Now that Christmas 2020 has come and gone (boy that was fast wasn’t it??) – it is time to decide if you will be hosting friends on New Year’s Eve 🤪. I know social distancing is still heavily suggested in most places in the world, however – it is still possible to have fun even if it’s just with a small handful of your besties. I am here to give you a few ideas on how to end 2020 in the best way possible!

Here Are Some Simple Things to Have On Hand:

• Balloons
• A Makeshift Ball to Drop
• Board Games
• Champagne
• Snacks
• Your Besties

It’s funny how traditions change as your kids get older. When our kids were younger, we would heat up our pool to 95°, invite a bunch of families over whose kids were friends with ours, and drop our own self made NYE ball in our living room at 9pm. We would call it an East Coast NYE celebration and the kids were still in bed before midnight!

Then when our kids became teenagers, we decided to start going as a family to a ski resort in Northern California called Mammoth Mountain to celebrate the new year. We did this for almost ten years until our kids finally started saying they wanted to spend the holiday with friends at home instead of with us on a ski hill (understandably so I guess 😂).

Funny thing is – we actually kept that self made ball that my husband had made so many years ago. It was up in the rafters of our garage. So three years ago, we decided – hey let’s dig that old ball back out and do an East Coast NYE with our adult friends! We haven’t heated the pool up (just so you know – it would take over 24 hours to get that hole of water warmed up to 95° – and our January gas/electric bill showed it 😬).

I bought a bunch of fun adult card games from Amazon and some easy appetizers and champagne from Trader Joe’s and for the last few years we have had a blast with our friends ringing in the new year together!

We are kind of playing this year’s NYE celebration by ear – but are hoping that things locally will mellow out and we can have a few of our besties over to celebrate 2020 finally being over and the new year being so much better than this last one!

Here are just a few items I have ready in case I do get to celebrate with my favorite people this year:

Balloons

I am not sure how it has taken me this long to find these perfectly sized foil balloons but boy are they easy and fun!! I bought these 2021 balloons last week because – well why not??

These 2020 balloons are the same size as the ones on the staircase in the above photo and my new thank god 2021 balloons ☺️.

Before that, I would send my youngest daughter to Party City on December 30th to get mylar balloons of the year. One year, she accidentally ordered the four foot tall balloons- I totally wish I could have seen her driving home with these in her car!!

Make a Fun DIY Ball to Drop

Who needs Times Square when you can have your very own ball to drop in your own living room??? I am honestly shocked this ball my husband threw together almost seventeen years ago is still working! It has provided for many a fun NYE celebration for our family and friends 😊.

It is literally just two cheap plastic punch bowls with rope lights in them and zip tied together and the pole is literally our pool sweeper handle (obviously without the basket part). You could easily just buy a cheap metal or pvc pole from Home Depot though! The stand is an extra umbrella stand we have. The extension cord lifting the ball up and down is the trickiest part (this is where my husband used his MacGyver talents 😂)…

Card Games

Have you played Cards Against Humanity or What Do You Meme with your adult family members or friends? If you haven’t – go buy them! You are in for a fun night- I promise!!

Another option is just simple TableTopics… honestly one of my most favorite box of cards to have on the table for any dinner party!!

Cocktails, Champagne, and Fun Ice Rings or Cubes

One of my crazy sweet and talented Instagram friends @a.little.love.designs recently posted a how to on this beautiful ice ring. When I saw it, I was like – oh that definitely needs to be shared! Here it is for you if you are making a fun punch:

I made smaller square ice cubes using Amy’s idea – since this year will clearly be a much smaller group (if any at all 😳) – it seemed more fitting to try individual cubes. I also just bought these fun round ice molds on Amazon and made some of them too! I seem to be entertaining myself with ice cube making lately… have I replaced crafting with ice making?? 😂

Treats!

Of course!! You can’t have a proper gathering without treats! I love to have my favorite fudge on hand and usually make red velvet cupcakes and chocolate chip cookies too! The rest of the savory treats I usually have are from Trader Joe’s. They have the best frozen appetizers that are sooo easy to just heat right up and serve!! Have you tried their mini meatballs??

I know so many of us are looking forward to a better 2021 than 2020 was. The global pandemic changed so many of our lives. Many of us lost loved ones this year and/or had to make huge adjustments to our home lives. I hope whoever you spend the last night of the year with is someone special to you. Let’s all pay it forward with kindness and laughter as we start the new year. AND LIVE THE BEST LIFE WE CAN ❤️!

xoxo –