Planning Your Cannabis New Year’s Eve Party

New Year’s Eve is rapidly approaching, and if there was ever a night to party, this is it! By definition, New Year’s Eve parties are multi-hour events that usher in the new year and end in the wee hours of the morning. That’s a lot of partying! What a great way to end a busy year in the company of friends.

More than most other parties held throughout the year, a good New Year’s Eve party usually includes a lot of finger-food snacks to sustain guests through the long evening. Let’s face it, when you spend an evening drinking and enjoying some cannabis, you can really build an appetite and crave some munchies.

Whether you’re the person throwing the party or the lucky recipient of an invitation to a great New Year’s Eve bash, you should prepare some appropriate food items to either share with your guests or contribute to the evening’s gastronomic delicacies.

If you’re a guest, the host will no doubt appreciate you arriving to the party bearing food or drink gifts.

While arriving with a bottle of wine or champagne—or even a six-pack of craft beer—is always welcome and guaranteed to be put to good use, appetizers are a perfect contribution to the party.

While preparing some of the time-tested favorite appetizers like chips and seven-layer dip or potato skins, consider a cannabis-infused appetizer as well. No doubt, some of the partygoers will want to sample them as part of the evening’s festivities.

Blunts and Joints

Nothing kicks off a celebration like a large, tasty blunt. Since your New Year’s Eve party will have several people attending, a blunt is an excellent choice for allowing several people to enjoy cannabis simultaneously. If you’ve never rolled a blunt before, several online tutorials show the appropriate steps for blunt rolling.

Another option for obtaining a high-quality blunt is to visit your local dispensary or adult-use store. Most marijuana retail stores stock a variety of blunts or smaller pre-rolled joints.

A selection of joints to last you through the evening is another good alternative for New Year’s Eve—especially for people who have an aversion to the tobacco that’s an inevitable part of smoking a blunt.

Since a New Year’s Eve party is typically an event that lasts until at least midnight in order to usher in the new year, consuming an upbeat, cerebral sativa strain is a sound decision—especially during the earlier evening hours. If everyone at the party smokes dank indica all evening, they might be yawning and ready to nod off by the time the midnight hour approaches.

Evening Appetizers For Cannabis New Year's Eve Party

Let’s explore some of the marijuana-infused foods you can prepare and share as either the party host or a guest. Cooking with cannabis often includes the use of cannabutter or cannabis-infused oils.

Consuming edible cannabis involves decarboxylation, which is a heating process that activates the THC in cannabis and makes it possible for the human body to absorb it and experience its effect. When smoking or vaping, the heating involved for combustible or vaporizing is the heat that activates it.

Although in some areas infused oils and butters are sold in cannabis specialty stores, many people make them at home. There are numerous recipes online for making cannabutter, and most of them are more or less the same.

Armed with a good batch of cannabutter, you are equipped to make any number of tasty infused appetizers to share at your New Year’s Eve party.

Once again, online recipes are abundant for a wide variety of appetizers. The problem won’t be finding good cannabis-infused appetizer recipes but rather narrowing down the choices to what you will prepare!

Sativa Strains Before Midnight

Heady sativa strains worth considering for an upbeat time during the hours prior to midnight include the following. These strains are industry standards that should be relatively easy to find. They provide a powerful, upbeat high that’s perfect for a social setting. Conversation will flow feely as party guests engage in conversation.

• Bruce Banner. This hard-hitting sativa-dominant strain will promote social interaction as the party kicks off. The euphoric, cerebral effect of this strain will keep partygoers engaged and upbeat. The terpenes of this strain should please any cannabis connoisseur, with rich flavors of dank sweetness that sometimes contain a touch of diesel goodness, depending on the cut being consumed.
• Strawberry Cough. This strain caused a big splash among cannabis consumers when it hit the market several years ago. It still remains popular, and its upbeat sativa qualities will keep your party rolling along. When smoked or vaped, this strain has a wonderfully creamy strawberry flavor on the exhale. Have no concerns about the “cough” part of the name, because, although strong and tasty, this strain is no more likely to make you cough as many other strains of the same high quality.
• Durban Poison. This time-tested favorite is a pure sativa that’s sure to kick your party to the next level. Originally from Durban, South Africa, this stain is now an industry standard in the American cannabis industry. The piney sweetness it imparts when smoked, combined with an energetic high, is just what you’ll want on this special night of the year.
• Golden Goat. With roots in the Midwest, Golden Goat has earned five-star status for its pleasing flavors and motivational, euphoric effects. This strain is such an industry favorite that it shouldn’t be difficult to locate with some looking. Its happy and uplifting effects will keep the mood light and friendly in the pre-midnight hours. Golden Goat has unique and tasty flavors, with rich elements of tropical fruit and mango and a hint of orange citrus.
• Super Lemon Haze. Any strain with Haze in its name is likely to be powerfully sativa-based, with the upbeat effects you would expect. Super Lemon Haze is no different. Partygoers will remain happy and uplifted throughout the evening puffing on this tasty treat. Expect powerful effects and flavors of lemon citrus and a touch of piney haze on the exhale.

The Strike of Midnight

When the clock strikes midnight and the long evening winds down, nothing is better than a super tasty indica to conclude the party and usher in the new year. When it’s time for the champagne toast (or whatever spirit you choose), a solid indica will conclude the evening in style.

As with sativa strains, there are numerous indica and indica-dominant strains that should be available in local dispensaries. Here are five that are worthy of your attention. All of them are time-tested favorites with a long list of devotees who swear by them. You can’t go wrong with any of them.

• Bubba Kush. With exquisite flavors, “Bubba” is a perfect capper to your evening. After an evening of partying, a few puffs of Bubba Kush will ensure that sleep is soon to follow. Blissfully sedating, this strain tops the favorites list of many cannabis connoisseurs who will only settle for the best. The flavor profile is complex and mixes sweet woody notes, with a dank earthiness that blends perfectly.
• Girl Scout Cookies. Another industry favorite, you won’t find this strain available through your local Girl Scout Troop, but you may be able to munch your way through a couple boxes of Tagalongs^®, Thin Mints^®, or Do-Si-Dos^® after smoking some. GSC has a more balanced effect than some other strains on this list, but what starts as a cerebral high, quickly transcends into a full-body high. The flavor is best described as a floral and sweet earthy dankness that’s quite pleasant.
• White Widow. Another old classic, White Widow’s effect are a perfect close to an evening of fun. A soaring head high gradually settles into a full-body high. The flavor is distinctive. Floral, woody notes and a touch of sweetness linger on the palate. There are several versions of White widow floating around, but the original is from Greenhouse Seeds in Amsterdam.
• Granddaddy Purple. Commonly known as “Granddaddy Purps,” this strain often has pleasing purplish colors that make it very visually appealing. It’s a hard-hitter, with sedative indica effects all the way. The pleasing visual aesthetics, excellent flavor and high yield of this strain make it an industry standard. Sweet flavors of sweet grapes and berries make it a definite crowd pleaser.
• Lavender. Popular and reasonably easy to find, Lavender concludes our list of New Years Eve indica and indica-dominant strains. A happy, feel good strain, it also has a deeply relaxing and sleepy effect that makes it appropriate for late-night use when sleep is not far away. The flavor is best described as full and earthy, with a sweetness that some say is reminiscent of lavender, which earns this strain its name.

The Ride Home

After a full evening of drinking and/or smoking, New Years Eve partygoers should strategize beforehand to get home safely.

The last thing you need on this wonderful night of partying is to hit a sobriety check point on the way home.

Make sure you have either a designated driver or utilize Uber to end the evening on the right note. With a little bit of planning, this cannabis New Years Eve, can be the best ever!