A Kid Friendly New Year's Eve

Celebrating New Year's Eve usually involves alcoholic beverages and parties that last all night. However, when you are trying to involve your children in the celebration you need to make different plans. To make a fun and festive celebration for your children, try some of these ideas.

Menu Ideas

Children of all ages are notoriously picky eaters. While your children will surely want to eat some of the "festive" foods that can be served at parties, you want those foods to be child friendly. Some ideas for menu items are:

mini pigs in a blanket - wrap little smoky sausages in a piece of crescent roll dough and bake. Serve on toothpicks for an added "party" feel.

Mini grilled cheese sandwiches or PB&J - use party sized bread or cut out the sandwiches using cookie cutters.

Chocolate or Caramel fruit dip with a fruit platter

Mozzarella cheese sticks

Pizza rolls or mini pizzas

Some ideas for non-alcoholic drinks for the children's toasts include punch, sparkling apple cider or grape juice and even Shirley Temples! Serve the drinks in plastic wine or champagne glasses.

Favors

Party hats, horns, noise makers, balloons and streamers are obvious choices for favors and decorations. You can also have available bubbles, disposable cameras, glow sticks or glow bracelets and, my personal favorite, party crackers. Some other ideas include sparklers and poppers for making noise outside.

Games and Activities

Children can create their own homemade noisemakers using plastic bottles or tin cans. Place several pebbles, beans or coins inside the bottle or can and decorate the outside using glitter, construction paper or paint. When the lid is on, they can shake, rattle and roll with their own creation!

Play "balloon ball" by bopping balloons back and forth. You can create your own rules and keep score or just play! When midnight rolls around you can have the kids sit on the balloons and pop them.

You can purchase blank cardboard party hats at a party supply or craft store and have your children decorate them any way they want!

Make a giant "tent" or "fort" in your living room and camp out.

Create a "time capsule" using an empty tennis ball container. Have everyone put mementos in the container that remind them of the past year. Decorate the outside of the container, seal it and bury it in the back yard. Make sure that the date is both on the outside and inside of the capsule! Your children can mark the spot it is buried and plan to dig it up at a future date.

Kids can make resolutions for the New Year as well. Discuss with your children goals that they have for the coming year and help them write down their resolution. Have them write it out and decorate the paper as part of the celebration. Then you do yours as well!

Have a New Year's Pinata!

Play board games, watch movies, eat popcorn and make sure to watch the ball drop.

If your children are too young to stay up until Midnight, designate a time as "their" Midnight and then set the clock ahead. When "their" Midnight strikes, celebrate the New Year! Then your children can settle down and get to bed without making your day a misery on the 1^st.

Whatever you choose to do with your children this New Year's Eve, make sure that they know hoe important they are to you. Starting the New Year off with a special time together is a great thing to do for your children!