The party was winding down, but the mood stayed warm.
Tips
usage
Literary. 夜阑 means deep in the night, and 阑珊 means waning or fading (of energy, a gathering, or interest). The older 'railing' sense survives in the borrowed-graph 栏 for a fence.
Outer door radical, the indexing component, the simplified form of the gate that wraps the inside. The original image was a barrier across a gateway, giving 'railing' and then 'blocked off, late'. Same gate family as 间 and 闲.
