Family New Year's games night

What it is

A home New Year’s Eve that works for every age. Families form teams and compete over three rounds of games for a trophy. Younger kids get their own countdown at a sensible time, and the grown-ups carry on until midnight.

Plan ahead

• One week before: gather supplies for Minute to Win It games (cups, balloons, cookies, ping pong balls, spaghetti) and prepare a quiz with questions for all ages.
• The day before: make a scoreboard and teams sheet, and prepare snacks.

Minute to Win It games

Each game lasts 60 seconds:

• Cookie face: move a cookie from your forehead to your mouth without hands.
• Stack attack: build a pyramid of 10 plastic cups and then take it down.
• Balloon keep-up: keep 2-3 balloons in the air.
• Spaghetti and penne: pick up penne pasta with a stick of uncooked spaghetti held in your mouth.
• Nose dash: push a cotton ball across the table with your nose, after rubbing petroleum jelly on it.

Family quiz

Mix questions so everyone can answer some: picture rounds for kids, “this year in the news” for adults, and general knowledge. Each round gets the team discussing.

Kids’ countdown

Pick a place where it is already midnight and count down with them: at 7pm in London it is midnight in Pakistan, and at 10pm in New York it is midnight in Rio de Janeiro. Or play a countdown video at 9pm.

Food and drink

• A build-your-own taco or pizza dinner
• Snack bowls: popcorn, crisps, sweets
• Sparkling grape juice for kids, champagne for adults
• A clock-shaped cake

Tips

• Mix ages within teams.
• Keep a comfy corner with blankets for kids who fall asleep before midnight.