Now that your teenagers are old enough to stay up to midnight, how should we celebrate the New Year?
When the kids are younger, many of us celebrated at 9 pm (or earlier) and put the kids to bed. A few noisemakers and they were happy. Now the kids are old enough to stay up until midnight or later….many of us parents will crash before our teens. So how to celebrate with our teens to keep them from retreating to their rooms??
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New Year’s Eve Fun with Teenagers
Celebrate with an NYE party at home.
This may be your immediate family. Or you may have your teens invite a few friends over. This is one night of the year, I really want my kid to celebrate at home and not driving around.
If you are inviting teens over, make sure to set some rules and make sure everyone understands. No one is to drive home after midnight. No alcohol allowed.
Dress in your fancy clothes even if staying at home. Or at least choose something sparkly or stick with black, silver, and white. Add in some fun NYE hats and noisemakers and you’re set.
Make Chocolate Fondue Chocolate fondue is a fun festive dessert when shared with family and friends. So easy to make and serve with a bunch of foods for dipping – strawberries, bananas, marshmallows, pretzels, Rice Krispie treats, brownies, and pound cake.
Sparkly Mocktails. We love to make mocktails when kids come over. Sparkling apple cider plus a few other juices. Italian sodas are also a fun option.
Make New Year’s resolutions. Give everyone an envelope and a piece of paper for their resolutions. Seal them, and tuck them away. Pull them out in July so everyone can see how they’re doing.
Selfie Station. Turn a wall into a place for fun NYE photos. Hang up a gold background and fill a basket with some fun props (hats, boas, glasses, photobooth cutout props)
Sparklers and Fireworks Depending on the regulations where you live, ring in the new year with sparklers and fireworks.
Marathon game night Pull out some favorite board games for an evening of games.
Minute to Win It game competition Everyone loves some good competition. Pick a few ‘minute to win it’ games for a fun and hilarious evening. Make a crazy trophy for the winner and make it a yearly tradition to pass it on to the winner each year.
Karaoke Pull out the karaoke machine and let everyone have their chance at belting out their favorite songs. There’s even a more affordable karaoke microphone option and there’s probably even a free app with some music ready for a fun night. Have a few boas and fancy hats available for more fun.
New Year’s Day fun with teenagers
Eat lucky food. There are a lot of traditions for food to be eaten after midnight or New Year’s Day to bring luck or money in the new year. Some of eaten to represent money to bring prosperity for the new year.
Southern tradition of Black-eyed peas and collard greens. The peas for good luck and the greens for money.
Lentils are eaten after midnight for good luck
Pickled Herring. The silver color symbolizes money.
The German tradition of Pork and sauerkraut for good luck
Asian tradition of eating noodles. Long noodles represent a long life.
Plan your year. New Year’s day is a great time to plan the year for your family. Get everyone’s input about what family activities everyone wants to do, where to vacation, and new things to try.
Sunrise hike. Start the new year with a healthy and inspirational sunrise hike (if you can get your teens up, lol). Even a mid-day hike is a great way to start the new year.
Bucket Lists. This is a great time for everyone to write or update their bucket lists. I have a bucket list and a separate travel bucket list. In the past year, you may have accomplished things you can cross off or your priorities may have changed. When planning your year, refer to bucket lists so you can make some progress on your goals.
An alternative to a Bucket List is to do a list of things you want to accomplish by a certain age. January is a great time to check on your list to make sure you’re on track.
20 by 20
30 by 30
40 by 40
50 by 50
‘2024′ pancakes. Themed pancakes for breakfast are so fun for birthdays and holidays. Continue the tradition with New Year pancakes by making 4 numbered pancakes.
Visions Boards Get a bunch of poster boards, a stack of magazines, scissors, and glue, and have everyone make their vision boards for the year. It’s a great opportunity to teach teenagers about making plans and goals to strive for.
Polar Bear Plunge Teens like to do crazy things so this might be a hit. Head to your local beach, lake, or even backyard and take part in this New Year’s Day tradition by jumping in the freezing cold water.
New Year’s Day 5K Start out the year with a local 5K run
Check out these posts for more planning for a fabulously new year ahead
- 15 Things to do to prepare for the new year
- Every family should have an Important Documents folder
- Why you should have a travel bucket list