I don’t know about you, but by the time New Year’s Eve arrives (which also happens to be my youngest’s birthday!) I’m exhausted. I always thought I’d be the fun mom seeking exciting events to usher in the new year … turns out I’m the mom asking to stay in my pajamas and plan family activities at home on NYE. Our family has gotten exceedingly skilled at wearing pajamas AND having hilarious game nights to celebrate another year. Check out five family-friendly NYE party at home ideas.
5 fun family activities for NYE
- Wrap up the fun. No, I am not suggesting you get out more holiday paper. This time head to the kitchen for the plastic wrap! Purchase some small prizes like candy, Hot Wheels, gift cards, small figures or dolls, etc. and wrap it all up in a plastic wrap ball. (Pro tip: include leftover candy from the holidays — or Halloween no judgment here!) Little Cooks Reading Books has some tips for making the game a little more challenging if you have older kids or a clever spouse wanting to play. Players take turns unwrapping while their “opponent” attempts to roll doubles with a pair of dice. Continue taking turns until the ball is completely unraveled. Each person gets to keep the treasures they unwrap during their turn.
Oreo roll roulette. No games have us laughing till we cry quite like this one. For this game, you’ll need a large cutting board (or another large, flat, rectangular object), 6-8 small cups, a package of Oreos and some interesting dippers for those Oreos. Each player will roll an Oreo down the cutting board to see which cup it lands in. Then they have to eat the Oreo. The trick is you’ll want some yummy dippers (milk, chocolate or caramel syrup, maple syrup) and some not-so-yummy dippers (Ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce). You can also place cash in one of the cups, and if your Oreo lands there, you get to keep it. (Pro tip: make sure the dippers on either side of the cash are really terrible!)- Cotton ball challenge. The players of this game always feel pretty great about their
chances … until they remove their blindfold! You’ll need a large bowl, spatula, cotton balls (or marshmallows would work) and a blindfold. Place the bowl on a table, spread the cotton balls on the table around the bowl, place the spatula in the player’s hand and then blindfold them. Then, the player tries to scoop as many cotton balls into the bowl as they can in 1 minute. (Pro tip: slow and steady is better than fast and furious — so watch out for grandparents who always win!) - Fishing for candy canes. OK, we might laugh almost as hard while playing this game as Oreo roulette. You’ll need a package of individually-wrapped candy canes (not the minis), a
bowl or container, something to stand the candy canes up inside the bowl (dry beans works great) and a string or ribbon to tie around the player’s waist. You’ll tie an upside down candy cane to the ribbon hanging from the player’s waist, and during their turn they’ll “fish” for as many candy canes out of the bowl as they can, trying to hook the candy cane on their ribbon to those standing up in the bowl to pull them out. This is WAY harder than it sounds! The player who fishes out the most candy canes during their turn wins. - Create your own photo backdrop. Purchase or make NYE-themed props and snap some pics to remember the last day of the year. (Pro tip: we’ve used many of the same decorations for years.)
bowl or container, something to stand the candy canes up inside the bowl (dry beans works great) and a string or ribbon to tie around the player’s waist. You’ll tie an upside down candy cane to the ribbon hanging from the player’s waist, and during their turn they’ll “fish” for as many candy canes out of the bowl as they can, trying to hook the candy cane on their ribbon to those standing up in the bowl to pull them out. This is WAY harder than it sounds! The player who fishes out the most candy canes during their turn wins.We add to our family activities on NYE with Bingo or some of our favorite silly games, like Beat That or Uno Flip. Enjoy and
easy charcuterie-style dinner for minimal prep and clean-up. Toast with sparkling grape juice or water and share your favorite memories from the year. Pro tip: play that NYE countdown whenever you are ready to go to bed!!
NYE party at home ideas for toddlers
Even my big kids can’t seem to hang till midnight (which is just fine by me!), but if you have really little ones you’re wanting to get to bed early, you can still plan some NYE fun with a countdown to noon. Go all out with a sparkling grape juice toast, turn on a pre-recorded Netflix countdown and make a lot of noise! After all, you don’t have to worry about waking anyone up! You could even follow up your celebration with a special lunch reminiscing about the good that has happened this year and setting some feel-good goals for next year.
Regardless of how you choose to ring in the new year, the staff at MetroFamily wishes you a Happy New Year. We look forward to sharing more family fun with you in 2025!
Bonus: Check out these fun and festive kid-friendly mocktail recipes perfect for your New Year’s Eve at-home bash!
