Before you have kids, New Year’s Eve may involve late nights, loud parties and lots of champagne, but that all changes when you become a parent. While moms and dads of little ones can celebrate once the tots go to bed early, how do you spend the holiday with your teenager who’s not yet of drinking age and only hoping you’ll turn a blind eye to their shenanigans? Especially when every idea you suggest has them sighing and rolling their eyes in boredom?
There are actually a lot of fun and safe ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve together that you and your teen may agree on, but we can’t promise they’ll stop rolling their eyes.
- Host a gaming party - Even if your teenager isn’t into family game nights anymore, they probably still enjoy some kind of gaming. Having their friends over to play - whether they’re into video games, sports, cards, or board games - lets them embrace their competitive energy in a positive way, all from the comfort (and safety) of home.
- Watch fireworks - Take your teen to a local fireworks show to start 2025 off with a bang.
- Find an organized event - Get a group of their friends together to go to an indoor activity like roller skating, ice skating, bowling or at an arcade. Look for an event that ensures kids and teens stay on-site until an adult picks them up.
- Host a slumber party - It’s the easiest way to make sure your teen plays by the rules on New Year’s Eve and they can plan everything from the decor to the activities to the food. Then give them some space with their friends to celebrate safely while you’re in the other room, not hovering.
- Attend a daytime ball drop - Not going to make it to midnight? Ring in the New Year early at a family-friendly daytime ball drop near you.
- Go to an amusement park - Theme parks often have special events and hours during the holidays and with your teen inside an enclosed environment with security patrol and monitored activities, parents may be able to relax a little while the kids have fun.
- Have a fancy(ish) dinner - Whether you make it from scratch or order take out, let your teen choose the menu and use the good dishes, along with the champagne flutes for sparkling juice.
Source: She Knows