The Teen's New Year's Eve Sleepover – Party Prep 101

A few weeks ago, Junior asked us for permission to have a New Year's Eve Sleepover. My first reaction was, “Good!” because I am quite aware that I'll only have a few more New Year's Eves with him before he prefers to go out with his friends. His dad and I also agreed because the boys been hanging with this year are a nice group of kids who tolerate assaults from Diva with kindness and patience. Plus, if it's within our power to make our son happy, we do it.


The norm for Junior's sleepovers is that the kids bring their laptops and spend most of their time playing on their computers. They do this every night anyway via Skype, so it's nice to see them having face-time whenever they can outside of school. “What can I do,” I asked, “to make this party extra-special since it is New Year's Eve?” My son thought about it for a second, which made me a little nervous because I thought he was going to ask that we take the entire party out for dinner (NOT!). “Mom, I'd like a Taco Bar,” he said. Interesting concept. We volleyed some ideas and here's what I'm picturing:


We'll do it, obviously, buffet-style. We'll start out with a basket containing hard taco shells and soft tortillas; the soft tortillas might be easier for our guests who have braces to eat. Then there will be individual dishes containing tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and black beans. Next in line will be two dishes containing seasoned ground beef and turkey, respectively. Lastly, I foresee a container of taco sauce and a large salad bowl on the side in case any kid actually wants to add some to his plate.


The bar will consist of Sprite (which is apparently the choice drink for this group), seltzer, and sparkling cider served in plastic champagne glasses (fancy!).


For dessert, we'll offer a Make-Your-Own-Sundae Bar which is easy thanks to those single-serve cups of half-chocolate, half-vanilla. The kids can spoon on, from little serving bowls, toppings such as nuts, M&Ms, smashed Butterfingers, and add whipped cream before pouring on chocolate syrup, if they want. The final bowls will consist of sprinkles and Maraschino cherries.

I thought about buying party hats and noisemakers, but then realized that these kids are too cool for hats and are noisy enough without the noisemakers. I'm thinking that penny whistles might allow them to make some noise at midnight without my ears ringing for days afterward.


The next day, the waffle maker will come in handy for obvious reasons, especially since the catch phrase for this group seems to be “I like waffles.” With any luck, our guests will be picked up by 11:30am on New Year's Day.


I know that future parties will get bigger and more expensive, so I'm cherishing the simplicity of this one and knowing that my son will be in the house having fun the last night of 2013. Junior will get very little sleep (the last time some of these kids slept over, they didn't go to bed until 4am) and start out the New Year happy, if tired. Yes, my son, you can have a sleepover. Let's make it the best one yet!


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Please check back in with me for my favorite New Year's Jokes. Why shouldn't 2013 go out with a laugh?!