New Years Eve: Let the Fun Begin and the Party Last All Night

For years on New Years Eve I would head over to a friends house and go with them to church. It was kind of boring most of the time. Oh sure they had games and stuff. But it wasn't a real "party" event - I wanted more. A New Years party is either the last party of the year or the first party of the coming year. Either way make sure this New Years party is a blast.

One of the first things to consider for a great party is the food. What are you going to enjoy this New Years? I'm not talking about food at supper time here - this is party time. Every great party needs great food. Make up some Kool-Aid, pull out the chips and dip, and bring in a pizza.

What are you going to do to fill in the hours on this New Years Eve to keep the kids entertained? As you know the kids might be excited now but as the hours pass their eyes are going to be getting heavy. This is where the party needs to be the most entertaining for them.

One of the games I played with a friend during these times was called "Hide the Thimble." You may know this by another name like "Hot and Cold" or maybe you don't know it at all, either way it's an easy game. To start this game you pick someone to hide the thimble in the living room. The basic rules simple - the thimble must be in plain site, it must be with in the room that is chosen as the hiding room. One you know who is going to hind the thimble everyone else goes into another room. Make sure that no one can see into the living room. One the thimble is hidden the seeker(s) comes back in to the room. As the seeker(s) look for the thimble, the hider calls out Hot or cold (hot is close to the thimble, cold is going away from) for each seeker. Whoever finds the thimble is the next person that gets to hide it. (on a personal note one of my favorite places to hide the thimble is on the end of a candle stick - either end works great)

Another fun thing to do for this New Years Party is Charades. Yep that age old game of acting out an object, person or place is still going strong. Have each member of the family act out something without speaking. Everyone else tries to guess what it is. You will be amazed how much fun this can really be.

"I See Something _____." That is the opening line for this popular game that can be especially fun for the younger children, but equally enjoyed by the entire family. Have someone pick out an object in the room and each person tries to guess what they see. Right now as I type this I see something red, white and blue. Do you know that it is? Nope it's not a flag. It's a boomerang from Australia.

This might also be a time for your family to start planning next years trips or special outings. Have each of the kids share where they would like to go. You might want to encourage them to pick someplace they have not seen. Make a list of everything and put it on the refrigerator for future reference.

If your kids are all teenagers or older you could have play nickel and dime poker. This isn't cutthroat poker where you're trying to take someone out of the game. This is for entertainment. My girlfriend and I head over to her daughters for New Year's Eve and play nickel and dime poker until about 4am. You don't have to play the normal poker games like stud, Texas Holdem or draw. Make up your own variations. Each player picks a different variation when it's their turn to deal. However if a variation hasn't been completed, that variation continues.

Some of our variations are Bingo Poker. Bingo Poker starts by each player posting a two blinds. One is the main pot and then the poker pot. In Bingo Poker you deal each player five cards, which they can look at. Then you turn over three cards, one card from the pile at a time for each letter in the word Bingo. As the cards are turned over each players puts down one card of matching number they hold in their hand. The first person to lay down all their cards during the game wins the main pot. The person with the best poker hand wins the poker pot. If no one is able to lay down all their cards during a round, then the best poker hand is still paid out, but everyone must re-ante into the main pot. Depending on how much your antes are the main pot could get quite large.

In one of my up coming articles I will share with you more variations when playing nickel and dime poker. My girlfriend and I enjoy playing poker and nickel and dime poker is one of the most entertaining ways to do so.

Bring out the board games and mix and match. Make up your own variation of some of the popular games while using pieces from other games. Try Monopoly with Sorry Cards mixed into the chance or community chest cards. Or how about Dominoes played using dice to determine who gets to play the next domino (highest role gets to play next). The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination and let the fun begin.

I hope that your party this New Years Eve is as enjoyable and entertaining as the next year is prosperous. My New Years wish for you and your family is that you all have just enough of everything to make you remember what life is all about - love, caring, sharing and hope.

See you in 2007.