Celebrating New Year’s Eve with children is tough. This party plan helps even the youngest revelers have a good time.
Families with young children are faced with a dilemma on New Year’s Eve. Do they leave the kids home with a babysitter or try and plan an event for the whole family. This party plan helps families with young children celebrate New Year’s Eve together.
Party Preparations
No New Year’s Eve Party would be complete without a Ball to drop. Create a pinata ball by blowing up a balloon and covering it with paper mache. Allow the paper mache to dry completely. The ball can then be painted as the child/parents decide and filled for use the night of the party.
Food should be purchased ahead as well. Kids may opt to want some of the fun kid-friendly frozen finger foods that are available at most grocery stores. Parents can make kid-friendly finger foods from scratch as well. Favorites include pigs in a blanket (small hot dogs or sausages wrapped in pieces of crescent rolls and cheese and baked), lunch meat and cheese or pickle rolls (lunch meat is wrapped around part of a cheese stick or a pickle), and veggies and dip. Any foods served on toothpicks will make the kids feel grown-up.
Drinks should be purchased as well. Sparkling juice or cider will be needed for toasting the New Year. Other suggestions for drinks include root beer floats (ice cream in a glass with root beer poured over it), virgin spritzers (fruit juice and clear soda mixed together), and of course Shirley Temples (clear soda with grenadine poured into it and cherry added).
New Year’s Eve Party Time
The party time should be set to accommodate the children coming. The “ball” can drop at noon or at any other time in the evening. The time for the party is not important just allowing children to celebrate makes it special.
Activities for the party besides eating and drinking can include board games. Children should also be invited to make a resolution for the New Year. Resolutions can be silly or serious and the child can draw a picture or write about what the resolve. Close to the chosen hour to celebrate the ball pinata should be brought out so children can bust it and get the candies and trinkets out of it. Another fun ball drop is to have someone toss a balloon in the air and have everyone else work to keep the balloon from falling to the ground.
Noisemakers are often a big party of adult parties. Twenty-ounce soda bottles can be turned into shakers. Simply wash the soda from the bottle and let dry completely. Fill with rice, pennies, or beads. Glue the lid to the bottle to prevent the items inside from flying out when vigorously shaken. Decorate the bottle with markers or streamers.
Including children in their own party in this way, makes the time when parents leave to attend their own parties easier for children to take. Children enjoy doing activities that closely resemble those done by adults.
