10 Tips To Making New Year’s Eve WITH Kids Stylish and Special

Lame.  That’s how this NYE party girl turned parent would describe my first new year’s eve with my child. Don’t fret if yours wasn’t spectactular this year.  Realize there’s too much unnecessary pressure on having an amazing night and also know that celebrating in style with kids can happen -maybe just next year.

Having just experienced my 3rd NYE as a parent, I’ve since learned how to best celebrate with kids and ensure that it never sucks again.  If you’re an overwhelmed new parent wondering how to elevate your new years with kids into a stylish soiree that is both memorable and fun, read on for my top 10 tips:

  1. DRESS UP and GET GIRLY.  Remember how during your single days, half the fun of new year’s eve was about getting to wear the new outfit, and getting dolled up?  Continue the tradition!  As you can see, for us that meant matching outfits and fun glittery mini-hats.  Maybe for you that might mean sparkle and shine or a dress divine!  (Clearly I’ve been reading too much Dr. Seuss lately).   Even if you’re doing a simple stay-at-home evening, consider dedicating some time during the day to do something extra to feel a little more glam – ’tis the season!  These days for instance, I never have time for a manicure but new year's eve with kids, kiddie new year's eve, kids' new year's eve, how to celebrate new year's eve with kidson NYE, I made sure to carve out time during the day for a mini-mani.  new years eve with toddlerEven 2.5 year olds really get into this!  Just doing this gave me reason enough to want to celebrate! For me, this involved some pre-planning.  I made sure to get all household chores out of the way with a thorough cleaning the day before so that I could free up time and not spend the day cleaning the toilets like I did my first NYE with baby.
  2. RECORD THE OCCASION! Kids grow fast and you’ll want to remember how small they were come next new year’s eve.  If you’re a momarazzi like me you won’t need the reminder to take photo and video.  But remember to also think DIY Photobooth! Free NYE themed props are downloadable here, or just buy a couple cheap hats at Party City like we did.  If you really want to be festive though create a fun photo backdrop (even leftover wrapping paper or Christmas tinsel will do!) and try video pocketbooth’s app. Or if you don’t want to go through the extra trouble, just grab your camera phone and find a simple background to snap some pics for your social media like we did and concentrate your efforts on the other items on this list. (A busy parent can only handle so much, I KNOW!)new years eve with a toddler
  3. DECK THE HALLS. Every occasion deserves a little festive decor.  Last year, I created 2015 out of paper napkins and made an entire dessert bar backdrop and display to match.
  4. christmas decor, new years eve decor, new years eve party, new year's eve party, new year's eve decor, new year's table decor
    If you’re not hosting others though you might just want to opt for a simple banner like this one from last year where I videotaped my toddler wishing everyone a ‘happy new year” and then proudly sent it off to her grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  Really anyone who would listen to my toddler speak so well haha.
    oh joy for targetOr perhaps you’ll want to concentrate on festive table presentations like I did this year.
    new years eve snacks
  5. MAKE A MOCKTAIL.  Be your kids’ first bartender while teaching them all-important NYE traditions such as clinking glasses and saying ‘cheers!”  Sparkling cider or water are easy options but you can get as creative as you like.  This year we opted for the sparkling cranberry cider and a rose’ sparkling wine to match our red party theme and I added rasberries to our fancy champagne glasses.  Juliet loved joining in on the fun!  And so will your kids!new year's eve kids party, new year's eve party ideas
  6. SPRINKLE!  Incorporate confetti into your New Years Eve lesson and use it as an excuse to slather everything in sprinkles!  Think fruits, ice cream, frosted desserts and even milk cups!sprinklesThis year, Juliet enjoyed decorating cookies with sprinkles and tomorrow morning she is continuing the funfetti tradition with toast spread with nutella and sprinkles of her choice!  My little baker LOVES getting her hands on these things so I make sure to have a whole variety of sprinkles for all our baking needs!
  7. ENJOY A SPECIAL MEAL.  Notice I didn’t say make a special meal.  Parents have a lot on their to do list and some of us might not have cooking as our specialty.  Don’t let that stop you from having one special occasion meal though!  If you love Chinese food, spend the day in Chinatown sampling the best of from various places.  Order in your entire family members’ favorite foods if you have too.   Overpriced NYE dinners are out of the question for most families like us in NYC.  (I mean c’mon, Olive Garden here charges $499 pp on NYE!)  So last year, I cooked a feast and invited another family with a toddler over for a chic little get together.  You could also consider a mini tea party like the one I hosted for toddlers on new years day heretoddler tea, toddler tea party, tea party ideas for toddlers, oh joy for target, oh joy bannerWhatever you do, make sure to have one out of the ordinary meal to mark the special occasion.
  8. DANCE!  Blast the music, dance like no one’s watching, copy the dancers you see on TV, copy each other. Twerk.  Play a game of freeze dance.  This is a fun, free activity that will lead to guaranteed laughter and really get the party started. (sorry no personal pictures to share here).
  9. MAKE NOISE.  Kids are natural noisemakers and this is the one day we can encourage them to get wild, bring out their instruments and blow party horns. You could even have a scavenger hunt with the family to see who can make the neatest noisemaker out of ordinary objects found throughout the house or craft your own.  Post birthday party, I once made a rattle shaker with leftover candy stuffed into a water bottle for instance.  Juliet got a kick out of that one.
  10. GET CRAFTY.  Even if you’re no Martha Stewart, anyone can handle adding 4 numbers onto a pair of glasses you already own.  Here are full instructions on how to make the more elaborate ones below.new years eve glasses (2016 glasses)
  11. YEAR-END REVIEW.  Wonder in awe at how the year flew by as you create a photo album or decorate a scrapbook together as a family.  As a family, choose your favorite photos from the year and print and frame them.  Or if you don’t have time for any of that, simply go through some of your photos and videos with your kids and spend some quality time taking a stroll down memory lane.  I love bringing back memories with Juliet who loves watching herself on video.  Her reactions and recollections are priceless.
  12. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS.  Staying thankful is always in style.  End the year on a positive note by being aware of all the good things in your life.  There are tons of ideas here on family projects that promote gratitude.

So there it is!  Are you feeling inspired to do it all again next year?  How are you resolving to make your next new year’s eve special and stylish for you and your kids?  Let me know if there are other things you would add to this list!  I want to hear from you.

To see how we stylishly celebrated new year’s eve in the past using and then re-using Oh Joy for Target party decor, click here!

 

How to Host a Squid Game Party! Game Decor & Costume Ideas!

Want To Host a Squid Game Themed Party?

As THE most popular Netflix series EVER, it’s no surprise that people would be interested in hosting a Squid Game themed event!  After all, the world was obsessed with this show! But how do you host squid games without having to kill your guests and how do you play to the end if you don’t have as many people needed for team rounds? Moreover, how do you make a squid themed party more family-friendly? Those were the questions I was faced with when my husband told me he wanted to throw a squid game party. Read on for my tips and ideas!

Image from Netflix

Obviously, a Squid Game themed party revolves around games. Luckily, the game concepts are simple enough for anyone to play and for anyone to execute. Popular amongst school kids, the games featured in the movie mostly take some patience, luck and minimal skill. Since it’s been a while since most of you probably watched the movie, let me remind you of the

6 games featured in the show:

1). Sugar cookie cutout

(A round cookie in a tin with embossed shape in the middle must be carefully cut out with a needle without cracking the cookie and before the time limit). The cookie is called a dalgona cookie or sometimes called a honeycomb cookie.

Photo credit-Netflix

How to: Purchase the tin kits here. It will include everything from the base from which your cookie is formed, to the lid from which it is concealed (so your guests blindly choose their indentation shape), to the needle that you poke the cookie out with.

Use this 2-ingredient recipe to make the sugar cookie. The hardest part is timing the inner shape indentation piece just right and taking it out before it cools and sets in there permanently. But don’t worry if this happens like it did with my first round, you can crack and crumble it, add it back to the pan and start over. This will overly brown your resulting cookie but it’s not important to get the color correct as it’s just about creating the cookie challenge and game. Once your players have blindly chosen their (closed) cookie tin, set the timer and rank who finishes getting their cookie out the fastest before time runs out!

TIP- It’s great to kick off your game series with this one since it doubles as an ice breaker. Contestants can easily chat while sitting and sharing some laughs while competing AND not even breaking a sweat! 😆.

TIP! Motivate players by pre-event asking adult contestants to each agree to pitch in a set amount of cash!  Each of our adult contestants put in $20 each making a grand prize total of $120. While far from the movie’s 2.2 billion won amount, you’ll be surprised how (any) lump sum of money will incite the greed out of all your guests and increase the stakes for everyone! (You could also punish your guests along the way by requiring losers to drink after each round which we did not do because a couple of us were allergic to alcohol and likely could have actually died playing this version of Squid Games). lol.

Family-friendly TIP! We had adults competing against one another and found ways to get kids involved throughout the day. Most kids haven’t seen the movie and will simply enjoy watching parents get silly playing kiddie games and or have fun playing a 2nd round themselves. Because the cookie cutting game involves a needle though, you can ask the kids to judge while the parents compete and have them provide live commentary. OR, you could encourage them to try and draw one of the iconic movie characters while you do this particular game.

2). Marble game

There are tons of ways to play and you could replace marbles with whatever small balls you have around the house. In the movie though, a player holds a number of marbles in their hand. The other player guesses if the number is odd or even. If the player guesses correctly, he gets the same number of marbles as he’s holding (his wager).

Because we were using a ranking and point system to prevent having to eliminate players from playing further rounds, we kept score and didn’t let players “die off.” Also, because we didn’t have marbles, we decided to tweak this by gathering small balls to roll across the lawn. Whoever got it closest to the end point (wall in our case), without actually hitting the wall won and got the high score. If you hit the wall you got disqualified and subtract points off your total score. Person with the most points at the end of all game rounds wins!

3). Glass floor

In the movie, players had to cross a glass bridge but some of the glass squares would cause the player to fall through. In our version, paper squares were laid down and the backs read real glass or fake glass. “Fall” or “safe” could have been written too and instead of paper squares, cardboard boxes (some stable with something under them to be able to hold a human up vs some empty so the person falls when they stand on top would be great too). But we didn’t have enough cardboard boxes nor did we want to store that many for the game.😅.

TIP- to decide on order of who goes first, you could randomly draw numbers, give priority to those who ranked best from the last game, or have the kids each represent a # and have the parents each choose a child to find out what order they go in.

Image from Netflix

4). Red light green light

Probably the most memorable and iconic squid game from the movie (thanks to the unforgettable larger-than-life, head swiveling doll leader), is a fun one for all ages to try! Again, we had the adults compete against one another. Kids took turns saying the famous green light red light song in Korean (while dressed in soldier red) and holding a soldier (water-filled) gun. Each child was assigned an adult to watch and was instructed to squirt them if they saw them move when they weren’t supposed to.  The power evidenced in these kids’ eyes when we told them all this was ridiculously scary!  haha This was the of course, the kids’ favorite part of the party!

TIP, draw a chalk line for start and finish. Have only one child take turns at a time and say the famous phrase at a time, “Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida.” And find water guns at your local dollar store! Next time, I’ll not only have the kids dress in red like the Squid Game soldiers but I’ll have the adults all dress in green like the Squid Game contestants!

5). Tug of war

We opted to skip this game in fear of someone getting hurt. But it can easily be replicated with any rope and a soft landing spot (grass or sand).

6) Squid game

It’s a game of tag with offense, defense and teams. We had a small, unbalanced male to female group, so making teams didn’t make sense and being that this was a more complicated game to explain the rules for, you may want to skip it too. For full rules and explanation, click here.

How To Create the Ambiance

Here’s a link for a kid’s red soldier costume, here are our masks, here’s a kiddo green soldier costume and here’s an adult green soldier costume if you wanna get real extra!  Having these costumes at the party will bring the theme to life when you can’t exactly replicate all the movie sets.  Wouldn’t this theme party be so fun for Halloween??

And if you want to decorate, go with a black white and red theme. Check out the themed balloons here. You can also easily create gift bags or backdrops by drawing in or taping the simple triangle circle and square symbols.

 

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