New Year's Eve Family Night Activities

Although New Year's Eve is most often reserved for adult partying, the night can also be filled with fun and entertainment for the whole family fun at home with just a little planning.

Keep food easy and appealing for everyone, i.e., chips and dip, a veggie platter, chicken fingers, deviled eggs, shrimp cocktail, or simply order in a pizza! Also have plenty of champagne ready for the adults, and fixings for 'mocktails" for the kids such as Virgin Pina Coladas or Shirley Temples.

In addition, follow these tips and suggestions for a New Year's Eve party game & activity ideas that will have family and younger guests cozying up to loved ones and family friends as they welcome in the New Year ....

New Year's Eve Predictions

For older teens and adults familiar with how to play, break out the Ouija board or tarot cards for a spooky night of fortune telling.

Introduce the younger kids to "Magic 8 Ball" and stand back for the giggle-producing results as the classic novelty toy mysteriously answers their questions about the future.

New Year's Eve Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great ice breaker, and usually result in lots of laughs - as holiday revelers compete to find items hidden throughout the house, in the backyard, or around the entire neighborhood. (Tip: alert the neighbors so they don’t think there are intruders in their backyard!)

Depending on how well you’ve hidden your ‘treasure”, items in a New Year's scavenger hunt can be awarded separate points for ease, or difficulty. The party contestants who amass the most points are named the winners, so be sure to have prizes ready for the highest scorers.

Suggestions for items to hide for a New Year scavenger hunt might include: a party hat, streamers, noise makers, plastic champagne glass, a clock, Happy New Year card, Happy New Year balloon, drink stirrers, coasters, chocolate coins, a calendar, or silver bells to ring in the New Year.

New Year's Eve Pinanta

Who doesn't love a pinata? No reason not to have one on New Year's Eve for a fun kid competition.

Make your own homemade pinata using 1. a large shopping bag, 2. New Year's Eve clip art 3. paper glue 4. stapler.

Instructions: download and print out a picture of a New Year's Eve party hat, Father Time, or other holiday clip art and glue it to the shopping bag. Further decorate as you please with tinsel or glitter. Fill your decorated shopping bag with candy and staple the bag closed. String up from the ceiling using heavy cord. Provide a pinata stick or plastic baseball bat, line up the contestants - and stand back!

Happy New Year!

More about New Year's Eve family night games & activities around the Web:

New Year's Fun and Games - Family Fun

Best Mocktails Recipes

Printable New Year's Eve Party Games

New Year Coloring Pages

Christmas Family Night Games & Activities

Yep, everybody's a kid at Christmas. And why not? It's the time of year for shaking off day-to-day cares and letting down your guard, especially when you're partying with family! Just don't make the mistake of thinking a holiday get-together can be pulled-off without a little planning.

Just up ahead, have a warm and joyous holiday get-together with our pick of top games and activities that will get the kids and teens giggling, and the adults joining in with happy abandon:

Christmas Trivia

Create your own Holiday Trivial Pursuit game by typing up a list of questions to pose to guests on party night. To get you started, here are some of our favorites:

1. What are the names of all eight reindeer which appear in Clement Moore’s poem “The Night Before Christmas”?

2. In “A Charlie Brown Christmas” what did Lucy want for Christmas?

3. Who yelled “Stop!” at Frosty?

Answers: 1. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, and Blitzen. 2. Real estate. 3. The traffic cop.

Christmas Movie Trivia

Everyone loves Christmas movies. Test party-goers knowledge by reciting famous lines from popular favorites to see who can come up with the most correct responses. Here are a few to get you started:

1. What is the location of “It’s a Wonderful Life?”

2. In “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, who provides the voice for Sally?

3. What actress plays Bill Murray's love interest in “Scrooged’?

Answers: 1. Bedford Falls 2. Catherine O’Hara 3. Karen Allen

Name That Holiday Tune!

Grab the CD player and your favorite holiday music CD. Let contestants guess the title of each song after hearing only a few bars, and award a prize to the player with the most correct answers.

Another way to play: simply type up the most obscure lyrics from Christmas songs or carols and read (or sing!) them aloud. For example: "There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories..." (It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year) or how about "…bells are ringing, children singing…" (Here Comes Santa Claus). It's not as easy as you might think but, anyway, you get the idea. Check out this site for more Christmas song and carol lyrics.

Christmas Pinata

With a little bit of creativity, you can easily make a homemade Christmas pinata using 1. a large shopping bag, 2. a picture of a holiday scene 3. paper glue 4. stapler.

Download and print out a picture of Santa or holiday scene and glue it to the shopping bag. Further decorate as you please with tinsel or garland. Fill your decorated shopping bag with Christmas candy and staple closed. String up from the ceiling using heavy cord. Provide a pinata stick or plastic baseball bat, line up the contestants - and stand back! This one can be fun even for the adults, just make sure you don't serve TOO MUCH eggnog beforehand.

Christmas Bingo

Fun for all ages, game players must first understand the general rules of bingo and how to play. Simply subsitute the traditional numbered cards with a variety of Christmas symbols, words or pictures. Download and print a variety of Christmas bingo playing cards for free here.

More about Christmas family night games & activities around the Web:

Christmas Games

How to Play 'The Night Before Christmas' Party Game

Christmas Scavenger Hunt Ideas