New Year's Eve Crafts

New Year's Eve is a wonderful excuse for a party and an even better reason to make some fun New Year's Eve crafts. Liven up your next New Year's bash with some of these quick and easy craft projects.

Champagne Flute Tags

When everyone gets their glasses for the big toast at midnight, it can get a little confusing to know which glass belongs to which guest. Make it easier on everyone by making identification tags for your flutes.

Materials

• Wine glass tag hoops or earring hoops
• Charms - one for each glass, each one unique or different from the next
• Seed beads
• Jewelry pins
• Beads
• Wine glasses

Instructions

1. Thread several seed beads onto a hoop.
2. Slide a unique charm onto the hoop.
3. Thread on additional seed beads to complete the hoop.

If you cannot find charms or want to make your own, place a few larger beads onto a jewelry pin and bend the end of the pin over to make a small loop. Use this in place of the charm in step two of the project instructions.

To use the tags, place one on the stem of each champagne flute. When guests choose their glass, they should take note of the charm so they can identify their own flutes as the evening wears on.

Noisemakers

Make your own noisemaker with an old paper towel or toilet tissue roll. This craft is fun for kids who will get the chance to decorate them any way they want before using them.

Materials

• 

  Paper towel or toilet tissue roll
• Paint, stamps, glue or glitter
• Nail
• Scissors
• Waxed paper
• Rubber bands

Instructions

1. Decorate the outside of the cardboard tube with paint, rubber stamps, drawings or glue and glitter.
2. Poke a few holes in the roll, about an inch apart with a nail.
3. Cut a piece of waxed paper big enough to fit over one end of the roll and secure it with a rubber band.
4. To use, blow through the other end.

Paper Fortunes

Have some fun making predictions for the coming year by making paper fortune "cookies" for everyone to open. Base the fortunes on predictions for the upcoming year if you wish.

Materials

• Brightly colored or patterned heavy paper
• Small bowl
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue dots
• Small scraps of plain paper

Instructions

1. Lay a piece of heavy, patterned paper down on a flat surface.
2. Place a small bowl rim-side-down on the paper and trace around the bowl's rim with a pencil to make a circle. Repeat for as many guests as you have coming.
3. Cut out the circles and set aside.
4. Make up some fun fortunes and print them on small scraps of plain paper.
5. Gently fold a paper circle in half so the printed, or colorful side faces out. Crease the paper along the fold about 1/2-inch on either side of the center mark.
6. Open up your circle and place a Glue Dot just to one side of the crease on the outside of the paper.
7. Fold the paper circle in half again. Your glue will be on the outside.
8. Slip a fortune into the folded portion of the circle and set your index finger on the outside of the crease next to the glue.
9. Push on the crease with your index finger, bending the paper on both sides so the two corners come together.
10. Remove your finger and push the two sides together tightly so the glue holds. Repeat for each circle.

Napkin Rings

Dress up your table with some fun napkin rings made from memory wire and some seed beads.

Materials

• 20 gauge memory wire
• Wire cutters
• Jewelry pliers
• Seed beads
• New Year themed charms, such as these from GoodyBeads

Instructions

1. Cut the memory wire into 5- to 6-inch pieces.
2. Gently bend over one end of each piece of wire to form a small loop.
3. Thread seed beads in varying patterns and colors onto the wire until you reach about the half-way point.
4. Thread a New Year's themed charm onto the wire.
5. Continue threading the seed beads until you reach the end of the wire.
6. Close the wire by bending it into a small loop.
7. Roll your napkins into cylinders and twist the napkin rings around them to hold.

Circle Decorations

Hang these silver and gold circle garlands above your table, in doorways or anywhere you want to add a little glamor to your New Year's Eve party.

Materials

• Silver and gold heavy paper
• Circle punches in sizes ranging from 1- to 4- inches
• Needle
• Jump rings in silver and brass

Instructions

1. Punch circles in several different sizes from the silver and gold paper.
2. Lay the circles out on a table or flat surface in descending sizes to make long chains.
3. Pierce small holes into the top and bottom of each circle where they line up with the next.
4. Connect the circles up to one another with a jump ring in a corresponding color.
5. Hang vertically from the ceiling.

Add Some Fun to Your Party

New Year parties are usually about sparkle, glitter, and good times. When you add glitzy decorative items you increase the ambiance of fun and lightheartedness that defines New Year's Eve.