Happy New Year!

{Real Parties}

After such a busy holiday season, we decided to have a "quiet" New Year's Eve at home.  To celebrate the start of 2013, our family of five would enjoy some light snacks while playing board games and watching movies.  Of course we needed just a few party supplies to ring in the new year but I just hate the generic stuff that you find at the stores.  So I decided to add my own embellishments on some old favorites in our DIY New Year's eve party.

I chose to use a similar color scheme as the one in my recent cookie exchange party, featured here, since I still had some supplies left over. For my own spin on noise makers, I bought some cheap horns, cut off the ends, and used washi tape to attach tissue paper streamers.  I filled some small, square tins that I had left over from my DIY advent calendar, with a few small candies, taped popsicle sticks to the backs of the tins, and covered in gift wrap.

This cute printable was found on Tip Junkie and I have included it on my Pinterest board with the other ideas that I found for New Years inspiration. I hung some disco ball-like filler on ribbon from the ceiling and topped drink stirrers with mini styrofoam balls for champagne glass decor. (The kids enjoyed sparkling cider from plastic glasses.)

I am not the only girl in my household that loves glitter.  My daughter had to have a tiara, of course.  I bought some paper hats at the Dollar Store and modgepodged (is that a word?) on some pink glitter.  It was a mess!  I added some silver tinsel bows to the tops with hot glue.  I fear I may be finding glitter all over my house for the next few months but the hats did turn out pretty!

I also hung confetti poppers to pull after our countdown.  These were easy to make.  I cut up tissue paper into small squares, stuffed it into empty toilet paper rolls, wrapped with colored tissue paper and stamped the outside with gold ink.  A note to the neat freaks like myself, you may find yourself getting out the vacuum just minutes after midnight like I did to clean up all the mess, but all, I wouldn't have traded our evening in for the hottest nightclub party in town!  

Happy New Year!