Celebrating the coming of the New Year is loads of fun. Fireworks, food, nobody to take care of but yourself… Hold on, that was you when you were a child living with your parents.
Fast forward to 2017. You are a parent now. You prepare the food, the little safe fireworks, and the drinks – all while keeping an eye on the kids.
For a truly awesome New Year’s celebration, you’ll need to plan, and you’ll need patience. And you’ll need wine. Especially wine. Lots of it.
Come December 31, if everything goes well, all should be ready. But if things aren’t, don’t fret.
There are many things you can do to make your New Year celebration special. And they don’t need to be new or experimental. They just have to be fun to do with the family.
Feast for the New Year!
Image source: Pinterest
New Year’s Eve is probably most fun for the kids because this is the one day in the year when they’re supposed to stay up late. We know your body is telling you to go to sleep, too, but there’ll be time to rest next year, mummy.
If you want to finish the party preparations more quickly, you can ask your kids to help you out. You can even ask your kids to make kid-friendly recipes like cookies, or a simple dessert.
The timing has to be just right, too. You can start making the desserts together in the afternoon so they can stay cool in the fridge for longer. Then you can prepare dinner with your kids later at night. That way, it will be hot and fresh once it’s time for New Year’s Eve dinner. And then you count down to the new year!
Tabletop games!
Image source: Pinterest
Turn off the TV and Wi-Fi, parents. Kids will play any game for fun, especially if you have prizes handy to raise the stakes and really get them into it. You can play a game of Twister with your partner and kids. Plus points for having drunk a bit of wine beforehand!
If you want to play games just sitting down, go for a tabletop game. Only break out a Monopoly board if your kids are already into it, or if you’re prepared for conflict. We suggest having a tabletop game ready that’s loads of fun for everyone.
You can look for tabletop games for the family here and here at your local game or hobby store. This will definitely help you kill time before the countdown.
Watch a family favourite
Image source: Pinterest
You can watch a movie together, like an old family favourite that everybody loves, or a new movie that all of you definitely want to watch. (And if you didn’t like it, you can all enjoy making fun of it! Go crazy!)
This is also the best time to break out some easy-to-prepare and easy-to-eat snacks.
Go out and watch the fireworks
Image source: Flickr
Okay, so you maybe you didn’t prepare for the first three activities in this list. That’s okay! You still got this. If your town has some city-spanning celebration, now would be the best time to take the family out and watch the fireworks that you totally didn’t pay for!
Sure, you can eat out somewhere nice, but it’s the fireworks display afterwards that really seals the deal. If you’re living in a place with a really cold New Year’s Eve, don’t forget to bundle up your kids in something warm. You don’t want them to freeze to death as they watch the fireworks!
Click here for the best places to watch new year fireworks in Singapore!
Museums and galleries
Image source: National Museum of the Philippines Facebook page
Okay, so maybe you’re running out of ideas. Who goes to museums and galleries on New Year’s Eve, right? Well, some cities actually have museums and art galleries that celebrate the New Year.
Sometimes, some museums and galleries even offer kid-friendly New Year’s Eve celebrations and live entertainment at a discounted rate. Plus, they start early in the evening, so you can spend a few hours in the museum before dinner and the countdown to midnight!
The best part is you can tire out the kids before midnight so you can ring in the new year with your partner alone.
Family party with friends
Image source: Flickr
It’s time to bring out the big guns. Get your best friends and their families for a grand New Year’s Eve celebration. Before you dismiss this idea, don’t worry! You don’t have to prepare everything! Just have your friends bring potluck and lots of wine, and you’re set! This is also a great chance for your kids to be friends with your friends’ children.
Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you can’t have a social life. So ring up your old friends and just ask them to come. Go all out, prepare some games for everyone, and put on some music! Or just chill out and talk, which is probably what you need the most.
Although it might turn into a bunch of parents suffering together, that’s cool, too! Congratulate all of the parents for surviving a year with kids! You did it! The kids are alive! Great job, everyone!
