Fool the Clock

CAN'T WAIT TIL MIDNIGHT?
One advantage of making merry at home is that families with young children can perform some magic and shift midnight to an earlier hour. That way, sleepiness (and all that comes with it) won't undermine the celebration.

Here are some fun ways to fool the clock:

Gather all your alarm clocks and set them to go off at a designated time.

Select one candle to be your timekeeper. When it burns down to the quick, the big hour has arrived.

Set a kitchen timer for thirty minutes and turn off all the electric lights. By candlelight, you might talk about your hopes for the year to come. When the bell rings, it's midnight, and everyone flips the lights back on.

However it happens, when the year turns, make a joyful noise and--as old English custom dictates--throw open your doors to let the new year in.