6 Ideas for a Fun and Frugal New Year's Eve
The end of the year is upon us, and that means planning for New Year's Eve is well underway.
Is saving money one of your resolutions for next year? You can still have fun with friends and family on December 31. These ideas for a fun and frugal New Year's Eve will help you celebrate for less.
1. Throw a party at home.
Nothing says frugal and fun like inviting everyone over for a party. You can go as fancy or as casual as you want with the menu. Ask everyone to bring a dish, an appetizer, snacks or dessert and make it BYOB.
If you don't have enough room at your place, ask if someone else is willing to host and offer to help out. Keeping the festivities at home is much cheaper than going out to a bar for the night because you know they'll be jacking up prices for the special occasion.
Plus, if you're okay with it, people can sleep over, ensuring everyone stays safe for the night.
2. Enjoy free entertainment with games, music and movies.
What can you do for entertainment? While you're waiting for the ball to drop, play games! You can play a round of cards or trivia, partake in friendly competition with a board game or turn on a multi-player video game.
Cards Against Humanity always makes for a fun time (most of the cards aren't PC -- you've been warned!). The Jackbox Party Pack is another fun way to bring everyone together, whether they can make the party or not. I guarantee you'll make some fun memories from these games that you can carry over to the New Year.
Do you have a decent sound system? Put together a playlist featuring the songs that defined 2015 for you and your guests. Add some dance-worthy songs into the mix to get everyone excited, especially if you're older and prone to falling asleep before midnight. (It happens!)
Are there any movies or shows you and your friends have been meaning to watch together, but haven't? Take New Years Eve as an opportunity to marathon it! I'm sure someone at your party will have a Netflix, Hulu+ or Amazon Prime account where you can watch it for free.
Additionally, there's always New Year's Eve coverage happening on TV. If you have cable, you can tune in and watch free entertainment until the ball drops.
3. Reuse decorations from past events.
Why not pay homage to the events of 2015 by reusing the decorations for parties you or your friends hosted this past year? You can have fun reminiscing with everyone, and you don't have to shell out any money to make your party look festive.
As a bonus, put together a little video or photo montage of notable things that happened this past year. Did anyone graduate, get married, have a baby, start their own business or adopt a pet? Enjoy the memories together.
4. Hit up the Dollar Store.
Don't have any decorations in storage? The Dollar Store (or the dollar section at a major retailer like Target) more than likely has you covered. There's no reason to spend over $50 to spruce up your party.
Keep it simple and only get things you think your guests will enjoy. Party poppers, hats, paper plates, napkins and noisemakers are standard.
Remember, it's the company that matters most, not how awesome your place looks! (Well, you should probably do some minimal cleaning beforehand.)
5. Make New Year's Resolutions together.
If you're like most people, you might not have done so well with your resolutions for 2015. Now is the time to change that. Have everyone write their New Year's Resolutions for 2016 down, and take turns reading them. Go a step further and help each other create plans to achieve these goals.
Better yet, have those with similar goals get together and become accountability partners for each other. If five of you want to work on getting in better shape next year, try to do it together. This can save your New Year's resolutions from dying out by February.
You can also make this a tradition. Have everyone save their resolutions in a jar, and pull that jar out next New Year's Eve to see who achieved their goals.
6. Go to an event hosted by someone else.
Not into having a house party? Find somewhere else to go so you don't have to foot any of the bills. The community my parents live in has a party for every holiday and guests are allowed. People might be required to bring a dessert, but you don't have to deal with cleaning up or the stress of hosting. See if any events are happening near you.
The bottom line is that New Year's Eve doesn't have to be crazy. Honestly, I don't do much for the holiday. I stay home, fix some drinks and celebrate with family or friends in a low-key fashion. You don't have to go all out to have a good time. If saving money is your goal, then celebrate that by having a frugal New Year's Eve!
