (ducted) heaters keep exhaust fumes outside the tent |
| Tables | 1 round per 8 guests + 2 trestles for canapés and the midnight buffet → 15 at 100 | A late buffet works better than a formal seated meal for most NYE parties |
| Chairs | Seated guests + 30% of the rest at mingling capacity → ~70 at 100 | NYE is a standing, dancing night more than a sit-down one |
| Dance floor | 0.2 sqm per guest → 20 sqm at 100 | Needs the same level boarded base as the rest of the floor |
| Countdown lighting & sound | Festive rig + a visible countdown clock + safety lighting for midnight dispersal | The one night of the year every guest checks the time at once |
| PA & sound | DJ or band system sized to the marquee, with a mic for the midnight countdown | Agree the countdown and first-song cue with the DJ in advance, not on the night |
| Toilets | 1 per 50 guests with a bar → 2 + 1 accessible at 100 | Heated or insulated units are worth it in late December |
| Bar unit | 1m of frontage per 35 guests → 3m at 100 | Stock the sparkling wine for the toast separately from the general bar run |
| Fencing (firework exclusion) | Exclusion distance set by the fireworks or sparkler display, if one is planned | Only needed if there is a display; skip it entirely for a sparkler-free night |
The shortest week in the hire calendar
A New Year's Eve marquee party is, kit for kit, close to a Christmas one: a lined and heated structure, trackway, a generator sized for both heaters and sound, furniture, a dance floor and welfare. What is different is the week it has to happen in. Much of the same marquee, heating and generator stock is still out on Christmas party bookings until the 23rd or 24th of December, and most hire firms run a smaller crew between Christmas and New Year than at any other point in the season. Confirming a New Year's Eve booking in October or November, rather than the week after Christmas Day, is the single biggest difference between an easy build and a scramble.
The ground is also usually at its worst of the year by late December: whatever rain has fallen through autumn has had no chance to drain or firm up, so trackway is close to a given rather than a maybe, even on a site that coped fine in July.
The two things first-timers miss
The firework curfew is different on this one night. England and Wales' usual fireworks curfew runs 11pm to 7am, but it is extended to 1am on 1 January specifically for New Year's Eve (the same extension applies on Bonfire Night, to midnight, and on Diwali and Chinese New Year, also to 1am). A small garden or marquee-side display is legally fine right through midnight, but a council can still act on noise nuisance grounds even within the legal hours, so a quick word with immediate neighbours costs nothing and heads off the only complaint that tends to follow this particular party.
A late bar needs a Temporary Event Notice, and the clock for that runs from before Christmas, not after it. A standard TEN needs 10 clear working days' notice to the council, a late TEN needs 5, and most licensing teams publish their own earlier cut-off dates for the Christmas and New Year period, commonly in the first half of December. Leave it until the week of the party and the licence option has usually already closed.
What it costs, honestly
For 100 guests, a full New Year's Eve marquee party (lined and heated structure, trackway, generator, furniture, dance floor, countdown lighting and sound, welfare and bar) typically runs £5,500 to £12,000 before catering and drink, with the marquee and heating together usually the largest share. Unlike Christmas party season, few suppliers discount New Year's Eve work: it is a single fixed date with firm demand, not a six-week booking window, so prices sit closer to peak rate.
The same consolidation logic applies as any winter marquee event: a site services supplier covering trackway, generator, heating and toilets from one visit means fewer vehicles on ground that is already carrying the most water it will see all year.
New Year's Eve party: the questions that follow
How much does a New Year's Eve marquee party cost for 100 guests?
Typically £5,500 to £12,000 before catering and drink, covering a lined and heated marquee, trackway, generator, furniture, dance floor, countdown lighting and sound, toilets and bar. Unlike Christmas party bookings, New Year's Eve rarely attracts a seasonal discount, since it is one fixed, high-demand date rather than a six-week window.
What time do fireworks have to stop on New Year's Eve?
The curfew is extended to 1am on 1 January, later than the usual 11pm to 7am limit that applies most of the year. The same 1am extension applies on Diwali and Chinese New Year; Bonfire Night's extension only runs to midnight. A display within those hours can still draw a noise nuisance complaint, so tell close neighbours it is happening.
Can I still get a marquee booked in the week between Christmas and New Year?
It gets harder the later you leave it. Much of the same stock, marquees, heaters and generators, is out on Christmas party dates until the 23rd or 24th of December, and most hire firms run reduced crews over the following week. Booking by October or November rather than in late December is the reliable way to avoid a scramble.
Do I need a licence for a late bar on New Year's Eve?
Yes, if drinks are being sold rather than given away free: a Temporary Event Notice, needing 10 clear working days' notice as standard or 5 for a late TEN. Councils publish their own earlier cut-off dates for the Christmas and New Year period, commonly in the first half of December, so apply well before the party week itself.
Planning a different kind of event?
These kit lists share most of the same line items as new year's eve party.
Not sure what you need yet?
Start with a free calculator: the same formulas the optimiser uses. Get your answer, then turn it into a full kit list in one tap.