I have been celebrating New Year's eve with my kids for a few years now--I think it is a great way to discuss and understand time and the calendar as well as remissness about the year and discuss the year to come!

We decided to use pink and gold as our color scheme for the party and I wanted it to be a DIY party and share some fun ideas that hopefully you would be able to use in 2013!

Dessert Table

I made items for the dessert table as well purchased items from our local grocery store. I love the look of the three tiered cakes but they are not always budget friendly or practical with a smaller group. I found this new trick that I hope to perfect in the coming year....The only 'real' cake is the center cake that I baked. The top and bottom layers are floral foam that I frosted!! For the record--it is much easier frosting foam than cake! 

Activities

The kids frosted their own mini tiered cakes and decorated them with pink and gold sprinkles and candy. We also had fun playing with confetti and took photos in a large gold frame that had an embroidered 2013 on it! I am sending all of these photos to the kids to have as an end of the year keepsake. We also played a 'pinata' type game. I created a large New Years 'cracker' that I filled with confetti and treats for the kids. I made the cracker out of a piece of poster board--I placed the treats and confetti inside the poster board, rolled it up ans secured it with tape. I then wrapped it up with a plastic table cloth and tied the ends with ribbon--so easy!! The kids tossed the cracker around while a song was playing and who ever was holding it at the end of the song got to crack it open and dump out the treats! The kids loved this game and it is a great alternative to a pinata!

Decor

I wanted to create a NYE feel with lots of glamour and glitter! I found these adorable pink pillows with gold stars from Pottery Barn Kids that matched the decor perfectly! We also had a lot of noise makes, confetti and balloons. The kids made their own balloon wands with a balloon on a stick--they added stars and glittery ribbon that they used as they danced around the party! I love the look of the over sized balloons with glittery flowing streamers....I was concerned about finding helium with the current helium shortage and the cost to fill the balloons! I decided to blow them up and secure them to a stick that I secured to a chair. I used a New Years party cone hat that I attached to the stick to keep the balloon sitting upright. I then used shiny streamers and embellishments to hide the sticks!! The looked just like helium balloons and added so much flair to the party--I will defiantly be using this trick again!

We all had a great time celebrating NYE and I plan on making this a new tradition! I hope everyone has a happy New Year!