Ready to ring in the new year
I’ve never been a person who loves getting dressed up, spending a lot of money and fighting crowds on New Year’s Eve. Fancy dinners and dances were fine when I was younger, but now that I have kids, I like to ring in the new year with them in comfy clothes.
With my boys’ crazy hockey schedules and after the chaos of Christmas, I really do appreciate having a relaxed New Year’s Eve with my family and a few friends.
For the last several years, my husband and I have enjoyed a low-key New Year’s Eve celebration with our kids and some of our neighbourhood friends. It’s a casual party, but we do manage to make it special with fantastic food and a few fun DIY details.
The best part of the night for my kids and their friends is opening the activity countdown bags I put together for them every year. Each bag has a time on it and contains a treat, trinket or activity and the kids open a new bag every hour until midnight. It’s a fun way to keep the kids entertained and it helps build the anticipation as they count down to the new year.
Some items I have used to fill activity bags in past years include the following: “Year in review” questionnaires, craft supplies to make hats and noisemakers, balloons, popcorn, hot chocolate, props for a photo booth, games, noisemakers and cookies.
Of course, it’s important to set the stage with New Year’s Eve decorations. Using marked down Christmas decor in gold and silver is a clever idea. This year, I purchased an adorable silver and gold garland and a glittery gold wreath. When I hang them on Dec. 31, no one will know they were meant for Christmas.
Festive food is also a must. I love purchasing store-bought fortune cookies, dipping them in melted white chocolate, adding colourful sprinkles and letting them dry on a piece of waxed paper. They look super fancy and festive on a silver tray and they taste great. I also like to serve cookies and milk (in plastic wineglasses) at midnight for a special kid-friendly version of a midnight toast.
And no party is complete without a few fun party favours. This year, I am printing four-inch by six-inch cards that say, “Make 2019 Sparkle!” I’m cutting a couple of slits in each one and I’m inserting sparklers. I’m also filling small plastic wineglasses with Hershey’s Kisses, adding a noisemaker and packaging them with tags that say, “Midnight Kisses.” And finally, every child at the party will be leaving with a candy ring that says, “Ring in the new year!”
Little DIY details don’t take a lot of time or money, but they do make a celebration memorable and special. My blog (EastcoastMommy.com) has many ideas for New Year’s Eve family fun, including all the tags I mentioned above, so pop on over to check them out.
I hope you are able to ring in 2019 surrounded by your most treasured family and friends. Happy new year from my family to yours!