Make this New Year’s Eve a party that your entire family will remember. You can stay at home on new Year’s and still have a fantastic time!  So whether your party is just your immediate family or you are inviting the entire extended family, use these tips for your New Years Eve Party:

Decorate your home as if you were expecting company, and treat your family to some favors so they will remember this special night forever. If you have young children who will have a hard time staying awake until midnight, give them a light meal at about 4:30, and have them take a nap at around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. They will wake refreshed, and ready for action. You can then serve your meal at 8:30 or 9:00 p.m.—and then begin the big countdown!

Break out the good china, dress for dinner, and prepare a fancy meal and celebrate what is most important – our spouse, our children, our parents, or our siblings.

Throw a theme party—choose from our list of 20 ideas—on a smaller scale. Mail surprise invitations to each family member (children LOVE to receive mail), and let them know that you’ll be dressing up for the big evening. Involve them in the planning, or even in choosing the theme. Some family oriented favorite themes are: Tropical Luau, Beach Bash (Spend time recalling favorite vacation moments of the century), Silver and Gold Fancy Dress Party, 21st Century Futuristic Party, Retro Party, 50’s theme, or Wild, Wild West.

Hold a family favorites night. Divide the time equally among the number of family members you have, from the start of your party until 11:45 p.m. You may end up with anywhere from 45 minutes to 1-½ hours per person. Start with the youngest family member, and acknowledge his/her favorites. Food, game, television show, movie, movie character, invention, toys, color, clothing, etc. Have the entire family help gather as many favorites as they can think of for the special person, and take several pictures of each person during their shining moment. During the special time for each person, play the game, eat one course of their favorite food, get them dressed in their favorite outfit or costume, and make that person feel special. By the end of the evening, you will have eaten an entire meal. At 11:45, end that portion of the evening, pull out the party hats, and ring in the New Year with stemware filled with ginger ale or sparkling white grape juice. Use your photos from this special night to decorate a scrapbook or place in a time capsule.

Hold a family game night! Play every board game you own…Trivial Pursuit Candy Land, Yahtzee, Monopoly, Life, Clue, Checkers, Trouble, Operation, Shutes and Ladders, Jenga, and Twister to name a few. Move on to bobbing for apples, relays, telephone, sack races, tic-tac-toe, hangman, a scavenger hunt, Pin the 12 on the clock, flashlight tag, spoon and egg race, etc. Then, with a rented Karaoke machine, sing your hearts out. Throughout the evening, munch on a buffet of wonderful junk food and bite-sized munchies. After enthusiastically greeting the New Year, at 12:05 a.m., your entire gang will happily fall asleep, exhausted from the whirlwind activity of a fun game night!

Plan a “Spotlight” party for your family. This one would have to be a surprise, and will involve a considerable amount of work performed in secret, but will be well worth the effort. Gather old family videos, photo albums, school pictures, report cards, artwork, trophies, etc., and take the time to “chronicle” the life of each person in your family. The only thing that you may want to share with family members is that they will need to be prepared to share a talent. Decorate a special chair for the guest of honor. Start with the youngest, and work your way up…ending with yourself. Share parts of your own childhood with your children, and let them know that as a teen you also felt awkward, tell them about your first crush, favorite toys, etc., then share your dreams with them. After your presentation, ask the “spotlighted” person to perform his/her talent. (Remember that this doesn’t have to be a “traditional” talent. If Rachel can cross one eye, or scratch her ears with her toes-that works!) Lots of clapping, cheering and praise should follow! Write a special letter to be read aloud to each family member at the end of each presentation, letting them know just how treasured they are to your family, and what you believe are their strengths, talents and contributions to your family’s life. Why choose this theme? More and more studies show that low self-esteem is a leading cause of problems among children and adults. Start the New Millennium off with a huge boost of confidence building for your family. After all the presentations, agree on five family goals for the coming year…make them purposeful, but most of all fun! Then get ready for a balloon popping, noisemaking, ginger ale toasting, and horn blowing welcome to the 21st century!

Spread blankets and pillows out in front of the fireplace, or the television, and have that serve as the family party location for the evening. Rent favorite movies appropriate for the whole family. Here are some great choices to please most ages, and make the grownups nostalgic for the good old days: The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Brigadoon or The Wizard of Oz. Musicals are perfect, because singing along is always great fun! For dinner—a gourmet or smorgasbord picnic on the blankets. One fun dinner idea would be to pick up each person’s favorite take-out food, and eat it picnic style in the living room. The pursuit of all the different items is great fun, but you’ll need to check on closing times, because some restaurants close early on New Year’s Eve. Gather the food at 6:00 p.m., then don’t eat it till you are ready. About the only takeout item that won’t warm up well is fast food French fries! If little ones fall asleep on the blanket, that’s okay…just snuggle everyone close, and make sure you wake them for the countdown to midnight. Hang a balloon bag above your party blanket, and at the stroke of twelve, release the balloons and celebrate with style!

Treat your family to a special night, and make them feel more important than the most “important” guest you have ever welcomed into your home. Above all else…take the time to count your blessings and treasure your family!

See more New Year’s Eve Party Ideas