5 Fun Family-Friendly Ways to Ring in the New Year

With the crazy year 2020 has been, we’re all more than ready for a fresh start. While many of us will still be staying home, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun and festive celebration to ring in 2021. To help make the most of a New Year’s Eve celebration this year, we’ve curated a list of 5 fun and family-friendly ways to ring in the New Year covid-style. Check out the list below!

5. Dress Up & Celebrate!

Just because we’re at home doesn’t mean we have to be in pajamas and sweats all day. Unless you want to, of course! To make New Year’s Eve special, try getting the whole family dressed in fun and festive party attire - the more sparkles, the better. Plan a fun evening with games, a nice dinner (takeout counts), and make the evening a mini party with just your family. Sounds fun doesn’t it? And, while the family is all dressed in cute clothes, take a fun family picture. In a few years, when things are hopefully back to normal, you’ll look back on the picture and remember how you made the best of a hard situation.

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4. Play Games

Next up, plan some fun games to play with the family. There are so many different games you can do at home. For younger kids, try creating an obstacle course with pillows and blankets and other household items. Spend 30 minutes doing arts and crafts together or try playing a simple card game like Uno. If you have older kids, bust out the board games or teach them how to play charades or poker. Want to get socially-distanced family and friends into the action? Try downloading and playing mobile games via zoom calls or apps like HouseParty or Brunch. 

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3. Reading Party

As a busy parent, the idea of being able to sit on the couch and read a book sounds amazing, right? It’s hard to find alone time to do it. Instead, start a new tradition with your family to ring in the New Year with a Reading Party. The goal here is to have quiet time with the whole family to read books together. That’s right mom reads a book, dad reads a book, and the kids read books. If you have young kids, you might only be able to do this at first for 10-15 minutes (okay maybe 5 minutes), but if you start modeling the behavior young and explain that this time is specifically dedicated to reading together, they’ll start to catch on. This may not seem like the most “fun” NYE celebration plans, but it’s a great way to bond together as a family.

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2. Bake Off Contest

People have been baking a lot this year; so with everyone’s new and improved baking skills, host a bake off contest to ring in the New Year! If you’re socially distanced from family and friends, judge the contest virtually or drop off samples to each participant's house then have each person taste test the creations at the same time on video conference. Each baker can bake their favorite recipe or have everyone bake the same one and taste test to determine which one is the best.

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1. Play Outside

Embrace the cold by doing an outdoor winter activity with the family! Try snowboarding or skiing if you live close enough to a resort. If not, try sledding, ice skating or snowshoeing. Want to keep it lowkey? Try just going for a walk all bundled up with some hot cocoa. Getting out of the house in a safe way, like by being outside and socially-distanced, is a great way to get a change of scenery and to celebrate new beginnings with the new year.

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