new years bucks
I decided to try something with this party. Rather than award prizes for each activity as I traditionally did, I decided to make and award New Years Bucks as prizes for each activity. I also did a kind of "Scavenger Hunt" in that I also hid the NY Bucks all over the house that guests could find and collect during the party. At the end of the party, they could 'purchase' prizes from a selection available.
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This was the first party I charged admission to - $25 per guest. This money went to a wildlife rehabilitation center that was in need of supplies for their injured, orphaned and sick wildlife they were caring for. (That all money raised was going to charity also enabled me to solicit prize donations in addition to buying some prizes myself)
I did two parties - one Friday night and one Saturday night in order to raise more money for the wildlife center - with the help of some very special, generous friends who helped me.
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You can do this as a regular party, awarding prizes for each activity as you traditionally would or you can include the last activity using New Years Bucks, if you're working within a tight budget
What I did was plan this party a full year in advance so that I had plenty of time to purchase prize giveaways on sale as well as solicit prize donations.
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These are the New Years Bucks and i'll give you more information at the end of the article, including ideas for prizes for each of the monetary denominations.
I was glad I tried this as it was a hit with my guests. They loved being able to "buy" their choice of prizes with their New Years Bucks and everyone went home with something.
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I set the prizes up on my pantry countertop and covered them with a sheet until the end of the party.
(Surprise ending twist to the party)
and here
You can print out New Years Bucks here
When times are as tough as they are, people need to be uplifted. A New Year's party is a good way to being optimism to family and friends in facing a new year.​
invitations
I'm going to teach you how to do a simple pop up inviation card. For the pop up, you can use a top hat, a clock, HAPPY NEW YEARS letters, fireworks, whatever is easiest for you.
Here's a free top hat pattern download.
Pop ups add pizazz to your invitation and you can make them as simple or complex as you want.
On the inside sheet you're inserting into the outer card cover, write or print your party information. However, make sure none of your party information will get covered by the pop up.
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Because I was doing a kind of auction I included info on the auction and an RSVP card.
staging & props
I found this backdrop at Temu for $4.03 during a special they were running. I used this for my living room focal wall.
I switched out my white lampshade with a black lampshade I had on a lamp downstairs. The clock and centerpiece were all made from dollar store items.
A $16 fringe curtain from Amazon, the rest is material I had on hand or got from the dollar store.
tablescape
My black and gold glitter tablecloth was the most expensive item I bought - $26 from Amazon.
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I made the centerpiece completely of dollar store items.
I set my table with my black and gold china, gold napkins and matching silverware that I seldom use.
Food/menu
Slide #1 - I put a charcuterie board out for before dinner snacking.
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Slide #2 - My friend, Chef Emil made smoked beef tenderloin.
Get the recipe here Smoke it over apple wood for even more flavor.
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Slide #4 - Blooming Bibb Salad Get the recipe here
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Slide #5 - Crescent dippers Get the recipe here
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Slide #6 - Raspberry with Grand Marniere Parfaits Get the recipe here
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Of course, no New Year's Eve celebration is complete without bubbly!
The Best Inexpensive Bubbly for All Your Celebrations
activities
COLLECT THE KISSES
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Before your guests arrive, hide a certain number of Hershey's Kisses around your home. Once your guests arrive, announce that they have until midnight to collect as many kisses as possible. Be sure to award whoever has the most kisses at midnight with an exciting prize.
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Customize your Hershey kisses for NYE with these printable New Year's stickers.
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Award the winner New Year's Bucks.
THE ULTIMATE CHAMPAGNE RACE
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Don't worry. This game is not a chugging match. For this one, players race to fill their Champagne flutes using only a teaspoon to transport the Champagne from a bowl to the glass. The first person to finish stands up and taps their drink with the spoon. The winner gets to give a toast for the New Year. If you don't want to waste Champagne, just substitute it with water.
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Don't forget to cover your floor with a tarp if your floors aren't waterproof! There will be spills.
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Award the winner New Years Bucks.
TRIVIA GAME
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My guests had fun with this $2 printable trivia game! The questions aren't easy!
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Award New Years Bucks to the winner.
SNOWBALL TOSS
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You'll need 5 or 6 buckets and some fake snowballs.
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Line up a few buckets or large bowls, each worth different points, and give players a handful of fake snowballs to toss. Use tape to mark off on the floor a line the player must stand behind to toss the snowballs.
The farther the bucket, the higher the points, the higher the denomination of New Years Bucks in each bucket. So $1 in bucket 1, $5 in bucket 2, $10 in bucket 3, $20 in bucket 4, $50 in bucket 5 and $100 in bucket 6.
Tape off a line on the floor the player must stand at to toss the snowballs.​
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For every bucket they get a snowball in, they get the New Years Bucks in that bucket.
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NEW YEAR'S PONG
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Set up a long table with a fun glow in the dark beer pong set arranged in a triangle shape on each side, and fill each cup with your beverage of choice – whether it’s beer, soda, or something festive like a New Year’s punch.
Players take turns trying to throw ping-pong balls into their opponent’s cups, and when a ball lands in a cup, the other team drinks from it and removes the cup from the table.
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Award $1 NY Buck for each ball thrown into a cup by a player and $50 NY Bucks to the winner who tosses the most balls into the cups.​
SPOONS
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Players: You can have anywhere from 3 to 13 players
Materials:
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Spoons, one fewer than the number of players (e.g., 5 players, 4 spoons)
How to play:
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Deal four cards face down to each player. Place the remaining cards as a draw pile in the center.
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The dealer starts by picking up one card from the
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draw pile and then discarding one card face down to the next player. This passing and discarding continues clockwise around the table, with each player adding one card to their hand and discarding one to their neighbor.
3. The goal is to collect four cards of the same rank (e.g., four 8’s)
4. Once a player has a set of four, they can choose to:
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Quietly grab a spoon. This is a sneaky tactic, hoping others don’t notice your complete set.
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Dramatically grab a spoon: This signals everyone to grab a spoon as well, leading to a mad dash for the remaining spoons.
5. The player without a spoon when everyone grabs is eliminated. They keep track of their elimination by taking a letter in the word “SPOONS.” Once a player spells the entire word, they’re out.
6. Each time someone is eliminated, remove a spoon from the center and shuffle the cards, then deal back out four cards to each remaining player.
7. The last player left standing with a spoon wins the game!
Award New Years Bucks to the winner.
SNEAKY STICKERS
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Get a roll of stickers. You want each guest to have 1- to 15 stickers apiece.
The object of the game is to get rid of all of your stickers by sticking them on other players without getting caught.
If the person getting a sticker stuck to them catches the person trying to stick a sticker on them, then that player can stick one of their stickers on the person that got caught.
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Once a player is out of stickers they're eliminated from the game.
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The last person with 1 sticker remaining wins the game.
Award NY Bucks to the winner.
new years bucks
How you set up your New Years Bucks is up to you and depends on your budget. I had more $1, $5 and $10 prizes than I did $20 and $50 prizes but at the same time, I didn't skimp on the prizes since guests had paid admission to attend the party.
I set my prize budget but shopped over the course of the year to take advantage of sales and to have enough time to collect prizes from donors. This was how I managed to stay within my budget and typically winter is when the wildlife center needs supplies each year, after all of the tourists leave.
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What I did was if I purchased an item say, for $7.50 on sale I rounded up to a $10 NY Buck and put it with the $10 NY Buck prizes. I tried to categorize NY Buck denominations using what the full retail price of the prize would be.
$1 New Years bucks prize ideas
$5 new years bucks prize ideas
$10 new years bucks prize ideas
$20 New years bucks prize ideas
$50 New Years bucks prize ideas
