Dear parents: Despite the number of kids you have or the last time you sported real pants, your New Year’s Eve has the potential to be as awesome as the year you went skinny dipping in your neighbor’s pool when they were out of town, but in a grown-up, cool parent kind of way.

I’m here to prove that you’ve still got it. Just follow my carefully crafted, tried-and-true plan that will get you to midnight.

TEN – Company or no company? That is the question. The thought of successfully pulling off an adult NYE celebration with your kids at home is iffy, so I fully understand the hesitance.

But if you’re lucky enough to have friends to invite – and I say this because we all know the struggle is real when it comes to finding friends as an adult – I urge you to invite them!

Just be mindful that most babysitters are young, cool and still living their best life, so there is a strong chance that availability will be slim.

And you may end up with some extra little ones running around on your new white rug slinging fruit punch or something. Not that I would know personally.

If you decide to keep things one on one, don’t stop reading. The plan still works!

NINE – Plan two menus. You heard me. Two. Don’t lose me here. The first will be an easy, no-brainer menu for the non-adults.

My littles are currently obsessed with cauliflower mac & cheese by Kraft. (Trickery – haha!) This can be paired with some rotisserie chicken and apple slices, and BOOM! Menu one = complete.

Menu two is where you may want to get a little more sophisticated. I challenge you to make at least one Pinterest recipe you’ve been holding onto since the glory days. We like to pick a couple appetizers and one main dish to keep the adults fed throughout the night.

One of our go-to’s is crescent-wrapped baked brie with raspberry jam. It doesn’t have to be extravagant. The point here is to plan something that takes a little more effort than the usual.

EIGHT – Make a playlist. A good set of tunes makes up 85% of your overall experience. Include some hit songs from decades past and weave in some good recent jams that you think might go over well with the crowd.

SEVEN – And this is my favorite one. Pretend like the stroke of 8 p.m. is the stroke of midnight. It’s pitch black at 8 p.m. Are your kids going to know any different? Count down the new year with all the enthusiasm as you would the real thing. They will be none the wiser.

And by the way, Netflix has made this cake. Just search “countdown,” so your kids can experience the turn of the new year anytime you choose. There are 14 different videos for 2019, all hosted by familiar characters that your kids probably recognize and love.

Then…

SIX – Put them kids to bed (and preheat the oven).

FIVE – Change clothes. Get dressed like you are going out to a real party: glitter, glam, gold.

FOUR – Let the grownup fun begin.

THREE – Pull out the games, drinks, and hot hors d’oeuvres. Try making a new cocktail. One of our favorites is pineapple margaritas. I know you’re probably used to margaritas being a summer treat. But trust me on this. You will want these bad boys all year round.

I would suggest the hilarious game of What do You Meme?, but I would hate for you to wake the kids after all your hard work!

TWO – Toast the new year! To another year of conquering parenthood one day at a time. To another year of becoming the best version of yourself you can be. To another year of this wild, wonderful, crazy, beautiful life.

ONE – Happy New Year! (Quietly.) Auld Lang Syne. (Softly.) New Year’s Kiss (Passionately.)

Now go to bed immediately. You’re going to be up at 6 a.m.

Like this post? Find more parenting truths at Daylight to Dark.