Alien New Year's

Kids love to celebrate New Year's Eve! A fun theme for a kid's New Year's Eve party is Aliens and Outerspace! Lots of glowing decorations and fun activities will make it a night to remember.

And now that we're in the 21st Century, who knows what awaits??

New Year's Alien Invitations
Personalized alien New Year's invitations will blast your guest right to the stars! Fun wording such as "Let's set a course for 2012!" is sure to get everyone's attention. Add some extra special sparkle to the invite by sprinkling a little stars and swirls confetti in the envelope.

Get The Kids Involved: You can make your own invitations out of neon colored paper. Cut it into a fun shape like a rocket, star or planet, and decorate it with glitter. Make sure to write something on them like, "The Martians are coming…to our New Year's Eve Party! Will you be here to greet them?"

If you are having the party for a younger group of kids, consider starting (and ending) the events early on New Year's Eve. An older group might make it until midnight. If that is the case, have a sleepover so parents can celebrate without worrying about picking up their kids.

New Year's Decorations and Party Supplies
You will want to make the kids feel like they left Earth and are traveling among the stars! This party works best in a large empty room, so clear out any furniture so there is plenty of room to move around! Or better yet, get the party room at your Children's Museum, or at the Science Museum, where kids can marvel at the wonders of air and space.

Start by covering the room with glow star gossamer; it is inexpensive, and will make a dramatic impression. Continue the glowing star theme with balloon bouquets made from glowing star balloons. You can place them near the entrance, on the tables, and in the corners of the room; anywhere you need a little decoration! Set up several black lights, and all of the glow-in-the-dark elements will shine brightly!

Make signs from black poster board and glow in the dark paint. Do a few directional signs, "Venus: 25 million miles ahead", and a landmark sign or two; Mons Huygens (largest mountain on the moon) or Andromeda Galaxy (our closest galaxy neighbor). You can even paint large styrofoam balls (from the craft store) like planets and moons. Don't forget to include some fun facts about the celestial bodies. Yay for educational decorations!

Twinkle lights and a starlight sphere or two in the hallways will create a beautiful tunnel of light. A paper hallway runner with glow in the dark "alien footprints" painted on it would be fun as well, just make sure it is secure so no one trips! Set the mood with some "space" music. The soundtrack from Star Wars, 2001: A Space Odyssey, or Apollo 13 is perfect.

New Year's Space Menu and Table Decorations
Continue to wow all of you spacefarers by making your tables and food as "far out" as your decorations. It's simple to do, just continue to add glowing elements and extra-terrestrial touches! Here are a few quick and easy ideas:

• Start by covering your tables with black craft paper. Set out glow-in-the-dark crayons so the kids can doodle while they eat.
• Scatter some glow stars across the table and the buffet if you are having one.
• Disposable tableware makes clean up a snap. Green will look good against the black tables.

Feed your guests ordinary foods with extraordinary names like Asteroid Applesauce, Beam Me up Beans, Pluto Pizza, Venus Veggies, and Blast Off Burgers. Setting a personalized alien candy bar at each seat is a nice touch. And the perfect dessert? Freeze dried astronaut ice cream! You can even do a toast at midnight with sparkling white grape juice or cider (Comet Champagne)!

New Year's Games and Activities
Activities are especially important for kids parties. What you do will depend a lot on your age group, but an astronaut photo op is perfect for all ages. The kid's will have a great time pretending to be an astronaut, and they will have fun pictures to take home and remember the party by!

If you have the space for it, why not rent a moon bounce? Set it up in the basement and let your little guests work off all their energy!

Don't forget it's New Years, so be sure to outfit them with top hats and noisemakers so they can ring in the New Year! You can even have they make their own tinfoil party hats (to keep the alien brain controllers out) and hand out silver confetti horns to match.

A space shuttle piñata is another fun activity. And be sure to check out our New Year's Activities for Kids for more great ideas!

New Year's Party Favors
Everyone will regret have to come back to Earth at the end of the party. Cushion the landing by sending everyone home with a goodie bag full of treats:

• Alien Space Slime
• Alien lollipops
  
• Space Coloring Books
• Mini Milky Way Candies
• Water Bottles with Personalized Alien Labels