Disney's in the Desert

New Years Eve: At Home Ideas

Between busy work schedules, pregnancies, and babies, our New Years Eve have been quiet and spent at home the last few years. Although we are home, we have used this time to be intentional and make memories our kids (and us!) can look back on later.

We plan a fun family night in with appetizers, comfy clothes, movies, and board games!

The Food

It’s so much fun to make a festive board, and we usually try to get a tray or board long enough to write out the year in meats and cheeses (I’m kind of a charcuterie board hoarder at this point so I have lots of options for these in my kitchen but if you don’t, you can usually find an affordable long/large tray at Walmart or Home Goods!) Put nuts, grapes, cranberries, blueberries, pretzels and whatever else your fam likes munching on in between as filler!!! C wanted me to mention it’s a good idea to buy a container or two of rosemary – ‘it makes it that much more festive around the holidays and also it smells good too!’ – haha!!

I personally also like gathering crackers and smoked cheeses, and savory almonds because it feels like we’re adding something a little more special to bring in a new year of life!

We usually buy Gallo Salame® meats for the “numbers”. My kiddos love it and think it’s fun (especially because the older 3 all know their numbers now! 😉 I recently learned how to make salami flowers and it brings a ‘fancy’ flare to these NYE boards as well. There are two easy technique – I’ll try to do a video on them soon!!

The Entertainment

Because the kids aren’t old enough to stay up all the way until midnight, we usually start our snack boards early evening, eat and play a couple of family board games. Another fun idea is a family scavenger hunt. It doesn’t need to be intricate – Pinterest has a bunch of ideas on how to make it fun at home/in your neighborhood!

The Reflecting/Gratitude

We usually snack, eat and chat about our year and what our favorite parts were. It’s a great way to reflect and also remind ourselves on what we’re grateful for, and how we grew.

The Wrap Up

We do this for an hour or so, and then end the night snuggled up, streaming a new movie that’s been recently released.

This night isn’t hard to pull off, but I make it easier on myself by planning ahead. I grab what I need at the store and go over the plan a few times with my busy husband (to remind him when everything is happening!). If you’re looking for a fun night in with your kids/loved ones, try one or two of these ideas!

Happy New Year, friends!! Thank you for being in this space with us and supporting + encouraging our family through 2021! Cheers to 2022!!!

Quick Holiday Treats

I wanted to compile a few of our fave EASY, EASY (!!!!) holiday cookies and treats that you can whip up with very little effort and time in the kitchen. Most utilize prepackaged mixes and goodies.

Christmas Tree Brownies

What you’ll need:

-1 package of brownie mix

-festive sprinkles

-black writing icing

Cook brownies to package directions and then cut out triangle shapes. Add writing icing in a curvy line starting at the top of the triangle to the bottom. Add your sprinkles as you desire (I like adding the perils first and then adding the stars one by one to look like they’re actually ‘hanging’ on the ‘trees’!)

Hot Chocolate Dipping Sticks

What you’ll need:

-peppermint candy sticks (we like the soft ones) or candy canes

-baking chocolate or chocolate chips (we used choco chips as they’re always on hand here!)

-mini marshmallow bits

Dip half of the stick or the top part of the candy cane in the chocolate so it is lightly coated. Set on parchment paper and while it’s still wet/drying, sprinkle on the marshmallow bits.

Sugar Cookie Blossoms

This one I got right from the Hershey website – make sure you do the sanding sugar! I am obsessed with the sugar cookie flavor kisses, and each year I stock up on several bags! It’s always so sad when the holidays are over and this flavor disappears, haha.

Holiday Grahams

What you’ll need:

-graham crackers (halved)

-white chocolate (melted)

-candy canes (crushed)

Heat your white chocolate so that it’s smooth. Take a spatula and add a thin layer to each graham cracker (half). Add your crushed candy cane to the top while it’s still wet!

Santa Banana Pops

Honey and I made these this year and they were so much fun! We had them waiting for the boys when they got home from school and they were a hit with them too!!

All you need:
•paper straws
•bananas
•chocolate chips (or mini chocolate chips for the eyes)
•red m&ms
•strawberries (cut off top)
•mini marshmallows (for top of hat)
•regular marshmallows (cut in 1/3s for base of hat)

Start by cutting your bananas in 1/4s. Take your banana and slide it down a quarter of the way down the straw. Next take a regular marshmallow and cut it into 1/3s. Use one of those to place onto of the banana on your straw (it will be a little sticky but don’t worry).

After that’s done, place your strawberry on top of that (make sure to slice off the green leaves). Next, place a mini marshmallow on top to finish of his hat!

For the last steps, just add the mini chocolate chips for the eyes and red m&ms for the mouth and you’re done!

Voila! Tag me if you try these!

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