New Year’s Eve is a time for sparklers, late nights, fancy cheese and of course champagne! However, none of these aspects of New Year’s Eve are very kid-friendly. It turns out, New Year’s Eve is one of the most difficult holidays to celebrate with your kids! As the holiday season approaches, we spend so much time thinking about who’s house Thanksgiving will be at and where to find the best Christmas gift deals that New Year’s Even often goes without a thought and barely any planning for a celebration. This year, explore creative ways to entertain kids on New Year’s Eve and ring in 2016 with the whole family!
There are a few different options when deciding how to plan your New Year’s Eve celebration with children. If you have a New Year’s Eve party every year for your friends and neighbors, but struggle with what to do with the kids, there is the option to incorporate the children into the party or have a separate room or space for the children to celebrate. If you’re worried that there aren’t enough party activities that will fit adults and children, think again. Explore helpful tips to make both adults and children feel comfortable at your New Year’s Eve party.
New Year’s Eve Ideas
Having a combined New Year’s Eve party for kids and adults is definitely doable. There are a lot of ideas to incorporate both groups using New Year’s activities, games, and yummy snacks! If you’re worried that the party might go too late for some of the youngsters, tell the guest that there will be an early ball drop and a late one for those that don’t have to go home to put the kids to bed. This allows both guests who have children and guests who don’t to feel welcome while you don’t have to worry about cranky little ones running around late at night! If the majority of your party guests do have kids, you can simply tell them that the ball drop will happen at an earlier time so the kids (and the partied out adults) can get to bed sooner.
When planning your joint adult and kid New Year’s Eve party, make sure the decor and the set up allows for the guests to not feel out of place. This might mean you can do away with the princess character party decorations! Having a sleek but fun party style will definitely work in this situation! Using golds, silvers, black, and maybe a pop of red will create a festive atmosphere that everyone will have a blast celebrating in! How about gold and black tinsel pom-poms to cover the bar? This color scheme is also a plus because you can incorporate lots of household items you might already have! Glass hurricanes to put candy or sparklers in or a large black or stainless steel platter will be a great addition to the party to serve yummy snacks!
Share your Fortune
Figuring out how to entertain both kids and adults may seem difficult but there are actually some great ideas that both with love. Sharing fortunes for the new year is a great New Year’s tradition! Fill up a shallow basin full of water and stand up 4 wine bottles (filled with sand so they don’t float away). Attach a flag onto the cork of each bottle so there is one for fame, fortune, love and success. Next (let the kid’s help you with this part!) break walnut shells in half to create boats and add a candle for some decoration!
Have the guests each float a “boat” and tell them to see which destiny their boat floats to first. This will be their predicted fortune for the coming new year! An idea to include the kids in when midnight kisses are being shared is to give the kids Hershey Kisses candy to pass around! This is a cute way to include the kids in a classic tradition.
Tasty Drinks
Keeping guests nice and fed is always a must at any party! At this New Year’s Eve party, having an adult version and kid version of a specialty drink is a great idea. Usually at adult parties, themed shooters are a typical thing to find at the bar. A mocha shot (1/2 oz white creme de cacao, 1/2 oz coffee liqueur, 1/2 oz milk) would be a great addition to this party, at least on the adult side. You don’t have to leave the kids out with this one. This idea for milk shots are both fun and creative! To make things even more festive, dip the rims of the glasses in melted chocolate and roll them in colored sprinkles, the kids and adults will love this one.
Fun Snacks
When it comes to yummy sacks, who doesn’t love pizza dippers at parties? This idea incorporates the new year as well as a yummy treat. The best part will be the excitement from both groups at this appetizer. A combined party is a fantastic way to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your closest big and small party guests!
If you think that the option to have a separate space for the children at your party seems like a better fit, there are a ton of fun activities to plan for the kid’s room. Discover how a kid’s room at your party will incorporate fun games and activities while looking festive with a ton of DIY decor ideas. Even kid-friendly New Year’s Eve snacks are always a good idea to incorporate into this kid’s New Year’s Eve party. This option will help you find creative ways to entertain kids on New Year’s Eve while the adults have just as much fun in the next room!
For this option, there’s no limit on the decorations! You can have both a chic, stylish, grown up party in the main room while the kids have their own silly space to celebrate the new year. For this party, remember to have lots of activities and decorations in the kid’s section so that no one will want to leave (even the adults might want to venture in for bit!). If you’re worried that the kids will be without a chaperon, have a few parents have designated times to spend a few minutes with the kids every so often.
Ideally, the kids will be close by, if not connected to the main party. If the best option for your party is to have the kids in a completely separate space, you can also hire a sitter to facilitate the activities and make sure the kids are having a blast. But remember to book sitters earlier rather than later, as holidays usually fill up quick!
Kid’s Parties
Activities for kid’s parties need to be entertaining and easy for kids to do! This noise maker craft will allow kids to choose their own style when it comes to decoration. They’ll also be perfect for when the clock turns midnight so the kids can ring in the new year with a bang! Party hats are a great way to get festive during a party while also providing a fun activity for the kids to do! Go the traditional route with paper cone hats that kids can add a little flair to with buttons, sequins, pipe-cleaners, and, stickers! If there will be adult supervision, these fabric crowns look great and will go with the decor of an adult party too. In fact, this craft might be something to introduce to the adult party also!
Balloon Drop
For a special surprise for the kids and adults, learn how to have a hidden balloon drop. When the clock strikes midnight pull the string to have guests covered in different colored balloons! Still have more balloons? Use them as time markers to let the kids know how close to midnight it is. Simply write the time on a balloon for each hour the party lasts! Put out a few balloons for each hour and fill them with confetti. As each hour passes, invite the kids to find all the balloons with the correct time on them and then pop them! An all kids party or separate room can definitely work for your New Year’s Eve party this year; it is possible to please both adults and kids on this holiday.
New Year’s Eve is one of the most nostalgic holidays when we remember all the events that have occurred in the past year as well as take the time to acknowledge that each year goes by faster than the last! This is a holiday well spent with your family! Having a just-family party can be just as fun. This doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate some of the ideas explored above. However, it does mean you can add more personal activities to the mix. Your kids will love to celebrate this nostalgic holiday with you, discovering tidbits about the past and ringing in 2016 with new traditions!
Family Celebration
This nostalgic holiday doesn’t have to be all about the decorations, the perfect party snack or making sure both adults and kids feel comfortable. What can be more comfortable than celebrating with your kids with a just family celebration? With this option, you can stay in your pajamas if you really want but you can still have fun activities to do with the kids. To get the whole family into the new year spirit, create an all family New Year’s Resolutions poster. This is a compilation of all the things that the family wants to change or start doing. It can be displayed all year round in a main room. Use a chalk board, large picture frame with poster board or simply sheets of paper.
While its important to think about some positive changes for the new year, its also important to reflect on good memories and blessings over the past year. Simply take a Mason jar and cut a slat into the lid to use as a blessings jar. Have the whole family write down (or draw for the young ones) what they are thankful for. This can also be used throughout the whole new year! New family traditions are always great to start during holidays. Take a family photo with New Year’s decor, party hats, or noise makers. Keep an album for your pictures from each year! This will be great to look back on in the coming years!
Time Capsule
It’s important to start new traditions, but don’t forget about the past memories too! Create a family time capsule where each member can put something that has been important to them in the past. Let the kids put in an old toy they’ve grown tired of but loved at one point. Add silly pictures or a memento from a past family vacation. Put it all in a shoe box and label to open during New Year’s a few years down the road. You and the whole family will really appreciate it in the years to come!
New Year’s is a great time to dig out those old family photo albums and home videos! It’s going to be a late night so pop some popcorn and sit down with the kids. Remind them of old vacations, an old house you lived in or their baby pictures. They’ll also love to see what it was like for you when you were their age. There’s no better time than New Year’s Eve to reminisce on the past and show the kids that family time is important! An all family New Year’s celebration might be right for you if a relaxing but sentimental night sounds the most appealing.
Now that you have figured out which is the best option for you, it’s time to get planning! These ideas about decor, snacks, and activities will help you entertain kids on New Year’s Eve. And you are still able to have a great time! Remember, there’s more to a New Year’s celebration than champagne and late nights so don’t forget about the kid-friendly ideas to entertain both the young and the younger this New Year’s Eve.