New Year's Eve is a time to gather family and friends together to ring in the new year. Including some games in the night's festivities is a great way to break the ice and ensure that your guests will have a fun time counting down the hours, minutes, and seconds until the clock strikes midnight.
Exciting Games for New Year's Eve
No matter what age your guests are, they are sure to enjoy a mix of fun party games while ringing in the new year.
Guess How Many
This game can be for both kids and adults. You will need to fill a clear jar with a mix of items related to New Year's Eve and have your guests guess how many items are in the jar. Some ideas to use to fill up the jar are:
- Candy
- Small noisemakers
- Tiny toys
- Coins
For filler, add some colorful confetti that will also obscure the items and make it more challenging.
Provide slips of paper near the jar and have your guests write down their name and their guess. The slips of paper can be placed in a hat or basket. At the end of the party, award the jar of items to the guest who has the closest guess.
Old News
Before the party, search through old magazines or newspapers from the past year and find specific events that took place during the year. You can also search online. Make a list of the events and ask the guests which month the event took place in. Whoever guesses the most events correct is the winner.
New Year's Eve Countdown
For this game, you will place a note with an activity written on it inside a balloon. Have a balloon for each hour of the party. Pop a balloon every hour until midnight and have your guests do what it says to do at that hour. Some activities to include on the notes are dance to music, play a game, and sing a song.
Hide the Clock
This game is fun for all ages. To play, you'll need a clock that ticks loudly. Designate a specific room or area of the house to hide the clock. The first person takes the clock and hides it. The rest of the guests must search for the clock using the ticking of the clock as a clue. The first person to find the clock gets her chance to hide it.
Volley Balloon
People of all ages can participate in this fun game. To play, hit the balloon back and forth to an opposing team while linked to an arm of a partner. Have your guests divide into teams of two and tie one arm of each player to another. Whatever team volleys the balloon for the longest amount of time is the winner.
Another twist on this game is to have the teams race to a finish line while volleying a balloon in the air. If the balloon hits the ground, the team must return to the starting point and start over again.
Free-For-All
If you are hosting a party with children, be sure to have a variety of toys and games for them to play with during the party. That way, if they do not want to participate in the games that the adults are playing, they have an option to play with a toy or game that they choose. Options to include are puzzles, board games, coloring books, and crayons. You can also print out coloring pages online and hold a coloring contest for the kids. Award each participant a small prize.
Make Memories
New Year's Eve is the perfect time to begin a new year with friends and family while making memories that will last a lifetime. Including a few fun games in your party will break the ice and get your guests socializing with one another. You can make your party an annual tradition that will have your guests excited each year to play games and have some fun.
