I’ve always liked New Year’s Eve. There’s just something fun about getting glamorous and going out on the town. Except….
Now I have a short person at home.
The last time my husband and I went out for New Year’s Eve was 2011, six weeks to the day after our little guy was born. We decided to do it up right, heading into the big city for the evening, enjoying the nightlife, and having a hotel room as to not worry about all the crazy drivers.
Last year we stayed home and played board games and drank champagne, with Ryan Seacrest droning on in the background, paying homage to the late great Dick Clark. Now, this was fine with us. We like board games. The problem is, we never agree. My husband loves Monopoly. I hate it, because I’m not a business-minded person, and I always lose. Always. Lose. I’m a big fan of trivia games, like Trivial Pursuit. My husband can’t stand them, for the same reason I dislike Monopoly. Last year I received The Logo Board Game for Christmas. Know how many times we’ve played it? Once. It’s hard to find games that are suitable for two players that we both like. Usually we compromise on Scattergories, but that gets old pretty quickly.
This year, we are hosting a sleepover for our ‘tween-aged niece and nephew. I’ve spent a lot of time with these kids, obviously, but it’s the first time they’ve both stayed overnight with us. I’m determined to come up with some fun activities that will keep all four of us entertained (well, five of us…until the short person goes to bed at 8 p.m.). But I’m not completely sure how to handle this, as I’m not that well-versed in the trends of 8- and 10-year-olds.
So I did what any woman in my shoes would do; I turned to Pinterest. There are a lot of ideas on how to make New Year’s Eve fun for kids. And the majority of those ideas are totally lame or loud. (Like banging pots and pans together to celebrate the new year; I doubt my sleeping toddler would enjoy that.)
Sparkling cider is a must, of course. And we’ll break out the fancy champagne flutes. I’m a little relieved that the ball drop will actually be at 11p; being that I’m an old mom now, midnight seems awfully late!
I found a neat tutorial on how to make party hats on Pinterest. I know the artsy 8-year-old girl will be all over that, but not sure about the boy. He might be too cool for party hats. I also found an easy way to create noise makers. Even a non-crafty gal like myself can handle this.
I have read in several places that parents “fake” ringing in the new year for their kids, some even going to the extent of changing all their clocks to reflect a later hour than it actually is. I don’t know about that, but I like the idea of having our own new year celebration before the short person goes to bed. That way, we can get it all out of our systems, and the older kids won’t feel the pressure to stay up late (one of them is notorious for crashing out early).
Does anyone have any easy, cheap, fun ideas for our big New Year’s Eve adventure? I know there are a lot of moms out there in the same boat, and also a lot of you that can help.
On another note, if you’re wanting to go out on the town, there are a couple of options right here in Claremore. We’ll have the first ever Claremore New Year’s Rockin’ Eve Bash, complete with free s’mores, hot chocolate, and popcorn. Enjoy live music by Just Us, football games, and a kids area, as well as a fantastic fireworks show at 9:30p. For more family fun, go to the Claremore Expo and watch the Danger Zone Bull Riding! If you’re into over-21 entertainment, head out to the Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs and join in the festivities there, which include cash giveaways, balloon drop at midnight, a cider toast, live entertainment and more! Call 918-283-8800 for more information.
Happy New Year, Claremore.
