Has it been 365 days already? Just when we were getting used to seeing 2005 on all our bills, it’s time to say a huge hello to 2006. In a few hours from now, you’ll be donning your party hats, bringing out those noisemakers and getting set to paint the town every conceivable shade of red.

Before you chalk out your blueprint ? that is if you haven’t done it already ? for spending the next hours in the run-up to the big 12, spare this a look. It’s got a bit of everything ? tips and tricks to help you look your spiffiest best, helpful hints for kitchen capers, music mantras for your listening pleasure, and last but certainly not the least, an alternative route to New Year well-being.

The way you look tonight...

It’s the ultimate party-your-pants-off-night and what better way to do it than by throwing open your closet and bringing out the big guns? The little black dresses, the pinstriped suits, the sexy, spiked boots and those glorious swathes of fur ? they’ll all be out in full force. The question then is: just how does one stand out in a sea of these?

We asked two of the country’s well-known fashionistas on how to put together a look at the very last moment (yep, many of us are last-minute Joes and Janes) or add a killer edge to the outfit you’ve already picked out to party it up in style. So, go ahead, get inventive ? and oh yes, lest we forget, look gorgeous!

Fashionista Kiran Uttam Ghosh has many a trick up her stylish sleeve. She gives us her spin on things.

• The antique bejewelled look is all set to be a rage next season ? any way, antique jewellery has been an all-time classic. Use pieces of old kundan/jadau jewellery as brooches, buttons or neckpieces over blue jeans and jackets. Why limit them to weddingwear? It works for men too, especially to hold down a tie or a cravat.

• Wrap your hair with a scarf, maybe bandanna-style or any which way you choose. This keeps out the cold, covers bad hair and looks chic. Again, works for both men and women.

• You could dress a traditional sari up with a long jacket, knee-length or even longer. Something simple, elegant and shaped. Long antique jackets even work well with blue jeans or a dress.

• Belts have long been a classic. One can wrap them over saris, jackets, shirts, trousers ? and they work ? in fact, the quirkier the better. The only thing one needs here is a decent waist ? they don’t work over potbellies!

Designer Manish Arora suggests that men can wear their regulation suits all right, but snazz it up with a nice bright scarf casually worn around the neck rather than a tie. “A suit can also be carried off with a nice T-shirt inside, with sneakers, suede or converse shoes, or even a nice pair of Rajasthani or Peshwari jooties,” says Manish. When it comes to women, Manish advises wearing a well-fitted achkan with a sari or even draping the sari over a tight churidar, jeans or trousers.

Make me up before you go

Now what’s a fabulous chocolate cake without some icing on top? The right make-up and a becoming hairstyle are crucial to carrying off a particular look. According to hair and make-up maven Ambika Pillai, it’s important to “just do your own thing and go wild”. The make-up moves and tress tips she recommends:

• Soft, smoky eyes accentuated by pale, glossy lips. “Besides the essential charcoal-grey, one can also use shades of midnight-blue, mehndi-green and even fuchsia to smoke out the eyes,” says Ambika.

• Use warm hues of cappuccino and chestnut brown to highlight the hair.

• Men can experiment with the various hair products in the market. “They can use gel or mousse to sport the spiky look, streak their hair if it’s longer or even iron it smooth to get rid of unsightly waves,” says Ambika.

City-based expert Aniruddha Chakladar has his own take on things:

• Pile on the glitter. Use eye-shadows in black, grey, blue or aquamarine and top with some sparkle.

• Use a shimmery blush in any warm shade like amber or soft pink.

• If you’re going strong on the eyes, ease up on the lips, using any soft skin tone shade, finished with generous dabs of gloss. Alternatively, play up the lips in rich burgundy or raisin if you’re going light on the eyes.

• For women, it’s either a chic slicked-back look for the hair or a casual out-of-bed look helped along by mousse.

• Men can sport a clean look or go with a stylish stubble if they’re opting for the jacket-and-jeans combo. Spikes are still in as is the tousled look with a few strands falling carelessly on the forehead.

Bring on the music

Our prescription for fighting the cold on New Year’s Eve: burning up the dance floor with some super-hot moves And for that, having plenty of music ? the right kind ? is a necessity. Your play list should include dance, dance, and more dance, and some slow music for when things get mellow.

DJ Sunny Sarid, who will be in the city tonight, spinning the turntables at Nicco Park, predicts that Bollywood is going to rule the soundwaves on the final day of the year. His picks for the night: Kajra Re, Soniye from the film Ek Ajnabee and Deedar De. A hearty dose of hip-hop will also be on the sound card courtesy such chartbusters as Usher’s Yeah Yeah and rapper 50 Cent’s Just a lil bit.

Red FM station head Jimmy Tangree too, predicts that the pendulum will swing in favour of Hindi music, especially tracks like Ashiq Banaya Apne and Dus Bahane. On the club circuit, he says, retro will rule, with numbers like I want to break free and Staying alive, though discos will see a heavy-duty mix of Bollywood, commercial dance and house. And his final word when it comes to a house party? “Tune in to Red FM, where we’ll be playing a non-stop mix of Hindi and English music, right from 9 to 5 in the morning.”

Feeding the frenzy

Looking to avoid raucous revellers, mind-numbing music and endless queues? Perhaps a chilled out, laid-back New Year’s Eve bash right at home is the answer! All you need are close friends, the right ambience and of course, let’s not forget, finger-licking good food. That said, however, it just doesn’t make sense to spend the last day of the year slumming and slaving in the kitchen. The answer lies in quick fixes — so, order in for some grub, and whip up the rest! Better still, follow the division of labour policy and organise a potluck party. Any which way you decide to go, our two gourmet gurus bring you some easier-than-pie recipes that can be made in a flash and are certain to go down very well with one and all. Throw in some chips and dips, an assortment of cheeses, roasted nuts and devilled eggs, and you’re ready to roll! The only thing left — bring on the plastic plates!

Gingered Shrimp Croquettes

(Recipe courtesy: Ramesh Javvaji, executive chef, ITC Hotel Sonar Bangla Sheraton & Towers)

Ingredients: Minced shrimp — 200gm ; ginger — 2 tbs; chopped garlic — 2 tbs ; salt and pepper — to taste; fresh coriander finely chopped — 1 bunch; lemon juice — 1/2 cup; turmeric powder — 1 tsp; cumin powder — 2 tsp; chopped onions — 100gms; semolina powder/ fresh breadcrumbs — 250 gms; egg yolks — 3; fresh whole eggs — 3; flour (sieved) for dusting as well as blending — 150gms; oil for frying — 250ml

Method: Sauté onions, cumin powder, turmeric powder, half the chillies and half the cilantro.

Put shrimps into a blender or finely chop, add salt, pepper and lemon juice.

Mix cooked onions and the shrimp mixture with egg yolks and put to chill.

When cool, roll out into 1” round roll, then cut 2” to 3” long.

Roll in plain flour, dip in whipped whole eggs and roll into cylindrical shapes.

Deep-fry until golden-brown. Keep warm and serve with coriander salsa

For the cilantro salsa

Fresh chopped cilantro; fresh small diced tomatoes; chopped onions; chopped chillies

Mix all the above ingredients after blanching the tomatoes. Chillies are optional and a pinch of crushed black pepper shall give an additional punch

Pancake delight

(Recipe courtesy: Food expert Shovona Mukherji)

Ingredients: Flour — 1 cup; eggs — 2 (optional, add a pinch of baking powder instead); milk — 1 glass; water — 1 glass; a pinch of salt; oil — 1 tbs; butter — 1/4th cup

Method: Put the sieved flour and salt in a bowl. Make a hollow in the middle. Pour the whisked eggs and oil in the hollow.

Mix well. Add the water and milk, a little at a time.

Heat butter in a frying pan. Pour in a ladleful of the watery mixture.

When the pancake is cooked on one side, turn it over to cook on the other side. Put a filling of your choice and fold over.

For the fillings, get creative:

• Grated coconut and a dribble of honey

• A dollop of your favourite jam/marmalade and ice cream

• Cooked mutton mince

• Stir-fried mushrooms/capsicums/ prawns in white sauce or mayonnaise.

• Boneless fish chunks cooked in garlic ginger sauce

Let’s drink to this

Now on to the juicy part — the booze! After all, who ever heard of a year-end shindig without the hooch? If there’s ever a night for champagne, this is it. But should you not have the bubbly at hand when the clock strikes twelve, there are plenty of other options that will have you swinging from the chandeliers.

Beer, whisky and rum are the usual tried-and-tasted favourites, but just about any barman worth his swizzle sticks will inform you that vodka-based cocktails are going to be big this season. Says well-known bar consultant Irrfan Ahmed, “With more and more Calcuttans watching their calories, cream-based cocktails have fallen hard in the popularity stakes. People are switching to sour drinks like mojitos and caiphrinhas (with white rum), and kaiparoshkas (with vodka), while margaritas with fresh fruits are also big hits.” The tangy Cosmopolitan, thanks to its vodka connection, remains high on the should-swig list and another cocktail that is making a comeback is the almond-flavoured Mai Tai.

While all the hotels and restaurants will be prepped and primed with enough liquor to float a gazillion cocktails, if you’re planning to make it a night at home, ensure that your bar is stocked to the full. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, maybe you could even stir up a few heady concoctions on your own. We asked Roxy bartender Abhijeet and Irrfan to come up with a couple of hits and mixes. So, here’s raising a toast to the good times ahead.

Christmas Punch Bowl

(Recipe courtesy: Irrfan Ahmed of B.E.D)

Ingredients: Figuiera Finest Ruby Port (or any port wine) — 1 bottle; Chantilli Cabernet Sauvignon (Red) (or any premium red wine) — 1 bottle; Archer’s Peach Schnapps (or peach syrup) — 100 ml, grape juice — 100 ml; apple juice — 100 ml; pineapple juice — 250 ml; orange juice (fresh) — 250 ml; almond syrup or Amaretto liqueur — 25ml; lemon juice — 100 ml; Sprite — 250 ml; Appy Fizz — 250ml; fresh strawberries, finely sliced — 10; fresh oranges, finely sliced — 2; green lemon, finely sliced & deseeded — 2; cucumber, finely sliced — 1/2; mint leaves — 10 pcs; cardamom — 5 pcs; clove — 10 pcs; cinnamon sticks — 4; honey — 4 tsp; ice — 30 cubes

Method: Mix ingredients together. Serve in silver cups.

Crazy Monkey

(Recipe courtesy: Abhijeet Dasgupta, bartender, Roxy)

Ingredients: Bacardi — 60ml; fresh lime juice — 30ml; sugar syrup — 30ml; fresh banana — 1; crushed ice.

Method: Blend all the ingredients in a blender for 10 seconds and pour in a sugar-rimmed glass. Garnish with a slice of banana.

In the spirit of giving

If there’s anything that the tragedies of the past year has taught us, it’s to count our blessings and give back to others in whatever way we can. Okay, so not all of us can do an Oprah and start an Angel Network of our own. But if we’re willing to cough up a couple of thousands for a bottle of bubbly or even blow it on a red-hot night on the town, how about sparing some for those less fortunate? Believe us, your small act of charity will leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling that no number of tequila shots can ever give.

Take, for instance, St Catherine’s Home for old ladies at 68, Diamond Harbour Road which has 60 inmates in need of blankets and shawls this winter. In the same complex is St Vincent’s Home which houses 40 destitute children from broken homes who need sheets, towels, blankets and mosquito nets. Call: Sr Teresa Antony at 2449 7568.

There’s even Udbhas, a tuition school for children from underprivileged homes that educates close to 120 kids, from Nursery to Class XII. Previously held near the Lakes, it has since moved to Jodhpur Park, though it has yet to find a permanent location. You can volunteer your services at Udbhas by offering to teach the kids or you can even contribute with a donation, according to your budget. Call: BK Ghosh, member at 2440 8072/ 3362.

These places apart, there are any number of organisations that are doing their bit to help people — and even animals — in need. All it takes is a little extra effort. So, ahead, chip in, and spread the good cheer this New Year.

Illustrations by Suman Choudhury