Last year for New Year’s Eve Ontario was in a lockdown. My family decided to make the most of it by having a full party, just the five of us. We had lovely food and drinks, New Year’s Eve games and activities. The only stipulation during our planning was that everything we were going to use, we had to already have. The night was such a huge success! If you don’t already have plans for tonight, whether you’re in Lockdown New Year’s Eve of not, try out some of these, and have a ball celebrating with your family!
The Invitations:
I always find that things are so much more exciting if you receive an invitation for it. I did the same thing for our Valentine’s Party; I made invitations for the kids on PicMonkey, printed them with the new printer I got for Christmas (yay!), and gave them to the kids.
My husband and son went out for the afternoon and the girls and I made decorations (see the background above) and party hats (see the tutorial for these beauties here) and got way fancy!
When the boys got home we forced them to get fancy, too. They put up very little resistance😏, the cuties!
I made a chalk board with chalk paint and mdf a couple of years ago, so I used it to write “Happy New Year” as another decoration.
Have you seen enough pictures of my adorable children yet?😊❤
Okay, moving on.
DIY Drinks Bar for Kids!
New Year’s Eve, or Lockdown New Year’s Eve, is only as special as the drinks you serve…okay, maybe not, but this really helped!
One major highlight of the night was the drinks bar. I went to our basement pantry and grabbed whatever I could find that would make a good addition to a drinks bar. I found a can of pineapple slices, juice boxes and tonic water. From the fridge I got orange and apple juice, and mixed berries.
I set up a sugar rimmer by putting a bit of water on a plate, with sugar on the plate beside it. Just dip the rim of the cup in the water, followed by the sugar. Then add a slice of orange or pineapple (or both- you only live once!) as a garnish. Now, the crowning jewel and genius inspiration: food colouring!
The kids had so much fun mixing their drinks!
Lockdown New Year’s Eve Activities:
If you’re looking for something new and exciting there is a wealth of printable games online. Including games specific to New Year’s Eve. I found one and printed it, but sadly we didn’t love it. But may the odds be ever in your favour.
The one game that is always a hit in our family is Jelly Belly flavour guessing. I found a bag of rejected Jelly Bellies at Dollarama earlier in the week, and grabbed it just in case. Then I pulled it out on New Year’s Eve knowing that everyone would be so excited! Here’s how to play:
Everyone (except one player) closes their eyes. The one with their eyes open picks a colour of Jelly Belly and puts one in everyone’s mouth. They all have to guess what colour it is, and what flavour.
Typically a fair amount of cheating ensues (peeking, for instance) and hilarity (when the picker forgets what colour they chose). This is such a fun, cheap, no prep game. I highly recommend you try it out!
We ended the night off with a knife throwing competition. I printed targets (once again with PicMonkey and my new printer) and we all headed to our messy basement to throw knives. This was so much fun, too! Plus I adore this picture! Sparkly dress and finery, with a throwing tomahawk!😂
Lockdown New Year’s Eve Party Tip: Find a hobby that one of you has, and all take part in it. Usually my husband throws knives with my son, but this night we all did. And had a riot! What can you all do together that you usually don’t? Video game competition? Darts? Pool? Whatever you do, do it TOGETHER!
Whatever you choose to do tonight, I hope you can ring in the New Year with people you love. And I pray you can look forward to the year ahead with hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him.”
Happy New Year!
But First We Craft 