New Year's At Home? Here's How To Decorate And Celebrate

The world greets 2021 in a subdued manner, what with the COVID-19 pandemic still prompting us to stay in quarantine and keep our social festivities at a minimum. But that doesn't mean New Year's Eve 2021 will be completely cheerless! Even if you're staying at home and celebrating with just your close family members, all it takes is a little imagination to make it a lovely, memorable start to the year.

Here are great tips to celebrate New Year's at home, making it festive with fantastic decor and fun activities.

 

1. Have a dress-up contest.

Decide on a theme for your NYE party and have everyone dress up accordingly. At the start of the party, give everyone a moment in the 'spotlight' to showcase their attire, and take lots of pictures. Then, by the end of the night, give a fun award to the Best Dressed attendee.

Favorite party themes include The Roaring '20s, Hollywood red carpet, Disney, disco, and of course, the Ugly Holiday Sweater Party.

 

2. Start a family tree tradition.

The start of the year is a perfect time to create (or update) your family's genealogy line. You can gather your family members on New Year's Eve and craft your handmade family tree together. Or you can have your family tree professionally printed in advance, then unveil it during your NYE party. We have more ideas for family tree art here!

Wall art pictured above: Personalized Family Names On Tree Premium Canvas V2

 

3. Fill your space with lights.

For an instantly cheery party space, put up lots and lots of fun lighting! Whether you're gathering inside your house or outside on your yard, string lights and lanterns give that much-needed glow to your celebration. For extra pizzazz, distribute safe sparklers or neon glowsticks to your guests to light up together at midnight.

 

4. Take some new family pictures.

Gather your entire family at a nice, well-lit spot, put your camera on timer, and create your updated 'official' family portrait. Don't just stop at one pose, though! Make different versions like funny faces, villain look, 2020 mood, and other fun themes you can think of. Your photos will look extra-special when everyone's all dressed up for the occasion. You can also add photo booth props like hats and mustaches.

Pillow pictured above: Personalized Photo Pillow "Family... Love"

 

5. Put up lots of hanging decor.

Nothing says 'party' like streamers, banners, and buntings. This year, try your hand at going plastic-free -- no more plastic ornaments or balloons. It's really easy and affordable to pull off, as party supply stores carry endless styles of festive paper decor. You can even make some paper baubles yourself!

 

6. Set up a build-your-own food bar.

To keep your guests busy -- and satisfied! -- put up a buffet table or a beverage bar where they can make their own concoctions. Lots of variations you can think up here: a build-your-own sandwich bar, taco stand, dessert station, or a mix-your-own cocktail bar. If you need a little help on setting one up, we found a great compilation of how-to's over at Mary Carver's blog.

Wall art pictured above: Personalized "Kitchen - Seasoned With Love" Premium Canvas

 

7. Make a "Memories & Hopes" scrapbook.

Here's another New Year's tradition that's wonderful for saying goodbye to 2020. Take some cute stationery and have your family members write down their most significant 2020 memories, as well as their biggest hopes for 2021. Paste all these in a blank scrapbook. Add other mementos like newspaper clippings, special receipts, and photos.

This scrapbook will be something to revisit in the following years, and even more, it'll help you tell the story of how your family survived the unique year that was 2020.

 

8. Play games.

No party is complete without fun games! Some classic family-friendly party games are bingo, hit the piñata, and treasure hunt. You can google lots of tutorials for the parlor game of your choice. Take it one step further by designing your game to fit your theme, like Disney bingo, disco ball piñata, or red carpet treasure hunt.

 

9. Give cute 'trophies' as Family Awards.

Your mom, dad, and siblings likely displayed some standout qualities in 2020 -- qualities that deserve an award. Maybe Mom shone bright as The Top Chef (of The Family), or Dad became The Work-From-Home Mogul. How about your brother or sister surviving remote learning as The Zoom Expert?

Prepare a family awards ceremony and give out little mementos as trophies for these qualities. The item could be sentimental (like a custom artwork) or a gag gift (like a funny pillow).

Wall art pictured above: Personalized Names "Love Forest Path" Premium Canvas

Pillow pictured above: Personalized Photo Pillow "World's Best Farter -- I Mean Father"

 

10. Make some noise!

Of course, the New Year must be greeted with lively sounds! Hand out little whistles, party horns, and other noise-makers to your party guests. Nearing midnight, turn up your favorite countdown, such as NYC's Times Square Ball Drop, and let everyone get loud. The good thing about New Year's noise-making is that it's completely doable even if your party is scaled down to just a few guests. You can still start the New Year with a bang!

 

Bonus: Tele-party with remote loved ones.

Many of us won't be able to physically join our family and friends for New Year's Eve 2021. Thank God for videocalls and teleconferencing! Arrange a joint videocall party with your remote loved ones, timing it so that you all count down together as 2021 nears.

 

Tell us: how are you going to celebrate New Year 2021? Share in the comments!

For more of the home decor items and gifts featured here, check out our customer-starred products at GearDen.com.

From all of us here at Gear Den, happy New Year to you and yours!