Staying at home for New Year’s Eve is a popular choice for families, especially for those with younger children. You can save money by avoiding high-priced entertainment and enjoy a more relaxed evening at your own pace – and if the kids can’t quite keep their eyes open until midnight, it’s easier to bundle them off to bed in your own home.
With just the right balance of nibbles, mocktails for the kids and a few games along the way, we think a family New Year’s Eve party at home can be great fun for everyone.
New Year’s Eve party food
Having an array of snacks and nibbles on hand is essential, from a moreish cheesy spinach & artichoke dip (with tortilla chips, hunks of bread and crudités) and mini sausage rolls to cheese & pesto rolls and fun easy hedgehog canapé skewers. You could also make rainbow fruit skewers and get the kids to help put them together. If you want to put on a buffet-style spread, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in our family New Year’s Eve collection – but you might want to feed the little ones something more substantial, too.
For a cosy family meal, try this creamy chicken stew – it’s a real crowd-pleaser, especially served alongside our smashed mini jackets. Or tuck into this fun onion bhaji sharing board, with a mixture of onion bhajis, green chutney, cucumber raita, pomegranate salad and mini poppadoms. New Year’s Eve is hardly the time for epic amounts of washing-up, so take a look at our family winter traybake ideas for all-in-one recipes. Or, put the slow cooker to good use and make a hearty stew to warm up after watching the fireworks.
Festive mocktails for kids
The grown-ups might be drinking something fizzy and fun, but the kids don’t need to miss out. Whizz together these frozen blackberry smoothies or serve a simplified version of our faux fizz made with elderflower cordial instead of the base syrup.
If your New Year’s Eve plans include stepping outside into the cold, warm up afterwards with a batch of mulled apple juice. Alternatively, the kids will enjoy watching these chocolate stirrers dissolve into delicious mugs of hot chocolate.
Desserts and sweet treats
Inspired by the 80s classic Viennetta, this showstopping mint choc chip ice cream bombe is a perfect celebration pud that screams nostalgia at Christmastime. Alternatively, this amazing millionaire’s cheesecake feels fancy but boasts flavours everyone will love. If you want to get the little ones involved ahead of time, have a look at our kids’ baking recipes to see if there’s anything sweet they’d like to help make. We also think these white chocolate fortune cookies are a great snack for New Year’s Eve – you can write your own messages inside for your family to discover!
New Year’s Eve games for families
Of course, entertainment at New Year’s Eve is a must! Start the night with some hands-on activities for the kids – they could make a papier mâché mask, create a fun firework picture using black paper and glitter pens or craft their own paper plate clock to help them countdown to midnight. If you’re entertaining lots of children, we also have some great ideas for kids’ party games you could play.
A family board game is also a fun option for New Year’s Eve, as it gets everyone around a table. If you want to try something new, there are a whole host of modern family board games that kids of all ages can enjoy. You can also opt for a low-key family film night – a great way to pass the time and help the kids wind down before they finally make it to bed.
How do you like to spend New Year’s Eve with your family? Leave a comment below…
Get more inspiration for New Year’s Eve
Family New Year’s Eve recipes
Kids’ party drink recipes
Best ever New Year’s Eve party food
How to cater for a party
New Year’s Eve menu
