Embrace the fun

There are plenty of ways easily and creatively to capture the silliness of a party mood.

The DeBoer family in Clarendon Hills has fun deciding who will be the first to do something in the new year. For instance, who will be the first to do a cartwheel or sing a certain song or eat a meatball.

"It seems strange but they can spend all night thinking of what they'll do at midnight," says mom Amy DeBoer.

Leslie Goddard of Darien held an Upside-Down and Backwards party for her nieces to welcome the new year. The kids would wear their clothes backwards, eat dessert first, sit under the table and hang signs upside-down.

"We had fun going into the new year backwards," she says. "The kids thought it was hilarious to break all kinds of rules for one night."