I'd go for the small gathering with the people who want to come. Call it a dinner, not a party, if you like. And the fact that they don't all know each other will be easier to resolve in a small group. I had a new year party and no one came. I haven't bothered since.

I wrote about it. The story was quite a hit on here! First time everyone ignored it. I tried the following year and second time, it got 45 replies! https://medium.com/the-haven/i-threw-a-new-year-party-no-one-came-6c3c5d9eb537