Spending the holidays at home? Keep scrolling for some extra special New Year’s Eve ideas for families wanting to ring in the new year with a bang!
This post about New Year’s Eve ideas for families was written by family travel expert Marcie Cheung and may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.
If you are one of the many, many families who have experienced flight cancellations and possibly trip cancellations, you might be having to change your New Year’s Eve plans.
Due to present circumstances, many families are having to find ways to celebrate the holidays at home.
Like most people, we’re staying home for New Year’s Eve and we’re trying to find ways to make it magical for our kids.
Coming up with activities and traditions that can be done at home without extended family or friends can be tricky, especially as the holidays wind on.
Families across the world take great joy in celebrating the coming of the new year. And with that comes fun things to do on New Year’s Eve at home!
However, finding the perfect New Year’s activity is not an impossible task, as there are many great at-home holiday traditions and activities you can do at home.
Keep scrolling to find out some fantastic and fun things for the entire family to do to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home.
Magical New Year’s Eve Ideas for Families
Have Family Game Night
Family game night can be a great and easy way for the family to connect and have a blast at home. Pick some of your favorite games and compete and play with one another.
You can spice it up by breaking out the snacks or by keeping score of game wins. There are loads of fun new and classic board games to try out and play!
Plus, the family game night could also include video games, which opens up all kinds of possibilities.
There are several games for Nintendo Switch and Xbox that are perfect for families to play together. Our family loves playing Animal Crossing and Pokemon.
There are all sorts of ways to have a blast during the family game night that your family is sure to love.
Cook A Fun Recipe
News Year’s Eve can be a great time to try out a fun new recipe for family dinner.
Consider making something new and trying it out, or make a surefire classic dish everyone can love.
Think outside the box, you could try an international recipe, or even put a twist on a family staple.
You could also consider doing a ‘potluck’ style dinner, where every member of the family contributes their favorite food.
This can be a great time to teach kids about cooking, or just have fun with your favorite food.
Be sure to prepare some great side dishes and snacks too to make the meal unforgettable.
Family dinners are important, and going all out with your New Year’s Eve meal can be a fantastic experience.
Find out our favorite Hawaiian Recipes to make!
Living Room Campout
Living room campouts can be loads of fun for everyone.
Simply set up a tent or blanket fort in the living room and start piling up pillows, blankets, and anything else that’s soft.
From there, you can do all sorts of stuff, like make camp food at home, tell stories with a flashlight, or snuggle up and wait to ring in the new year.
Living room campouts can be a great time to go all out and make family memories for years to come.
New Year’s Time Capsule
A New Year’s Eve Time Capsule can be a great family tradition that pays off in the long run.
To start, find a sturdy, lockable container you can fill with items. Then, have everyone in the family donate an item or two to put into the time capsule.
These items can include photos, toys, digital media, trinkets, clothes, or anything else you could possibly think of!
From there, simply lock the capsule and discuss with your family a good date to open it.
If your child has a favorite toy or object that they obviously won’t want to include, take a photo and print it.
Place the photo inside the time capsule. Now you’ll have a photo of your child from that year and memory of their favorite item.
You could decide to open it in a year, ten years, or even longer than that!
The choice is ultimately up to you, but whatever you decide is sure to be a hit with your family.
Come Up With New Year’s Resolutions
New Year’s resolutions are fun to make and discuss, and there are plenty of ways to make them fun.
To start, resolutions can also be family resolutions, like what activities you would like to do in the next year.
Actually, our family did a 2021 Travel Bucket List where we each shouted out places we can’t wait to visit for the first time or our favorites that we want to go back to explore.
Planning out the next year can be lots of fun, and it’s a great way as a parent to get ideas of your kids interests and what they want to explore and learn about.
You can also make personal resolutions and share them with each other as well. Resolutions are a tried and true staple of New Year’s Eve, and make for a great at-home activity.
While tricky, coming up with great activities to do as a family at home does not have to be impossible. There are loads of fun things to do New Year’s Eve at home that are sure to be hit for the entire family!
Whether you plan on going all out or having a relaxing night, there are all sorts of ways to make a stay-at-home New Year’s fun for everyone!