If you’re looking for New Year’s Eve party ideas for teens, you’re in luck — these ideas were made with the help of my teenage son.

First, congratulations on raising your teen(s) well! When my teen son asked if he could host a New Year’s Eve party at home for his friends, I felt like I had reached the summit of my parenting goals.
Not only was my son interested in making parent-approved plans for the holiday, he was comfortable having his friends join him for whatever festivities he had planned in our home where I would be present.
Tips for Hosting a Party for Teens
I didn’t want to blow this opportunity, so I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make the evening fun and safe for him and his friends without being a helicopter parent or, on the other extreme, a completely absentee parent that lets the kids do whatever they want.

- Plan ahead of time: You and your teen should discuss what kind of activities and food they want at the party, how many friends are allowed to attend, what time it will stop and start, etc.
- Establish the rules: No one should be allowed to bring alcohol or drugs, only certain rooms in your house are open to guests — and when someone’s in a room the door should remain open (unless it’s the bathroom), set a limit on how loud the music can be played, etc. Also, anyone who leaves shouldn’t be allowed to return, in case they left to drink or do drugs somewhere else and then come back.
- Have enough adults present: Have more than one adult there in case someone needs to be driven home or in case there’s an emergency (the adults shouldn’t be drinking so they’re available whenever they’re needed). Keep an eye on the party without being in the party the whole time (maybe be somewhere in your house where you can still see what’s going on) — coming in to check on the food and drinks periodically is a good excuse to enter the room.
- Tell neighbors and associations: It would be polite to tell your neighbors that your teen is going to have a party and let them know the timing of it. If you live where there’s a homeowner’s association and rules about parking, make sure you let them know about the party so no one gets towed.
- Talk about it after: Maybe the day after the party, when you and your teen aren’t so tired, talk about the party and how they thought it went. That will give you ideas for how to make it even better next time.
Food for a New Year’s Eve Party for Teens
For a party that lasts several hours, I like to stick with appetizers and snacks, simple finger foods that guests can nibble on throughout the evening.

Finger Foods
After consulting with my son, we decided on the following food:
- Easy Sweet & Sour Meatballs
- Pizza Crescent Roll Ups
- Kettle Corn
- Spiced Nuts
- Inside Out Caramel Apple Bites
- Nutella and Banana Crescent Packets
In addition to these recipes, I provided a fruit tray and a veggie platter. You could also include a variety of cheeses and crackers.
Beverages
Since the kids are all underage, we served sparkling cider in lieu of champagne for the toast at midnight. We opted for plastic champagne flutes so I didn’t have to worry about broken glass and to make clean up easier (we just tossed the flutes after the party).
If you want to put in some extra effort, consider making up some of these mocktail recipes for teenagers from 3 Boys and a Dog. You can also set up a hot chocolate bar, to provide additional beverage options.
Desserts
Also, to take the pressure off of any of the kids who didn’t want to engage in the traditional midnight kisses, I put out a bowl of Hershey’s kisses (idea courtesy of Oh Sugar Event Planning).
For dessert, keep it simple. Set up a candy buffet or an arrangement of cupcakes. An ice cream bar makes a fun accompaniment to the hot cocoa bar.
Entertainment for a Teen Party

For entertainment, we planned the following:
- Netflix movies (make sure they’re appropriate)
- XBox party games
- Other video games (like games on Nintendo Switch, make sure everyone knows ahead of time to bring theirs)
- Foosball
- Sledding (if it snows where you live)
- Party board games (see my list of favorite games for teenagers)
- Resolution Cards (you can find some on Etsy) — guests fill them out and then try to guess who wrote what
- Photo booth with props (e.g. hats, tiaras, boas, funny glasses, fake mustaches) and photo backdrops around the house to encourage guests to snap lots of pictures
- Poker with lots of chips so no REAL gambling need occur
- Teen Party Games
- More Teen Party Games
Decoration Ideas

For party decorations, we relied mostly on the photo backdrops we set up. In addition, we got a bunch of balloons to place around the party area and we hung some streamers.
I skipped glitter since I didn’t want to be finding it for weeks afterwards. Instead, we used this portable disco ball to add some color and sparkle. Combined with a good Spotify party music playlist, it paved the way for a fun dance party.
Glow sticks are another easy way to add some color and fun. Opt for the kind that can be linked together to make bracelets and necklaces to give the guests creative freedom.
Additional New Year’s Eve Fun
To make the evening even more fun and memorable, here are some extra ideas.

- Tic-Tocks (repackaged tic tacs) – If they haven’t update their printable for this year, you can just use the part without the year on it.
- New Year’s Eve dice game – It says it’s for kids, but teens will enjoy playing it too, especially since it involves candy.
- Hats, Noisemakers and Confetti Poppers for midnight – Everyone loves celebrating when the clock strikes 12 or when the ball drops.
- New Year Time Capsule Box – You can send the teens home with these free printables for a meaningful project they can do with their family.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea.These are absolutely incredible, . i would love to try this keep posting such amazing ideas
Thank you so much for this! I am mom to 2 teens that will be having friends here. I needed ideas and your are great!
I’m glad you found some ideas you can use. I hope they have fun!
Hello! I am a teen looking to throw my own New Year’s Eve party, and I can tell you all of these things are very helpful! They do not sound childish or boring of any sorts. Thank you very much!!
Thank you! I hope you have a fantastic night!!
Well, now I have plenty of ideas of what to bring to my New Years party I’m attending! These look great, thank you. Happy New Year’s
We watched a movie, played games on the Wii, and several board games. We enjoyed our New Year’s celebration, I hope that you enjoyed yours as well. Happy New year.
My oldest would definitely love all the different foods you have there! I love the Tic Tac printables.
What a great idea.. with two teens in the home I bet they love to have a party like that.. soo need to show them.. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year
My son’s Birthday is New Years Eve so we generally have a good bunch of kids over. One of the things they love to do is go sledding, come in for hot cocoa, and settle down to a movie as the warm up.
Then we serve snacks for dinner and they usually like to play the Wii until the ball drop.
I really like your tic tocks idea! Very cute.
I wish the Tic Tocks were my idea, but I can only take credit for finding them at Infarrantly Creative. I hope someday we will live somewhere where we can count on sledding for New Year’s Eve. It’s a rare event where we live in Virginia, unfortunately, due to the lack of snow.
My brother’s birthday is New Year’s Eve!!!
I hope he has a great birthday this year!
This sounds like so much fun! I love that your son wants to have friends over.
Fun ideas! Thanks so much for including me. I’ve pinned this to my New Years board 🙂