New Year's Fun and Games

Looking for a way to ring in the New Year that will have the crowd on its feet? Look no further than a packaging supply store. For just a few dollars, says Elaine Snyder of Jupiter, Florida, you can pick up several yards of large Bubble Wrap (or recycle Bubble Wrap that comes with holiday gifts). Just before midnight, unroll it on a hard surface, such as a wooden floor or driveway, and when the countdown concludes, join the Snyders in "the Bubble Wrap Stomp."

"It sounds like firecrackers," says Elaine, who has enjoyed the tradition for a decade with husband Karl and kids Karyn, 14, and Kasey, 10. "It actually came from something I saw on safe fireworks for the Fourth of July," she says, "But I adapted it to New Year's Eve because I liked having a deadline where they all jump on it at the same time."

The idea's been such a hit that Elaine's brother in Virginia and his family have taken to joining them for a "long-distance stomp" by speakerphone. "Kids of all ages love it," Elaine says--and there are usually plenty of adults on the stomp floor, as well.

Her only caveat? "Be sure to buy large bubbles, because the small ones just don't have the same result."