We’re lucky that winter is filled with so many festivities! Sometimes it feels like they sneak up on you – and getting the house decorated for Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, and NYE can be overwhelming, not to mention expensive. A great alternative to buying NYE decorations is making them yourself, and it’s also the perfect way to keep kids (and ourselves!) entertained off-screens between Christmas and the NYE celebrations. We’ve listed some easy DIY New Year’s decorations to inspire your evening.
We’re not suggesting you have to be the Leonardo Da Vinci of homemade décor to get a good-looking NYE party going! Here are some of our simplest but stunning ideas:
- Don’t retire all your Christmas décor just yet! Paper stars are perfect for DIY New Year’s Eve decorations, too.
- DIY doesn’t have to involve crafts: String lights can be the perfect way to set a festive yet cozy mood for your New Year’s Eve celebrations.
- Balloons dipped in PVC glue and then dipped in glitter will set the mood for a cheerful, glitzy evening.
- You can set out sparkly pipe cleaners for guests to make silly glasses or cute crowns – just make sure they don’t get mistaken for snacks as the night wears on!
To get your home looking festive but not Christmas-y, take a look at our tips for the home.
- Cut out shapes in a napkin and wrap it around an LED lightbulb. Spray paint the bulb and remove the napkin – voila! You have a decorative light!
- Cut out the New Year’s number from cardboard boxes and wrap these in leftover Christmas tinsel.
- Save old matchboxes or analog film cases and fill them with confetti. Wrapping these little boxes makes them look even cuter!
- Cover plain string lights with origami boxes. It takes some patience and folding, but maybe your kids will help and origami is a great mindfulness exercise!
It’s a cold time of year for most, but the garden can be spruced up for your party, too! Plus, it’s the perfect place to cool off after lots of dancing.
- One for home or the garden: NYE piñatas! Fill the piñata with confetti, glitter, or treats and let your guests have fun.
- Create a balloon garland to drape around your front door. You can include cardboard numbers for the New Year, streamers, and tinsel from Christmas. A color scheme is an easy way to make it look professional.
Themed parties are always a hit! Your guests get the opportunity to go a little wild with their ideas, and there’s a dress code that’s easy to follow. None of that smart-casual confusion. If you’re celebrating with family, a theme will set your evening apart from other nights in, and kids will enjoy the novelty.
- Clocks: Create little clock cake-toppers with moving dials or cut out big cardboard clocks
- Pajama Party: Make feather-dipped balloons, scatter lots of cushions around, set up a tent in the garden or living room, create an area just for a hot cocoa bar
- Outdoors/Indoors: Set up lots of candles to melt marshmallows for indoor smore’ing, use rustic decorations such as leaves, pussy-willow branches, and fill a bowl with lots (and lots and lots) of string lights to replace a campfire.
Kids are often so creative that they don’t need extra ideas to get started on exciting DIY New Year’s decorations. Ask them what they want to do and take it from there! If a little extra motivation is needed, here are our top picks:
- An NYE wishing wand: Use straws, ice-lolly sticks, or pipe-cleaners as the stem, then stick the stem to a cutout and decorated shape of your choosing. Write your intentions and wishes along the outside (in a made-up alphabet if the kids want to keep things secret!)
- Paint times on countdown balloons that the kids get to pop on the hour. Staying up until midnight is exciting for kids, but also hard work if they’re used to an early bedtime. A countdown keeps things exciting, and letting them pop the balloons will usually go down a treat.
- Glow sticks. Need we say more?
Food and drink are not to be overlooked, even on NYE. You can make things festive by decorating glasses and plates, and serving party snacks.
- Paint countdown numbers on cups and glasses!
- Set up a bar so your guests don’t get thirsty and you can relax and enjoy the night. A table with balloons, streamers and a pretty sign is all you need for the bar. As for what is on offer – that’s up to you! Maybe you’ll be happy with a few bottles of bubbly or alternative drinks, but you could also offer sodas for your guests to experiment.
- The 80s were the height of mini-foods? True, but why not honor the novelty of that decade and serve little bites and finger food to keep your guests going. DIY skewers and labels will make it seem all the more festive!
We hope you’ve enjoyed these ideas for DIY New Year’s decorations. If you can’t get enough of planning decorations, we’ve got some spring decoration ideas to see you into the New Year. You can also register with Ask Team Clean to get the latest articles and promotions sent to your email address.