5 ideas for an all ages New Years Eve Party!
Here in Devon, people go mad for New Years Eve. In Exmouth, hoards of revellers in fancy dress swarm the streets, going from pub to pub and teaming up in unlikely combinations - It’s not unusual to see Snow White snogging a giant hot dog come midnight, and New Years Day reveals a surreal aftermath of lost costume props, glitter confetti and kebab boxes littering the strand.
For most of us, New Years Eve becomes a little more tame once the family comes along, even in Exmouth. Quiet family nights in can be a blessed relief after a hectic Christmas, but just in case you fancy a bit of a party, we’ve put together five fun family activities to make your New Years Eve special. With activities to suit teens as well as tots, this list has something for everyone.
1.) Treasure hunt with hourly clues
A little bit of chaos management goes a long way when kids stay up past bedtime. Avoid repeat cries of “I’m boooored” every five minutes with a treasure hunt full of “prizes” that double as activities.
Put together 6 clues, one for every hour between 6 pm and midnight. Each hour, a new clue is released. For a fun twist, put the clues inside balloons to pop on the hour - great for disguising the pop of another champagne cork so mummy has something to look forward to too.
This works a little differently than a traditional treasure hunt, as rather than finding the next clue at each location, kids find a small prize or activity.
Packets of sparklers, glow sticks and marshmallows with sticks for toasting make great prizes for all ages that might just keep them busy for ten minutes so you can actually get to the buffet and enjoy a sausage roll in peace.
For younger kids, make it a win win by giving a midnight prize that will help calm them down - our cute hot chocolate kits and personalised cushions both have kids names on and make bedtime a little bit special. A glittery story spot cushion comes with the power of suggestion free of charge!
Cheating and giving kids a clue every twenty minutes to get them into bed by 8 pm is highly encouraged. We won’t tell.
2.) Selfie booth!
Take your selfie game to the next level for 2019 with a stack of cute props. We found some great free printable ones from The Bespoke bride Shop on Etsy which are based on snapchat filters, rainbow vomit and all https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/516060121/snapchat-filters-photo-booth-props.
It’s up to you whether you set up the lighting to flatter, or make it bad enough that you have photos to blackmail your teen with for the rest of 2019.
3.) Colour in the New Year
Sometimes, you need to calm things down a bit when younger kids stay up past bedtime.
A colouring challenge can be just the thing to bring some peace to the party.
Our giant colouring posters are great for group colouring - why not grab one of our gallery posters and get each kid to fill a frame with a self portrait? Or if you fancy a giggle get them all to draw Dad / Grandad / Uncle Pete and whisper suggestions about the details from the sidelines (pssst, you forgot Grandad’s nostril hair).
4.) The big freeze
In need of an ice breaker? A great team family game to get things going is the icey shirt game.
You need 1 tee-shirt for each team. A day or two before your party, soak each tee shirt in cold water, fold it up, and freeze it. The first team to put the shirt on a team member are the winners.
We find that this game is more fun when we choose who has to put on the frozen teeshirt, especially when that person is one of our teenagers. Perfect photo op!
5.) DIY midnight feast
Kids love eating. Fact. Slow down the face stuffing by getting kids to assemble their own food - a pizza making station, freakshake bar or ice cream sundae set up are all popular!
Blogger The Baker Mamma has some cute ideas for laying out a pizza bar, take a look here https://thebakermama.com/recipes/create-your-own-slice-family-pizza-night/?crlt.pid=camp.HXBj2QWCaAWH
Whatever food you go for, give kids individual snack boxes to pack a snack for bedtime - little ones will enjoy breaking the rules and it will encourage them into bed.