With Covid-19 cases rising again in the New York suburbs, it’s probably safer to stay home on New Year’s Eve, especially if you have unvaccinated children. Staying home for New Year’s Eve this year does not have to feel like just another night at home. Make this year’s New Year’s eve extra special! Here are kid friendly ideas on how to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home.
Kid Friendly Ideas to Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Home
Play New Year’s Eve Bingo on Zoom
Every year, we have my sister’s family over for New Year’s Eve and we play a Holiday Exchange Gift where we pull a number out of a hat to determine the order of gift opener and the gift opener can either open a new gift or steal a gift. It’s something my kids look forward to playing with their cousins every year. This year, we plan to play the Holiday Exchange Gift on zoom. It’s a little tricky since the physical gifts are not all in the same place. Instead of pulling a number out of a hat to determine the order of gift opener, we are playing bingo to determine the order of gift opener. The bingo winner gets to open a gift or steal a gift. The winner sits out the next bingo game until everyone has a chance to win. You can play New Year’s Eve bingo using virtual bingo online but I think it’s more fun to play bingo the old-fashioned way with the rotary cage and balls. I got a bingo set on Amazon, the type with balls and the rotary cage and plan to drop off the bingo cards in advance at my sister’s. Or if you want to be more on-theme, you can get New Year’s Eve bingo game cards.
Have a Glow Dance Party
Make it fun for the family, burn of energy, throw a glow dance party on New Year’s Eve! It’s easy to throw a glow party. The key is to get the lighting right! Turn off all the lights, turn on the music and turn on your star projector. Give everyone lots of props- glow sticks, glow necklaces, glow bracelets, glow sunglasses! The kids will have a blast!
PS: If you don’t have a star projector, you definitely need to get one. It’s the most amazing thing. It projects a night sky on your ceiling, you can control the colors and lights with the remote control. It’s very relaxing to just lie down and watch the light show while listening to music. My kids love lying down watching the light show with Harry Potter’s Hedwig theme song on. It feels like you are in the movie!
Play Board Games on New Year’s Eve
Playing board games at home on New Year’s Eve is always great fun. Depending on the age of your kids, we always love playing classic family board games on New Year’s Eve. Board games that are always a hit with the family are Scrabble, Uno, Clue, Twister, Connect 4, and Mancala. We also have the new Monopoly Greenwich Edition and will definitely be playing Greenwich Monopoly this New Year’s Eve (it’s Monopoly with Greenwich, CT landmarks on the board). Everyone loves the Trivial Pursuit Family Edition because there are cards for kids and cards for adults. My kids are into Harry Potter, so we will be playing the Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit and Harry Potter Hedbanz.
Complete a Jigsaw Puzzle by Midnight
For a more laid back activity for New Year’s Eve at home, have everyone work together on a jigsaw puzzle and see if you can complete it by midnight. Don’t just pick any boring old puzzle, pick fun ones. My kids are into Harry Potter so we will be working on a Harry Potter puzzle this New Year’s Eve. There are movie-themed jigsaw puzzles, I like the Baby Yoda jigsaw puzzle.
Watch the Ball Drop
Celebrate the New Year at home by watching the ball drop on TV! You can watch the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop on TV or online. Tune into ABC, NBC, CNN or FOX to watch the ball drop. If you don’t have live TV, you can log into Time Square’s official website.
Ring in the New Year with Your Own Balloon Drop
Your kids will love celebrating New Year’s Eve at home with your own Balloon Drop! I’ve always loved New Year’s Eve balloon drops, it’s what I think of when I think of amazing New Year’s Eve celebrations. You know when you countdown 3, 2, 1 and the balloons float down on everyone on the dance floor? You can recreate that New Year’s Eve feeling at home by making your own balloon drop. You can buy a balloon bag and fill it with balloons. Metallic balloons are a great choice for New Year’s Eve balloon drops.
Make Your Home New Year’s Eve Photo-Ready
Even if you are celebrating New Year’s Eve at home in the middle of a pandemic, it doesn’t mean you can’t go all out with your decorations. Decorate your home with lots of balloons and hanging swirls to make it feel like a New Year’s Eve party. Metallic balloons are festive. Have some 2022 Balloons or Banners so you will have the year when you look back at your New Year’s Eve photos. And of course, get New Year’s Eve Hats, tiaras and horns for everyone. I like these 2022 New Year’s Eve hats because there is space for your New Year’s resolution.
Make a New Year’s Eve Photo Booth
Capture fun New Year’s Eve memories with a New Year’s Eve photo booth at home. It’s easy to make a photo booth. All you need is a background- gold fringe curtains are easy to set-up and you can reuse it for future parties. Have a lot of New Year’s Eve photo booth props for wacky New Year’s Eve photos. Have instant cameras for your kids, they will get a kick out of it!
Serve Kid Friendly Bubbly
When I think of New Year’s Eve, I think of Champagne toasts! Make it fun for the kids, let them join in the New Year’s Eve champagne toasts! Serve them kid friendly bubbly by opening a bottle of sparkling apple cider and garnish with raspberries. Don’t forget to serve the bubbly in champagne flutes! Cheers!
Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve celebration at home! Stay Safe Everyone! Happy 2022!
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