2020 is the year of "stay home" activities and ringing in the New Year, is no exception.
All you really need to celebrate with kids is party hats, confetti, and noisemakers. Add some kid-friendly snacks? It's the perfect family New Year's Eve celebration!
And guess what? You don't even have to stay up until midnight! If you have younger kids and know they won't last, celebrate the New Year a few hours early or even host a "Noon Year's Eve" bash.
Want to throw a family-friendly New Year's Eve bash? Here's how to make it great:
Fun food and drink!
No party is complete without great snacks! Looking for ideas? Some kid-friendly (and easy) snacks are pigs in blankets (simply hot dogs rolled up in biscuit dough), pizza bagels (kids can add their own toppings), and a fruit salad.
Don't forget dessert! Order desserts from a local bakery! make cupcakes, add sprinkles, and write "2021" on top of each with frosting. Or make a round cake and decorate it with an outline of a clock showing the hands of the clock at midnight.
The adults might go for champagne at midnight, but what about the kids? Sparkling cider is a special treat! Keep some regular apple juice on hand just in case some kids don't like the carbonation like my 6-year-old.
Celebrate!
Set up a craft table for kids earlier in the evening to create their own 2021 signs with paint, markers, or crayons. You can hang them on the wall for decorations as they finish.
Make super easy confetti using a paper shredder and colored construction or scrap paper. Give each of the kids a baggie full of confetti so that they will be ready to toss when the clock hits the appointed hour.
With a little creativity, you can make your own New Year's Eve ball. Use a plastic play ball or beach ball and simply write 2021 on it with brightly colored markers. As you count down to midnight, pass the ball around the room without letting it touch the ground.
Play games!
Play games everyone -- no matter their age -- will enjoy. Twister, Charades, or Pictionary are always great choices. We just tried Pictionary Air for the first time and it's a hoot! Let the kids team up against the adults for some extra laughs. Need a new game? Give our sponsors at The Toy Box in Hanover a call or shop their online store. They have games for kids and kids at heart of all ages. They can help you pick out the perfect one, and have it ready for curbside pick up. They'll even wrap it for you if you want to drop it off at a friend's house to surprise them with a New Year's gift!
Another simple game idea? Kids and adults can write down their wishes and resolutions for 2020 and add them to a jar when they get to the party. Later in the evening, you can pick some at random for people to guess who wrote what. Give prizes for the funniest, most unique, or most wishful.
Remember, no matter how elaborate or low key your New Year's celebrations, the most important thing is that you are with people you love. Happy New Year!
Sandy Wallace is the publisher of Macaroni Kid Lynchburg, VA
Macaroni Kid South Shore Boston is a free weekly newsletter and website focused on fun family events and information in 13 towns on Boston's South Shore. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in Hanover, Norwell, Hingham, Cohasset, Scituate, Hull, Marshfield, Duxbury, Pembroke, Whitman, Hanson, Rockland, and Abington!
Want to be the first to know about great local events for families? Subscribe today - ssboston.macaronikid.com/subscribe/
