Are you excited for 2009? I know I am. This week, like most moms, you will probably spend some time reflecting on the past year and setting goals for the new year. The end of the year is a great time to take a look at the progress you have made and set your sights on progress you would like to make in the next year.

Each New Year’s Eve I like to take time to reflect on the relationships I am in – my marriage, my family, my friendships, and of course God. Each year I spend time reflecting on how my family relationships have grown and changed, thanking God for the blessings and setting some goals for things I would like to improve on in the coming year.

As my children grow, family time is something that always tops my list. Finding more time for the important things. Making better use of the time we do have. Looking for new ways to connect as a family as our children’s interests grow and change. Incorporating new traditions into our family.

So in keeping with this theme this New Year’s we’ve put together a wonderful report for you: Top 10 Ways to Reconnect with Your Family, written by Real Life Coach Aurelia Williams. To get your free copy of this report, sign up for the Moms In a Mailing List below and you’re copy will be in your email right away!

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Most people enjoy planning and attending New Years Eve parties but cleaning up after a New Years Eve party isn’t always high on most people’s lists of favorite activities. However, if you plan to host a New Years Eve party in your home you have to consider how you will clean up after the big event. This article will provide a few tips for cleaning up after a New Years Eve party and will offer some ways in which cleaning up after the party can be avoided.

One of the easiest ways to deal with cleaning up after a New Years Eve party is to plan on hiring a maid service to assist you in the cleanup process. You can hire them to show up later in the day on New Years so you have the opportunity to get some sleep after the party but before the cleanup crew arrives. This option is significantly more expensive than planning to clean up on your own but for those who are dreading the cleanup process it can be a very worthwhile expense.

Enlisting a few friends to assist you in cleaning up after your New Years Eve party can also make the process much simpler. Just having a few people stay to help you clean up can be very important because the extra people will ensure the clean up is completed much more quickly than it would be if you did all of the work by yourself. It can also make the work seem less tedious because your friends are with you. In fact it may almost seem like an extension of the party because you can continue to talk and socialize with your friends while you work.

Hosting the party at a restaurant or catering hall also makes the cleanup process quite simple. If you are planning to host your party in one of these locations anyway the cleanup process will be very simple. You may have some basic responsibilities associated with cleaning up and may also have the responsibility of ensuring your guests behave responsibly and do not destroy the property but otherwise the staff of the restaurant or catering hall will take care of the cleanup work and you will be free to leave at the conclusion of the party.

Although it is not ideal, it is possible that you will end up cleaning up after the party completely on your own. While most guests will offer to stay, you cannot count on them to do so. In the event that you are on your own for cleanup you have a couple of choices. You can either tackle the mess as soon as the last guest leaves or get some sleep before starting the cleanup process. Whichever you decide, you should try to at least make the cleanup fun. Try turning on some music to keep you company while you work and you may find the job is completed before you know it. You can also help to keep cleanup at a minimum by performing small cleaning tasks throughout the evening. This will take you away from the party for a short time during the evening but it will reduce the amount of work you have to do the following day. It will also keep the amount of work to be done from seeming too overwhelming.

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Many hosts spend a great amount of time planning the food and cocktails for their New Years Eve party and do not give as much consideration to the type of entertainment they plan to have at their New Years Eve party. This is unfortunately because New Years Eve parties offer a great opportunity to participate in some really fun games. New Years Eve parties tend to last longer than many other parties so traditional entertainment options such as dancing may not be enough to keep the guests entertained. One fun way to spice a New Years Eve party is by playing different games. This article will offer some fun ideas games to play at a New Years Eve party.

New Years Eve is a holiday which is synonymous with alcohol consumption. The popularity of alcohol consumption is the inspiration for one idea for a game to play on New Years Eve. You can play a game by giving each person a word which is likely to come up in casual conversation and writing that word on a nametag for each person to wear during the evening. Guests are required to carry a shot of a vodka at all times and if another guests catches them saying the word on their nametag they have to take their shot and then pick up another shot to carry in case they are caught again. This game is fun because it encourages guests to mingle as they attempt to think up ways to get other guests to try to say their word. The game can be made more difficult by placing the name tag on each person’s back so they cannot see the word but other guests can. This means the guest not only has to try to avoid saying the word but also has to figure out what the word is. When playing this game, care should be taken to avoid the game being the cause of the guest becoming inebriated. One way to do this is to put a limit on the number of shots a person can consume. They can take the sticker off once they reach their limit and the last person with a sticker is declared the winner and may be awarded a surprise.

Games which involve dancing are also very popular on New Years Eve. One game which is a lot of fun is similar to a game played by children. It involves periodically stopping the music while guests are dancing. Each time the music stops, the guests are supposed to freeze in one position. One person is designated as the judge and each time the music stops, the judge eliminates the last guest to freeze his position. The last guest remaining is declared the winner of the game.

A casino night is also very popular for a New Years Eve Party. The host can set up various tables for different games such as blackjack, Texas hold’em, keno and other popular card games. The host may also enlist guests to act as dealers at each of these tables. The hosts can either be dedicated for entire night or can rotate every couple of hours so all the guests have a chance to be both a player and a dealer. Giving each of the guests a set amount of poker chips can make the games even more fun, if you inform the guests they will be able to exchange their chips at the end of the evening for raffle tickets for a few prizes. This will encourage the guests to participate in the game and really try their best to win at the games.

The games listed above are rather original but depending on the size of the party, guests can also play standard board games. Trivial pursuit, monopoly and scrabble are popular options. These games can be played either as individuals or as teams. Additionally, they can be played once or in a tournament style. Games such as scrabble can even played with a holiday theme where guests are encouraged to use words which relate to New Years Eve.

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In planning a New Years Eve party, one of the most exciting items is the selection of cocktails for the party. New Years Eve is a holiday which is largely associated with alcohol consumption. Those who attend these parties are likely to expect an array of interesting cocktails to celebrate the coming of the New Year and many hosts are more than willing to oblige their guests with an assortment of delicious and interesting cocktails.

When planning a New Years Eve party which will include children, it is important to plan on serving a wide variety of non alcoholic beverages in addition to the alcoholic cocktails for the adults. This is important because it will prevent the children from being envious of the interesting beverages the adults are drinking. It will also prevent the children from being curious about the drinks the adults are enjoying and attempting to sneak a taste of these beverages. Non alcoholic cocktails are also considered mocktails and can often be created to look just like the real beverages in a wide variety of colors, flavors and textures. Beverages such as the pina coloda, margarita and a variety of martinis can all be made in non alcoholic versions.

In planning cocktails for a New Years Eve party, you should consider offering a wide variety of beverages throughout the night. This could include both hot, cold drinks and even frozen drinks. One of the most popular cocktail options for a New Years Eve party is punch which is served from a punch bowl. This festive cocktail is typically sweet and contains ingredients such as fruit juices, lemon lime soda and an array of alcoholic ingredients such as vodka and rum. Some hosts may even include champagne in the punch mixture. Adding a scoop or two of sherbet to the punch bowl also helps to cool the beverage and adds an additional layer of taste and texture to the mixture.

Another popular option of a New Years Eve party is to offer one signature cocktail throughout the evening. This can be an item such as a Martini created specifically for the occasion with a seasonal feeling. An eggnog martini is an example of a beverage which is a great deal of fun as well as appropriate for the season. Champagne cocktails are also appropriate for a New Years Eve party. You can create a simply champagne cocktail by combining champagne with sweet vermouth and grenadine.

Hot cocktails are also popular options for a New Years Eve party. Spiked coffees and hot chocolates are always popular but for a more festive cocktail consider creating drinks with a hot cider base. You can create a luxurious hot chocolate cocktail by combining a butterscotch flavored liqueur with rich hot chocolate. An example of a hot beverage which is also quite festive is a hot cider spiced with cranberry juice and rum. Although hot cocktails are extremely popular, most guests will likely only drink one or two hot cocktails during the evening. Conversely they are likely to consumer significantly more cold cocktails during the course of the evening. For this reason, it is recommended to provide both hot and cold cocktails during your New Years Eve party.

Regardless of the type of cocktails you decide to serve throughout the evening, it is customary to offer a champagne cocktail at midnight. You should begin distributing the champagne a few minutes before midnight to ensure everyone has their glass in hand to make a toast and take a sip of the bubbly champagne at midnight. Offering the champagne in an elegant glass and including a strawberry in the glass can create a more elegant presentation. You should also use a fine champagne. During the evening, you may have served alcohols which fit your budget, but it is worthwhile to splurge on a more expensive champagne for the toast at midnight.

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Decorating for a New Years Eve party is a very important part of the party planning. A host may spend a great of time worrying about the food and beverages or the guest list but may not give adequate attention to the decorations. This is unfortunate because the decorations at a New Years Eve party can do a great deal to help set the atmosphere for a New Years Eve party.

One of the most common decorating ideas for a New Years Eve party is to incorporate Christmas or winter decorations into the party decorations. This is considered acceptable because of the proximity of New Years Eve to Christmas. Most people still have their Christmas decorations up and if they plan to host the New Years Eve party in their home it is understandable that the décor for the party will relate to Christmas. Decoration ideas may include a Christmas tree with ornaments, red bows, holly, silver candlesticks and pinecones. An assortment of pinecones in a glass bowl can make a great centerpiece for a New Years Eve party using Christmas decorations.

Themes for a New Years Eve party do not have to follow any particular guidelines. These parties can be based on any theme which is preferred by the host of the party. However, when a theme is incorporated into the party planning it is expected that the décor for the evening will reflect the theme of the party. For example a New Years Eve party with a beach theme could feature sand sculptures as centerpieces, plates shaped like seashells, a decorative fishing net as a tablecloth or any other related items which may reflect the theme of the party.

Another fun idea for decorating at a New Years Eve party is to ask each guest to bring an item to contribute to the décor for the evening. This results in a rather eclectic assortment of items decorating the party space but it also greatly reduces the amount of time, energy and money the host has to spend on decorations for the party. It also created an opportunity for guests to get to know each other. During the course of the party the guests will have the opportunity to view all of the decorations on display and may wonder about where each item came from and if there is any significance to the item. Later in the evening the guests can each have the opportunity to talk about the item they brought and explain why it is significant to them and why they chose to bring this particular item. This is like an adult version of show and tell.

Finally in decorating for a New Years Eve party, it is important to ensure the decorations for the party contribute to the atmosphere but do not detract from the party in any way. The guests should notice and appreciate the décor for the evening but the decorations should not be the focal point of the evening. This is important because the focus of the evening should be on the food, the entertainment, the activities and guests socializing with each other and having a good time.

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When planning a New Years Eve party, one of the most important items of business is creating the guest list. This is important because the number of guests you plan to have at your party will influence a number of the decisions at the party. Some of these decisions may include the location of the party as well as the food which will be offered. However, this is not the only reason why it is important to create a guest list early. It is also important to do this so you can make plans for potential conflicts which are an unfortunately occurrence in any circle of friends. This article will discuss the mediation a party host often has to perform and will also discuss how the guest list has an impact on other elements of the party.

One unfortunate aspect of planning a New Years Eve party is that the host may sometimes have to make difficult decisions when she is creating her guest list. These decisions arise if there are guests at the party who do not get along. The host may be friends with all of the people they wish to invite but they may also be aware that some of their guests may not get along. This can put the host in a difficult position when creating the guest list. If the party is going to be a rather small event, the host may have to decide to eliminate certain people from the guest list if they believe they will cause an incident or make the party uncomfortable for other guests. If the event will be rather large it is less of a concern because it is possible these people may not even see each other at the party and if they do, they will certainly not be pressured to interact because there will be so many other guests. However, the host will have to use her discretion when creating the guest list and if she believes the guests will not be able to behave maturely at the party she may choose to eliminate one or more of the guests who is likely to cause a problem.

The guest list will greatly affect the location of the party. For example if you plan to host a small party for only a handful of guests you will likely have no problems hosting the party in your home. However, if you plan to invite hundreds of guest, it can be impossible to host the party in your home, unless you own an extremely large home. You will most likely have to rent a restaurant or catering hall to host your party in a location which will be large enough to accommodate all of your guests. The size of your guest list will also impact the location you select because many locations may set a minimum on the amount of guests required to reserve the room. This means you will have to pay for a certain number of guests even if you do not plan to have this many guests in attendance.

The size of your guest list will also impact the food you plan to serve at your New Years Eve party. Planning an elaborate sit down dinner for a few guests is relatively simple but this becomes more difficult for a larger group. If you invite many guests you may prefer to offer a buffet or only serve appetizers and desserts at your New Years Eve party.

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