Pre-Kids, New Year’s Eve is often met with celebrations with Friends, in bars, at parties in homes or just going out for a wonderful very late dinner. Staying out really, really late. Maybe enjoying a few glasses of wine or cocktails. Dancing, singing, counting down to the New Year, and having a wonderful carefree time.
Post kids however, can be a different story. I was (ok, honestly I am still am) too tired for all that partying when each of my kids were an infant. The reality is that I was really no longer interested in doing the things I did in college and right after. With infants, I went to bed early knowing that they would wake me up to eat around midnight and again in the early morning hours.
Ringing In The New Year with Family of Any Age
This year however, I have an older toddler and an older child. So we looked at making plans to celebrate New Year’s Eve as a family. There are a lot of family friendly options in our area.There is an early ball drop, a light festival at the zoo, ice skating, parades, and light shows.
All of this sounds awesome of course, but I did not love the cost. Some events were as much as $20/ticket plus parking. No thank you! While there was not a low cost option that worked for my family, I would still recommend checking online for events in your area. There may be something that works for you and your family.
Rather than pack everyone into the car, pay too much money, and have two crying kids who are beyond tired and over stimulated from all the previous family events and holiday celebrations that December has. I made a plan to celebrate with my family at home.
So, if you prefer to party together at home or just don’t have it in the budget to go out, here are some great tips to make your New Year’s Eve party a hit at home.
Tips For Staying In With Your Family to Celebrate NYE – Ringing in the New Year with Family
Tip #1: Celebrate early!
No need to ruin the little ones bed time. Netflix really helps with this version of New Year’s Eve, they stream videos for kids to complete the countdown!
If you do not have Netflix, or if you do not want to watch the videos, there is another alternative.
Celebrate Midnight With These Cities Around the World
Celebrate midnight when the clock strikes 12 in another part of the world. This can be a fun way to celebrate if you do research to see how the city you pick celebrates! here are some example cities you can choose, based upon Eastern Time.
Tokoyo: 10AM ET
Beijing: 11AM ET
New Delhi: 1:30PM ET
Dubai: 3PM ET
Moscow: 4PM ET
Paris: 6PM ET
London: 7PM ET
Rio de Janiero: 9PM ET
In our house we celebrate with Paris, it is before bedtime and with dinner. It works great! Pro Tip – research how the place you are celebrating with rings in the New Year and make the celebration like theirs!
Tip #2: Ringing In The New Year – Make it memorable.
By this I mean create a memory by giving your kiddo(s) a quiz! Here are two quizzes. One that looks forward and backward and one that is for younger kids. I fill out one each year for my kiddos and save it in their keepsake boxes. When they are older I will show them their answers from each year. Keeping it in a small book with sleeves It can make for wonderful memories down the road. Plus it is free, it only takes a moment to download and print. What’s more it is a lot of fun!
FREE PRINTABLE ——> Ringing in 2021 – New Year’s Eve Keepsake
Tip #3: Make resolutions together as a family!
I think this is a really important thing to do together. I like to talk about what resolutions are and give examples of past resolutions I have made while we are eating dinner. Then I have each family member make one resolution. Then we work on making a resolution that we need to do together. For example, last year we made the resolution to go outside together as a family for a fun activity at least once a week. This was a big deal for us because usually we are outside with all but one member of the family. This allowed us to spend time outdoors together and made for a great year!
Tip #4: Ringing In The New Year – Have a dance party!
I absolutely love to dance. My kids do too. So get some glow sticks from the dollar store along with some noise makers and shake your groove thing. Not only is it fun, but it will burn some of the stored up energy the kids may have from being excited about NYE! Make sure to pick kid friendly but high energy music. ??
Tip #5: Make them fun countdown goodie bags!
This can be a really simple game. In previous years I have used paper bags or small boxes.
And each hour (or sooner like each 15 minutes if they are younger) they open a box/bag.
I have put items in it like:
- fruit,
- popcorn,
- small toys (for kids over 3!),
- play dough,
- coloring pages,
- balloons,
- glow sticks,
- you get the idea.
If you are compressing your time to say 1 hour then you might have 4 bags. If you have older kids and plan to party longer you might do bags each half-hour or hour. It is totally up to you! Which makes it perfect and a lot of fun.
Tip #6: Ringing In The New Year – Have a special treat.
I always like to have a special treat, fizzy water with juice or simple syrup, hot cocoa, or whatever your family prefers. I also have special snacks. Our favorite thing to eat in our house is popcorn!
So we make a big bowl and then top it with what we love most- Parmesan, seasonings, chocolate, the sky is the limit. Whatever is your favorite treat, is what you should use! It just makes it feel more festive and party like.
So now you have some simple ways to celebrate this wonderful holiday with your little ones without too much fuss or expense. Using any of these tips will help make ringing in the new year with your family so memorable and tons of fun. What tips do you have for making a great New Year’s Eve party at your house?
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