Years ago I would spend weeks planning New Year’s Eve.
Sometimes Dave and I would make reservations at super-fancy restaurants and ring in the new year enjoying a pre-fixed menu and expensive champagne. Sometimes we’d get a whole group of the coolest people we knew and go to a swanky lounge or a Hollywood club. It was always the funnest night of the year with big hair and my best makeup!
But then, we had kids.
Let’s get real… Hiring a babysitter on New Years costs as much as the down payment on a used Saturn and the idea of staying up until 3AM sounds like torture when you’ve already been losing too much sleep to a teething infant. And so while all the cool girls were busy deciding which pair of sparkly hot pants they’d rock on the 31st I had to figure out how to celebrate with a new crew… the kind that goes to bed before those cool girls are even doing their hair for the night.
So if you’re like me and you’ll spend New Years with kids as well as adults here are my top 7 ways, to make it fun for everyone!
1. Celebrate on East Coast Time – On the average night our kids are in bed by 7:30PM and trust me when I tell you that if I let them stay up until midnight they would turn into small monsters (Remember that scene in Gremlins when they touched water? Yeah, just like that!) so a few years ago we started having all our friends with kids over and we’d watch the New York feed of the ball drop. That means that the kids get to stay up a little later and see the “new year” but they’re in bed by 9:18 at the lastest.
2. Serve a Friendly Menu – Don’t make two separate dinners, just choose dishes that will please everyone. Consider a Homemade Mac n’ Cheese Bar with all sorts of toppings (bacon, green onions, mushrooms, etc) so guests can make their own version and everyone is happy.
3. Do Something for the Kids – Give the kids something to do! On the easy side you could just pile up all your favorite board games and point them in their direction OR set up an age appropriate craft table with all the necessary supplies. Use all those boxes leftover from Christmas to Make Your Own Robot or do something creative with Washi Tape. The point is, an occupied child means that you might actually find some time to enjoy a glass of wine with the other adults around you.
4. Do Something for the Adults – You’ll go out of your way to make sure the kids are having fun so do the same for the adults too! Consider a fun signature cocktail or a decadent dessert!
5. Think DIY Decor – You’ve just spent weeks and weeks decking your halls so there’s no reason to over do it on themed decor! Just add a little something festive and preferably something you can create with supplies you already have on hand like this Cupcake Garland or Fringe Streamers both of which make a fab background for photographs.
6. Marking Time – If this will be a new tradition, consider creating a time capsule together as a group. Each person can write a note or bring something to add, and every year you can look back together at the year before.
7. Old School – You can go to any party store and get noise makers and confetti or you can pull a trick from your childhood and make it all yourself. Put the kids in charge of the hole punch and curling ribbons for confetti and pile up the wooden spoons and pots by the front door for noise makers when the clock strikes midnight. That’s classic New Year’s at it’s best!
