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New Year's Eve plans canceled? Here are some fun ways to celebrate the holiday at home
New Year's Eve is right around the corner and soon we will be entering 2022.Feeling anxious about being in public places due to the omicron variant, had your plans canceled or just want to stay in and celebrate at home with your family and close friends? From board game competitions to eating "lucky" food, here's a list of fun things to do at home and still ring in the New Year.
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Throw a charcuterie/cocktail party
Invite over a close group of friends or family members to have a potluck dinner.
Everyone has to bring over their own version of a charcuterie board, but have fun with it. Sure, someone can bring over a board of cheese, crackers and olives, but suggest someone bring over an ice cream board or pizza board to make things more tasty. As well, advise your guests to also bring a pitcher of their favorite cocktail to share at the party.
New resolutions
Was your resolution at the beginning of 2021 to eat healthier, lose weight or get your body toned? Throw those out the window this new year.
Let's focus on a new resolution that will not have you struggling with food or your health. If you want to take an easy approach, perhaps promise yourself to read a new book every month or volunteer at a local agency to help our your community. Try not to start off the new year stressed out by picking a resolution that seems out of reach.
New Year's Eve TV specials
Let's end the year by relaxing on your couch watching some of television's New Year's Eve celebrations.
Of course, you can watch "Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest" on ABC, which is celebrating its 50th year, but there are two other specials to view.
lose out the year with some country's biggest artists by watching "New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” on CBS. Not a country fan? Flip over to NBC to watch "Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party Hosted By Miley Cyrus and Pete Davidson." Produced by "Saturday Night Live's" Lorne Michaels, the lineup will include special guests and musical performances.
'Lucky' dinner
Wanting to start off 2022 with some extra luck? Have your last meal of this year be full of "lucky" foods.
You can munch on pork, black eyed peas, lentils or herring for prosperity in the new year. To attract wealth in 2022, eat collard greens, cornbread or sauerkraut. Enjoy noodles? Eat a bowl of soba noodles to bring longevity for the next year. Want next year to come full circle? Enjoy a donut as the clock strikes midnight. For true luck to be with you all of 2022, eat 12 grapes at once or a whole fish — head to tail.
Put together a scrapbook
Go out and buy scrapbook materials and put together your favorite moments of 2021. Have each person in your family be in charge of a page to make it more unique. Maybe have everyone pick their fondest memory from each month and have a page where everyone puts their favorite moment of the year. Make the whole book fit a theme such as black and gold, retro, fireworks or clocks.
Foreign traditions
Celebrating culture is a fun, interesting way to celebrate New Year's Eve this year.
Be like the Greeks and hang onions on your doorway. The smelly but delicious veggie is a symbol of rebirth and will promote growth throughout the new year.
In Denmark, when the clock strikes midnight people jump off chairs by "jumping into the new year." It's popular with the little ones and is supposed to bring good luck. Other traditions you can partake in are sprinkling salt on your doorstep to promote peace like those in Turkey do or be like the Armenians and bake bread for luck.
Make a time capsule
2021 has been an interesting year to say the least. What better way to commemorate this whirlwind than with a time capsule?
Gather some ticket stubs from movies or concerts you attended, a few photos and maybe a handwritten letter summarizing how 2021 went for you. Make it accessible for every family member by purchasing some mason jars so they each have their own capsule and can decorate as desired. If you don't want to dig up your backyard with a plethora of holes, place the jars in safe storage and revisit them next New Year's Eve.
Famous firework shows
Instead of waiting for fireworks to show up on your television screen around midnight, why not watch famous firework shows from years past?
YouTube will be your friend for this binge marathon. The better part? The shows don't have to be fixated just on celebrating New Year's Eve. Maybe you remember going to Walt Disney World as a child and want to relive seeing that firework show with your children. Additionally, you can view firework shows from past years from around the world. Just typing in "firework shows" on YouTube reveals a 33-minute firework festival from Japan.
Board game marathon
Let's end the year with fun and competition.
Starting at 6 p.m., gather everyone at home to start a board game marathon at the top of each hour until midnight. Depending on how many people are in your household, you might need to add or take away some board games. Play board games though that will not take longer than an hour, so Monopoly is definitely off the list. Caller-Times suggests Jenga, Uno, Battleship, Guess Who, Connect Four and Scrabble. Make it more interesting by adding rewards for the top player of each hour.
