Whether the Christmas holiday season seemed too short or too long, New Year’s marks the end of the festivities for most people. Moving on with the new year often means resolutions such as diets as well as surviving gloomy winter days in many parts of the country. That’s why, when you plan a New Year’s Eve party to usher in the new year, it is fun to have bright colors and delicious treats that include candy. A candy buffet is often a great way to incorporate what color and deliciousness into your celebration.

Candy buffets typically present a number of small candies to enjoy that are both colorful and flavorful. The candies can cleanse the palate between appetizers, beverages, and more substantial food. They can be some guests choose for dessert so can you even eliminate the need for another major dessert.

Setting Up Your Buffet

Here are a few tips for setting up the perfect buffet.

Choose your colors.

If your home is still decorated for Christmas, you might go with red and green, accented with gold or silver. There’s nothing to say though that you can’t change up the colors of the candy and the accents you use. Christmas bulbs make perfect table decorations. A little savvy after holiday shopping can yield sparkly Christmas bulbs that you can put in containers or position on your table for a festive look. Then you can pick your candy to coordinate.

Have a sturdy table. Given that your New Year’s party might be crowded with guests who might be a bit clumsy after drinking, you want something strong enough to withstand people bumping into it. In addition, the candy and the glass or plastic containers you display it in add weight to the table.

Beautify the area. Select a white or colored tablecloth that coordinates with your candy and decorations. If your table is positioned against the wall, create a coordinating backdrop with simple cloth, foil, or paper.

Choose your containers. Mason jars, large lidded jars, bases, trays, or cake stands you have on hand make great buffet containers. Your goal is to have containers sturdy enough for guests to retrieve candy from without knocking them over. You also want to display candy in a way that guests are touching each piece as little as possible. You may choose wrapped candy, or have a spoon, tongs, or scoop in the container, while selecting wide mouth containers for easier removal. If you are serving unwrapped candy such as rock candy, position the sticks upward so guests can grab there.

Provide serving options. While you might opt for small serving plates or bowls, offering bags or closable plastic containers might prevent balls of candy from sliding off a plate, as well as provide a take home option for guests. If you, like your guests, are hoping to shed a few pounds in the new year, you might want to encourage guests to claim as much of the candy as possible. In case some of your guests are not candy lovers, add some cookies, cake pops, or other individual portion dessert.

Choosing Your Candy

After planning the appearance and mechanics of your candy buffet, it’s time for the most important part – selecting the candy itself. The candy on a candy buffet tends to be small and colorful – balls, not bars, so to speak.

You can either choose your own candies or select a prepackaged grouping of popular candies from sweetservices.com. The buffets come in Christmassy red and green, as well as gold, silver, white, black, and a variety of pastels. Most full assortments weigh about 15 lb. -enough to feed 24-30 – but you can purchase the candy you want in the proper quantity. Just choose candies that match your color scheme.

You can personalize candies for your buffets might include holiday-themed:

• Red Sixlets
• Green Gumballs
• Gold and white twirly pops
• Cane cane and holiday Hershey Kisses
• Palmer chocolate balls in silver wrappings
• Primrose cut rock hard candy
• Primrose holiday butter toffee
• Assorted holiday butter mints
• Rock candy sticks
• Leftover candy canes and fruit sticks
• and more.

Let Sweet Services Help You With Your Candy Buffet

If you need containers for your candy buffet, sweetservices.com offers a wide variety for purchase. If you need more tips on setting up a candy buffet for a festive New Year’s Eve celebration, check out our handy tutorial.