HOME & GARDEN

New Year's Eve Hacks

My favorite New Year’s Eve hack? Noise canceling headphones, because I go to bed at 10pm.

But, if you’re more fun than I am, you’re likely either planning a rockin’ party and looking for tips, or you can’t wait to have a few friends over for wine and football, or you’ve not planned anything yet, and we are going to talk you into it. If you want to have a fabulous party but don’t want to stay up late, make it a

“London 2022” event and ring in the

New Year at 6pm. You can stream or download archived celebrations from around the world at EarthCam.com and time them for any hour. Ask your party guests to bring 2022 calendars and have a swap meet. For extra kicks, make sure they fill in important birthdays or notes so everyone will remember your party all year.

Year-round hack for the ladies: If you know you are a diva in those 4-inch heels but don’t look forward to the pain of dancing on them for hours, tape your third and fourth toes together. These two toes share a nerve that can become strained when the toes are separated, which can happen when you’re pushing on them for a while. If your shoes are open-toe, I’d recommend clear medical tape, or zazz it up with coordinating colors of duct tape. You can extend the fun, or be less sore in the morning.

If you don’t have fancy chafing dishes and Sterno, wrap a brick in a few layers of aluminum foil, put in a 200° oven for 20 minutes, and put your dishes on top to keep them warm on the buffet. It’s Texas, so New Year’s Eve is just as likely to be not-cold as it is to be dark.

Use frozen grapes to keep white wine chilled. To freeze grapes, rinse and dry them. Spread them out on something flat so they aren’t touching. Put them in your freezer for four to five hours—they start to lose flavor after that.

P.S. - If you can’t find the corkscrew for your wine, twist a household screw into the center, slide between the tines of a dinner fork—face up—and press down against the bottle’s lip for leverage.

Don’t forget to create a few signature “mocktails” for designated drivers.

Red Solo Cups... they’re not just *in* a song, they also make great amplifiers to hear music. Drop your phone in one (make sure it’s empty!) for a great sound boost.

Look cool... make sure you call the little wire cage around the top of the champagne bottle a “muselet”. That’s it’s real name.

When it’s time for cleanup, vacuum up 2-3 teaspoons of cinnamon first. The heat from the motor will leave a nice aroma behind when you’re done.

While we’re on pretty smells, dump whole coffee beans in a large bowl and partially bury tea light candles in the top.

Light and enjoy for a lot less cost than jar candles.

If Santa visited 640 million homes every Christmas Eve, he would consume 150 billion calories. If you lived on a 2,000-calorie-per-day diet, you would have to live approximately 205,480 years to match that.

If you’re tired of the same old Christmas games, break out the Victorian-era classic, “SNAP-DRAGON.” Soak a bowlful of raisins in brandy, set it on fire, then take turns pulling out handfuls of raisins and swallowing them whole. One tradition says the person who snatches the most treats out of the brandy will meet their true love within a year. Another suggests one of the raisins contains a gold button and becomes "the lucky raisin". The person who fishes that raisin out can claim a reward or favor of their choosing. (Aren't you glad someone invented Pictionary?) N