New Years Eve Tips

In the past, New Years Eve involved getting decked out, dolled up and hitting the town until the wee hours of the morning. Now that my friends and I are um…a little more mature and have a LOT more responsibilities, the prospect of dragging our butts downtown for an overpriced and overcrowded fiesta is quite unappealing.

This year, a few of my local friends were able to get babysitters (except me) so we are all hanging out at Casa Leahy for the evening. Where I would normally head to Binny’s last minute and battle the crazy crowds, then crash on the couch the next day, parenthood doesn’t usually allow for such luxuries. Here are some great tips to save you time, money, sanity, and make your NYE party a heck of a lot easier!

*Order appetizers and cocktails online. I already ordered a case of champagne and bacon-wrapped scallops from Peapod and they are delivering it this evening after the kids go to bed. Place your order NOW for a chance at getting delivery tomorrow! (Use code 30SECMOM for $20 off your first order). The best champagne (Brut Cava if you want to be picky) for the price is Segura Viudas; we served it at our wedding and it was a total hit- not too sweet or dry. You can find it on sale on Peapod for $7.99 right now! I have also found it at Trader Joe’s and Binny’s as well.

*Prepare yourself for the marathon that is “staying up until midnight.” Honestly, I am asleep by 10pm most nights so staying up until 12am takes a supreme effort. We recently went to an Ugly Sweater Party where we were out until around midnight or 1am.

Yep, I made his sweater!!

The majority of the time, I am the one snoozing on a couch at 10pm, but nope, not this time! I even played a fabulous game that I will mention below and was jumping around like a wild woman. Two things I attribute to my energy- drinking lots of water that day, and taking these new situational supplements from Vous Vitamins in addition to vitamins that I received to test out.  There are three types:

Power Up– Intense exercise and stress deplete your body of essential electrolytes.
Our blend of B Vitamins, potassium, and other essentials helps
replenish vital nutrients when your performance counts.
Immune Blast– Our unique blend of Vitamins C, D3 and zinc helps support your Immune System when you need it most.
Recovery Act– Build your body’s best defense against dehydration, electrolyte depletion and other toxic effects of alcohol.

I took the Recovery Act before and after our big night out and while I can’t say I didn’t have a hangover (because for that, divine intervention and a miracle would have needed to occur), the icky feeling subsided a lot faster the next day than usual. I also had a ton of energy that evening and was able to be myself instead of the exhausted mess I usually am in the evenings. You can grab these vitamins online at www.vousvitamin.com; each pack contains 4 doses and they retail for $5/pack. I’m a fan and especially happy that these were developed by a local Highland Park team of two women doctors who saw the need for supplements for different situations and people!

Identity hidden to protect the guilty

*Be your own entertainment. At the Ugly Sweater Party, we played Head’s Up- a type of reverse charades where you hold up your phone/iPad/gadget and it has a word on it. Your team tries to describe the word so you can guess it. The Heads Up! app is 99 cents in the App store, but there is a free Charades! app available too. I took a quick poll today of the best New Years Eve games for adults, and the outstanding winner was Cards Against Humanity. Someone even made the brilliant suggestion of overnighting this on Amazon so you can get it tomorrow- do it!! Left Center Right Dice Game
was voted best game by a few others- this is super easy to play so even late into the night when you are a little fuzzy, you can manage it.

*Serve a signature cocktail. This might not be the best idea since well, the year I served it I recall most of the people not realizing how strong it was, but a Tropotini is an elegant and delicious drink. What is that, you might ask? It originated from the bar Tropo in East Lansing where they would have them on special on Thursday nights (?). They soaked either mandarin oranges or berries in vodka and served them in a martini glass. I spent many a night dancing my college cares away on the dance floor at Tropo, holding a Tropotini which is less difficult to keep in the glass than a regular martini. I plan on using Three Olives Loopy Vodka (which, yes, tastes just like Froot Loops) and a mixture of raspberries and blackberries, soaking overnight in the fridge, and tossing it in the freezer a few hours before to chill.

How do you plan on ringing in the New Year!?! Do tell!

Disclosure: I was provided with a sample of Vous Vitamins for review purposes. All opinions are honest and my own. This post may contain affiliate links, for which I receive a minute compensation for purchases made, but hey, it helps me buy more stuff to review for you!