Libraries

Rec. Dpts/YMCA's

And More....

Family-Friendly New Year’s Eve Party

While gatherings in recognition of most holidays tend to be viewed as celebrations, mention New Year’s Eve and everyone is thinking “Party”! Decorations, food, music, and activities for New Year’s Eve parties tend to be a little more glitzy, loud, and often a bit crazy. But that’s a good thing! If you’re planning on hosting a New Year’s Eve party, here are some cool ideas you may want to give a try:

Invitations

You’re going to need plenty of glitter for these! Cut outs of champagne glasses with glitter sprinkled around the top for a “bubbly” look, appear festive. Other ideas are: cut outs of party hats or firecrackers, or small notes attached to noisemakers. Write inside: We invite you to join us in a celebration of the past and future as we ring in the New Year.

Decorations

Plan on making rooms sparkle! That doesn’t mean mopping and dusting; it means that you will be using lots of silver, gold, shine and glitter. You can even bring in bright colors but try to stay with the sparkle theme by getting them in a metallic look. Streamers and balloons are pretty much required. From there you can add a table center piece, string iridescent curling ribbon around, and set out plenty of party hats, noisemaker horns, tiaras, and confetti. Change ordinary decorations from “good enough” to glamorous instantly by drizzling with glue and sprinkling on the glitter.

Games and Activities

They’re Playing My Song

Music helps make a party. So why not combine music with entertainment and activities by having your guests participate in Karaoke! Sometimes it takes a while before things get moving, but it usually takes only a few brave souls to grease the skids. Before you know it, you’ll have guests lined up waiting for their turn in the spotlight. Be sure to provide a good variety of music so that you’ll have successful participation.

Boogie On Down

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to cut the rug! Where there’s music, there’s dancing! But this won’t be your basic boogie; it’s time to learn a new step. Play an instructional video or DVD with cool dance moves that breaks down the steps so that your guest can learn them easily. This is particularly fun if you have a variety of ages among your guests. The young can learn some of the older dances and the elderly can learn to get their groove on! If you have everyone learning something new, there won’t be teasing, but plan on having plenty of laughing!

Changing the Past and Planning the Future

This activity is best played with a small group or with family, but depending on your guests, could work for larger groups also. Provide everyone with two different colored strips of paper. Designate one color as the “past” and the other as the “future”. Now have each guest write what he/she would change about the “past” year and what plans there are for the “future”. The pieces are folded up and placed in a jar (anonymously). As you pass the jar around the room, each guest gets to pick and read two slips of paper and guess who wrote the notes on each. If they guess wrong, the guest next to them gets to guess and it keeps going until the correct name is guessed. The person with the most correct guesses wins.

Make and Take Party Wear

If your guest list includes young children, consider having them make their own party hats and noisemakers. Set up a table with an assortment of large constructions paper, glue, glitter, confetti, and curling ribbon.

To make hats, fold the paper into a cone and glue along the seam. Cut off tips to round off the bottom. Now let the little guests get busy with decorating. To help keep hats on heads, it’s best to attach a stretchy string to fit under the chin.

To make noisemakers, you’ll also need toilet paper rolls, beans or rice, yarn, and wrapping paper. Measure paper to go around the toilet paper roll making each side about 3 inches longer on each end. Next, glue the paper onto the roll leaving the ends open and tie one end with the yarn tightly. Now, add rice or beans through the open end. Finally, tie the last end tightly with yarn and SHAKE!

New Years Eve Placemats

Provide an 8 ½ by 14-inch piece of construction paper for each guest. Make sure you have plenty of markers, stickers, pictures from magazines. Allow the guests to make a placemat that shows some of their favorite things about the past year and things they want to do the following year. Laminate them so they can be used all year long.

New Years Eve Resolutions

Give each guest a piece of paper, an envelope, and a pencil or pen. Have them write down their New Years Eve Resolution(s) and place the paper in the envelope and seal it. Have them address the envelope. Sometime during the course of the year, mail them the envelope. That will give them a chance to see how they are doing on their resolution(s).

Scrapbooking

Ask each guest bring at least 8-10 pictures from the past year. Provide scrapbook paper, stickers, markers and other scrap booking materials and let them create a page. Don’t forget to include an area on the page where they can journal to remember the good things that happened the last year. If you host a New Year’s Eve party each year, this year this can become a tradition and a new scrap book can be created.

Food

You’re probably thinking you’ll serve the standard party munchies; chips and dips, sandwiches, and assorted finger-foods. But did you know that there are many New Years’ Eve traditions involving food? In keeping with the tradition of a fresh start, why not try something new this year. See what these countries eat to ring in the New Year:

Germany – eating herring at the stroke of midnight brings luck for the next year.
Cuban – eating 12 grapes at midnight celebrates the past 12 months.
Philippines – serve food at midnight to insure an abundance of food for the upcoming year.
Denmark – boiled cod is expected to be eaten this evening.
Holland – a donut-like fritter (called an Olie Bollen) is traditional food for this celebration.
United States – we are not without our food traditions. It is believed that; eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Eve will bring good luck next year, eating greens such as cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, kale, or spinach will bring money, and eating corn bread will bring wealth.

So serve up the dips if you must, but try to be adventurous and expose your family to traditions of our ancestors and neighboring countries.

Drinks, of course, need to be bubbly. However, alcohol is not a required ingredient if you prefer not to include it in the line-up. There are several varieties of sparkling juices and ciders available that will tickle your taste buds yet still be safe for guests of all ages. You can also make your own bubbly drink by mixing concentrated fruit juice with club soda instead of water. In addition, if punch is being served, add some lemon-lime soda to give it some spritz.

Favors

Take a picture of each of your guests among a bouquet of balloons or other party decorations to commemorate the evening. As your guests leave, send them each off with their party hat, noisemaker and other handcrafted items, the picture, a small book of positive or spiritual saying, journal or diary, and a wish for a Happy New Year!

Back to Top

Don't forget to sign up for our free monthly e-mail newsletter!