Family-Friendly New Year’s Eve at Home: 7 Inexpensive Ideas (Plus an Early Countdown for Kids)
Did you know an estimated 92% of U.S. adults celebrate New Year’s Eve? According to Wallethub, the average cost for a couple to enjoy dinner and a show in New York on New Year’s Eve is $1,160! You don’t have to live anywhere near Times Square to spend a small fortune on one night out. Here are inexpensive ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home with the whole family, including an early countdown so the little ones get their own big moment before bedtime.
Here’s the short of it: You don’t need a pricey night out to ring in the new year. Host a family game night, a potluck or a goal-setting night at home, ask guests to bring a dish, and use the Christmas decorations you already have plus a few dollar-store noisemakers. For little ones, hold an early countdown at noon or 8 p.m., then toast with sparkling cider.
Inexpensive Ways To Celebrate New Year’s Eve At Home
1. Have A Family Goal-Setting Night (Or Sleepover)
One of the best ways to begin the new year is to set some goals. Goals matter, whether they are about money, home or family. So start the New Year on the right foot with a goal-setting night or a sleepover where everybody, kids included, picks one thing they want to do this year.
Have everyone bring a notebook or a printed goal sheet, set out hot cocoa and desserts, and go around the table sharing one goal each. Keep it to one to three goals per person; a short list is the one you actually finish. If you want a simple way to set them, here is how to set financial goals you can stick with.
Finally, after you have set all your goals for the New Year, you can create vision boards together. A vision board is a board where you have images of some of the goals you would like to achieve.
For example, you cut out images and display whatever you want to be, have, or experience in life. This serves as a visual reminder of your goals.
2. Have A Family Game Night
Consider hosting a game night to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home. You usually don’t need to spend money on decorations for a game night, because it is more casual than a party.
You also don’t need to serve dinner at game night, because of the casual atmosphere. Prepare easy finger foods that don’t require silverware. Some examples are:
- Chips and dip
- Frozen appetizers you pop in the oven
- Finger sandwiches
- Cheese platter
- Veggie platter
If you don’t have a large selection of games, ask your guests to bring their favorite game. A few classics that work for a mixed-age crowd (and here are more family game night tips):
3. Have A Treasure Hunt
Another great way to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home is to have a treasure hunt around the house. Leave clues around the house leading them to the big treasure. Whoever finds the treasure first gets to keep the prize. For little ones, use picture clues instead of written ones, and hide a small treat for every child at the end so nobody goes home empty-handed.
4. Go To A Friend’s House Instead Of A Ticketed Event
Ticketed New Year’s Eve events can easily cost $100 or more per person just to get in, before dinner, parking or a sitter.
A more affordable way to celebrate is to gather at a friend’s house instead. Take turns hosting each year, and the kids can play together while the grown-ups visit.
Bring a dish or a dessert as a thank-you to your host. You will spend somewhere around $10 to $30 on what you bring, which is a MUCH cheaper night than a ticketed event.
5. Have A Potluck Dinner Party
A fabulous way to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home is to host a potluck dinner party at your house. Ask each family to bring a dish or a dessert to keep your costs low.
Your house is probably already decorated for the holidays, so you don’t need to spend a lot of money on decorations. Even if you’ve already taken down your tree, keep the Christmas lights and other decorations up until January 1st.
Go to the dollar store for any additional decorations you may need such as noisemakers, party hats, large glasses, and party favors.
6. Video-Call Family Who Live Far Away
If grandparents, cousins or old friends live too far away to come over, bring them to the party on a video call. It costs nothing, and the kids get to count down with the people they miss.
Start by sending a virtual invitation via a website like Paperless Post. Then get on a video chat using a platform like Zoom, raise a glass of sparkling cider together, and toast to health and happiness in the year ahead…then dance the night away!
7. Have A Cozy Sparkling Cider Toast
Finally, you can make your New Year’s Eve a cozy one by hardly doing anything at all. Pop some popcorn, snuggle up under a blanket and watch the ball drop on TV. At midnight, clink glasses of sparkling cider (fancy glasses from the dollar store make it feel like an occasion).
An Early New Year’s Countdown for Little Ones
Little ones rarely make it to midnight, and they don’t need to. Give them their own countdown earlier in the evening, and they will still feel like they rang in the new year with everybody else.
- Pick your “midnight.” A noon countdown works for toddlers and preschoolers. For older kids, 7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. Central) is midnight in London, so you can honestly say the new year has already started somewhere.
- Make a balloon drop. Fill a plastic tablecloth or a sheet with balloons, tape it loosely to the ceiling or a doorway, and pull it down at zero.
- Hold a pots-and-pans parade. Hand out wooden spoons and pot lids and march through the house when the countdown hits zero.
- Open one “hour bag” at a time. Wrap a small bag for each hour of the evening (a game, a snack, a glow stick) and open one each hour until the countdown.
- Ask the year-end questions. Favorite memory this year, something you learned, one thing you want to try next year. Write the answers down and tuck them away to read next New Year’s Eve.
Do it the same way every year, and it becomes one of those family traditions your kids will look forward to all December.
Summary
There are many great ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home. Gather at a friend’s house instead of buying tickets. You can also host a family game night, a goal-setting night, a treasure hunt or a potluck dinner. Have friends help out by bringing a dish. Video-call the family who can’t be there, give the little ones an early countdown, and finish with a cozy sparkling cider toast.
Related Articles:
- Why Financial New Year’s Resolutions Can Be A Waste Of Time
- 7 Smart Tips for a Fun and Educational Family Game Night
- Role of Family Traditions: Complete Guide for Families
Happy New Year! May next year be your best year yet! If you want to remember this article, pin it to your favorite Pinterest board.
Want a little more help with this? The Homefire New Year’s Eve Family Night Kit has the countdown cards, a puzzle hunt and a family time capsule ready to print, so y’all’s night at home is planned before the ball drops.
