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How do you celebrate New Years Eve? Gone are the days of staying out late with friends or attending elaborate parties in fancy hotels. To tell you the truth…I’m glad. We started a tradition about 7 years ago with our kids and their cousins. It started when we babysat for my sister so they could attend a New Years Eve party. We watched the kids and decided that we would stay in for the night and do fun things with the kids. We bought them noisemakers and hats and sparkling cider and counted down to midnight around 8pm. It was a great way to involve them in recognizing another year gone by. The tradition stuck and we have been doing it ever since. We have since relocated to a different part of the country and have become a part of a new community. We have been very fortunate to have made a ton of great friends. This year was our biggest party to date and we hope to grow every year.

So here’s is what you need to make a super fun party for all ages!

Invite your friends and neighbors and have everyone bring an appetizer or dessert. Set up the kids in the garage with tables, chairs, music and some sidewalk chalk to draw on the garage floor. This is a great place for them to hang out play games, talk or start an impromptu game of four square. The kids love having their own space where they can be kids. Have the table filled with goodies for the kids like hot dogs, chips, cookies etc… Plan some games for them to play like musical chairs, pop the balloon with your bottom or pin the tail on the donkey. For more great game ideas check out the websites below.
Party Game Central

Amazing Moms

Make sure you stock up on noisemakers, party hats, confetti poppers, and anything else that you fancy! Your local party store will have tons of ideas for you. For the little kids it is also fun to provide super hero masks and temporary tattoos for the boys and princess hats and costume jewelry for the girls. It’s one more way to involve them in the New Years Celebration.

At 8PM or whatever time you deem appropriate gather in the space you’ve cleared out for the kids. In this case it’s the garage. Hand everyone a glass of sparkling cider [even the kids], noisemakers, confetti poppers and proceed to countdown to the New Year. We try and make as much noise as possible and it is so fun for the kids to celebrate.
Trust me your kids will look forward to it every year.

This time of year can be very overwhelming at times. Shopping, attending parties, Christmas cards to post, and the list goes on. Challenge yourself to reflect on traditions you celebrated with your parents and family members and possibly start one with your own family. If you are far away from family reach out to neighbors or friends who are alone for the holidays and form your own traditions.

Here are a few ideas:

Build a Gingerbread House with the kids
Have a Christmas Eve Dinner for your family and friends who are without their extended family in town.

Buy your kids PJ’s that they can open the night before Christmas.

Buy an Advent Calendar and Celebrate Christmas all month long.

Have the kids Make their own Christmas cards to give to friends.

Give a special gift to the family every year. We buy a new board game every year for the family and it’s fun to play on Christmas night.

Buy mini Lego sets and have competitions to see who can build the fastest.

Make or buy a special treat like bread, cookies, candy or cinnamon rolls and deliver them to friends/neighbors on Christmas Eve.

There are so many possibilities to bring your friends and family together. Take time every year to appreciate the ones you love and share the Christmas spirit with them.