When birthdays fall on or around holidays, they can sometimes sink behind the grandeur and excitement of the traditions of the day. New Year’s is no such phenomenon. On New Year’s Eve and into New Year’s Day, the whole world is partying. It’s a great time to celebrate a Dec. 31 or Jan. 1 birthday.
Father and Baby
Father Time and the baby new year are classic symbols of the changing year. Use them to celebrate the life of the birthday girl or boy and the changing age. Bring a handful of pictures from his babyhood and youth. Let guests guess how old the little guy was in each picture, while laughing about how much he has, or has not, changed. Grab some construction paper and some crayons. Let partygoers, especially children, imagine how the guest of honor will look in 50 years.
Dance Off
Put together a playlist that includes favorites from decades of your birthday girl’s or boy’s life. The older the guest of honor, the more choices you have. Invite guests to show off their best moves from each decade. This is a great intergenerational game as it lets each age group display the dances it knows best. Ask each group to teach the dance steps to the others. By the end of the night, grandma will be break dancing and little kids will be jitterbugging.
Drop It
If you have the space and clean-up energy, remaking your own version of the ball dropping at midnight is a great way to mark your guest of honor’s new age, especially if his birthday is on Jan.1. At midnight, drop a birthday cake or some other smashable item from the second floor of your house. This is great for kids who love messes. Make sure you have another cake to eat.
Adults Only
If your guests are of age and are responsible drinkers, you may want to put together a drinking game. This may include drinking a beverage when you get an answer wrong to a trivia game about the year or the birthday boy. Include some activities, such as dancing, and some games that don’t include alcohol. During these times, make plenty of water and food available to help guests temper their drinking.
Team Up
Pit one group of guests against another with a trivia game about the guest of honor’s past year of life. Write a list of questions about things that happened to him throughout the year. These may be monumental events, such as graduation, or happenstance, such as an awkward date. See which team knows more about him.
Photo Credit
- new years still life image by AGphotographer from Fotolia.com
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