New Year's Eve is one of our favorite nights of the year. We have a fun family tradition that we do each year to celebrate. Here is how we welcomed 2021-
We had lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant in town. Here are David and the boys waiting for them to open at noon.
New Year's Eve lunch at La Pasta Nostra in Antigua
shrimp fettuccine Alfredo
Another favorite is ice cream at Glacy. We enjoyed that after lunch.
I always get the pineapple basil. I know it might not sound appealing but it is delicious!!!
We then headed home to get ready for our party. I filled sixteen balloons with helium and slips of paper that told us what to do at each time slot. We began at 4:30 and popped a new balloon every 30 minutes until midnight. This has been our tradition for many years now and it is so much fun!!
Ready to pop our first balloon at 4:30
We always begin with family pictures.
We made noise makers (paper plates filled with dried beans) and did a coloring sheets.
Next, we made homemade pizzas.
Our New Year's cake for 2021
We then had one of several rounds of games. Here is Ben stacking M&M's on a Popsicle stick. We raced to see who could get the most.
I added a few new games this year. One of those was this ring toss game made with paper plates and the cardboard from a roll of paper towels.
I also made this game from a poster board. We tossed cotton balls into it.
Did you know that cereal boxes make great puzzles? I had cut up several and we took turns working each of them. It was a fun way to pass a time slot.
Cruz doing a cup stacking game. We used those cups several different ways throughout the night.
At 7:30 we got glow sticks, ring pops (to "ring" in the new year), and had a dance party in the living room.
fun times!!
Next we had a New Year's themed word search, bingo, and tic tac toe.
8:30- another round of games.
They loved this game I made with a poster board called flight school. We each got a piece of paper to make a paper airplane and then took turns trying to score points by flying it through the holes. We kept up with all game scores throughout the night and had a grand winner at the end.
Ben reading our 9:00 idea. They squealed because it had us going outside to shoot a few fireworks.
At 9:30 we made hot chocolate and watched Happy New Year Charlie Brown.
They did a Year in Review sheet and we also had some reflection cards to debrief 2020.
Our 11:00 balloon sent us to the school room to paint bird houses. I
had some New Year's trivia questions we answered while they painted.
I saved the best games for last. At 11:30 we grabbed Nerf guns and starting shooting. I hot glued these cups together as a base and we had to shoot the mini figures off of them. We got points for each one we knocked off.
I did this game last year and they begged for it again. It was our last game of the night. I hot glued tissue paper over plastic cups and then glued the cups to a display board. Inside the cups were prizes. It was our grand finale.
I had made everyone a score card necklace and passed them out at the beginning of the night. When we won a game we added a sticker to it. It was how we kept up with our scores. Cruz was the grand winner.
We popped our last balloon at midnight and then did what everyone else in the world does- shoot fireworks.
They got air horns to blow at midnight.
The fireworks were so pretty and LOUD!!!
I love being in Guatemala on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The fireworks are amazing!
We finally got to bed around 1:00 am. I was up around 7:00 on New Year's Day starting to cook. The boys slept until 9:00 (that is the latest either of them have ever slept!)
We had a pancake breakfast.
Then for lunch we had turkey, carrot souffle, macaroni and cheese, beans, rolls, and chocolate chess pie.
New Year's Day lunch
We spent the rest of the day on the couch watching football. It was a relaxing way to end our holiday celebration. What a fun time it had been ringing in the new year. Hello 2021!!! I hope the fun continues all year long.
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