Family New Year’s Eve Party – Snapchat Party Theme!

My husband Xaver turned to me in the car the other day and asked what we were gonna do for New Year's Eve. It's a question I've seen on social media more and more because my friends are getting older and having kids too. Going out to party or driving all night to Vegas isn't really in our bones anymore, know what I mean? And if you have kids and want to do something fun (but safe) for New Years Eve, you know exactly what I mean. With a teen at home and a almost*tween, the challenge for a killer New Years Even that's safe and amazing is real. New Year's Eve at Legoland was cool … when they were like 4 years old.  That's why we planned this New Year's Eve SNAPCHAT party! The tweens can dab the night away and the teens won't feel lame eating emoji cupcakes and rainbow pizza with their parents. Even better, the adults can have fun with the silly theme too. Here's how to plan a DIY Snapchat Family New Year's Eve Party!

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Easy DIY Snapchat party decor

Since Snapchat's icon is a ghost, you can scour the clearance racks for Halloween decor and score some ghost themed items, even now.

I picked up these tinsel ghosts at Michaels' and recycled some cheesecloth ghosts that I made with Aleene's Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid and used for Halloween decor this fall. You can get the cheesecloth at Target and Walmart in the cooking tools aisle.

How-to: Cheesecloth Ghosts

We used bright colors like lime green and yellow to set off the backdrop. Pick up a Balloon Time kit for about $35 to blow up balloons to use for the party. We got the emoji balloons on clearance (score!) at Target but you can find them online even CHEAPER using the link above.

Tip: Every time you go to Target or another box store, make a circle around to all the clearance sections to spot must-haves at amazing prices.

Since the emoji balloons we got were mylar, they can be flattened and reused later after the party is over. My son Matthew's birthday is in March so … LOL!

Snapchat Party Food Ideas

Emojis, stickers, and rainbows are so-very-Snapchat so we incorporated those into the color decor and food. Hey, who said your food can't be part of the decor too?

Pick up an assortment of bottled sodas in rainbow colors then arrange them on the table like a rainbow. We got all of these sodas at Target. The Jarritos brand are usually on sale for about 50 cents each this time of year! Or pick up rainbow colored cans of Zevia online.  You can pre-chill these drinks or lay them in a tray filled with ice to keep the rainbow theme going on the table. If you want to make punch, we recommend the Cranberry Orange Spritzers we shared earlier this month. They're made with Emergen-C, a great way to pack in the healthy vitamins and start the new year off right!

Recipe: Cranberry Orange Spritzers

Add jars filled with colorful rainbow straws near the sodas so everyone can feel like they are drinking a fancy drink for New Year's Eve. Keep the adult beverages out of reach of the kids; we kept ours in the fridge and away from the “party table”.

Save money on party decor

Keep things simple with paper bags and mason jars to hold utensils and snacks. What better way to keep a New Year's Resolution than to kick off the new year by saving money? I keep a stock of mason jars in the cabinet for parties, drinks, and other uses. You can pick up packs of colored bags like these at Target or Walmart to use for parties foods, gift wrapping, and more throughout the year.

Let's talk emoji cupcakes!

You can't have a Snapchat party without emojis! Most bakeries in box stores and grocery stores offer plain white frosted cupcakes. Since we usually eat a paleo or clean menu, I don't have all the ingredients for baking cupcakes on hand so we pick up pre-baked goodies for guests at the grocery store. We got these cupcakes from Target. Use a spray food dye to color the cupcakes any color you want. Seriously, the spray food dye is super fun to use!! Airbursh your cupcakes with it until they are the right color. Then use tubes of decorator's icing to add emoji faces to the cupcakes. Get the kids involved and let them make their favortie emojis! Katie decorated these ones…

Vegan-friendly rainbow pizza

Because some of our guests are vegan, we decided to make a vegan-friendly pizza that's rainbow colored to fit the Snapchat theme. Buy pre-made vegan pizza dough at the store and form to fit a cookie sheet. Spread with vegan marinara sauce (most jar varieties are okay; just read the ingredients) and then add chopped veggies in rows to resemble a rainbow:

• RED = pepperoni, red peppers
• ORANGE = orange peppers
• YELLOW = yellow peppers
• GREEN = green peppers
• PURPLE = purple onions
• BLACK = olives

We placed a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese under the onion and olive layers and the pepperoni layer. We made sure to cut the middle pieces so our vegan friends can eat those and the rest of us can enjoy meat and cheese pizza if we like. Kicking off the new year with a healthier pizza like this feels good!

If you can't find vegan pizza dough in your local market, try this yeast-free vegan pizza dough recipe from Elephantastic Vegan.

Taco popcorn bags

We wanted party munchies but didn't want unhealthy choices like chips or tacos. We prepared low-fat microwave popcorn and tossed with with taco seasoning for added flavor. This “Taco Popcorn” snack is easy, gluten-free, and vegan so it's great for parties. Plus it tastes amazing!! No chips needed for this healthy Snapchat party.

Recipe: Taco Popcorn

Pretzel Sticks

We drizzled pretzel sticks with white and pastel chocolate for a colorful sweet treat for the kids. I mean, you can only eat so many cupcakes before you start to feel sick!

Lay everything out on a table and the Snapchat party is ready! Play music, have board games set up, and ring in the new year at home, as a family. You can even rent a smoke machine and party lights at the party shop to have a dance party!

What are your New Year's Eve plans?

Let me know about your best New Year's ever in the comments … and I'd love to hear your plans for this year as well.