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Ring in the new year in style with these 2025 party essentials

If you’re throwing a New Year’s Eve party this year, be prepared to host the party of the new year with the right party supplies. From 2025 glasses to balloons, table covers, napkins and more, these party supplies can liven up your party and get your guests excited about the new year.

To enhance the festive atmosphere, use balloons to create a stunning entrance arch or a vibrant centerpiece for your table. Incorporate the 2025 glasses as both a fun accessory and a decorative element by placing them around the room or using them as part of a table setting. By thoughtfully arranging these simple items, you can transform your venue into a lively and welcoming environment that sets the perfect tone for ringing in the new year.

You can get all the party supplies you need in this New Year's Eve party supply bundle. It includes 2025 balloons, a hanging sign, 2025 glasses and a variety of other gold, black and white balloons you can put around the house.

You can get all your party decor on Amazon, and get it shipped to your door in 24 hours if you're an Amazon Prime member. You can join or start a 30-day free trial to start your shopping today.

Serve all your festive foods and desserts on New Year’s themed plates when you get this Happy New Year table supplies pack. You get a banner, a tablecloth and 16 nine- and seven-inch plates, cups, utensils and napkins.

Every New Year's Eve party needs glasses with the new year on them. This pack of 2025 glasses has a variety of different glasses styles, so partygoers can choose ones that match their style. You get 10 different glasses in each pack.

Champagne is a staple of any good New Year’s Eve party, but if you don’t have multiple champagne glasses lying around, plastic ones will work, too. This six-pack of plastic champagne flutes have gold glitter to add to the festivities. Plus, they’re recyclable when the party’s over.

Star crackers help you celebrate the new year with a bang. When the clock strikes midnight, grab one of these eight crackers and pop it to show your excitement for the start of 2025. Inside is a mix of black and gold confetti.

A pack of funny napkins keeps your house clean and adds some fun to the party. This set of napkins features the hilarious saying "Let’s get this party started because I would love to be in bed by 11." For the early birds that choose to have an earlier party, these napkins really get the sentiment across.

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Original price: $12.99

Turn the party up a notch by creating the perfect mood lighting. This small sound-activated party light won’t take up a ton of space, but it can transform your home into party central. The light has three sound-activated modes and seven lighting modes, so you can customize the lights to your liking.

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Glow lights are a fun addition to any party. You can get a pack of 222 glow in the dark party supplies. You’ll get glow in the dark glasses, bracelets and necklaces all in different neon colors. Pass them out at the party and turn the lights down and all your guests can dance, mingle and have a great time.

8 holiday train rides and toy train shows for travelers in this festive season

Nothing beats the childhood joy of seeing a choo-choo train display during the holiday season. 

Especially when that includes boarding a Christmastime caboose brimming with holiday decor, smelling hot cocoa wafting through the cars, and enjoying plenty of picturesque views. 

Here's a roundup of some of the best holiday train rides and model train displays in the U.S. for this season of celebration.

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Set your sights on your favorites — and add them to your wish list for a holiday memory for the books. 

Here are eight to catch while you can (some run well into January). It's always best to check dates and ticket prices on each location's website ahead of time.

Have a very Tweetsie Christmas in Western North Carolina at Tweetsie, a Wild West-inspired holiday railroad experience. 

Up in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, you’ll ride a train behind a real-deal 1866 steam locomotive decorated with twinkling lights. 

Round that out with Christmas carolers, live holiday performances and the chance to meet Santa in the Gingerbread House back at the home base, and you’ve got the makings of a great holiday memory. 

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The Tweetsie Railroad grounds also boast four classic amusement rides, including the holiday-themed Little Drummer Boy Tea Cup, and there’s a fire pit where you can enjoy s’mores and hot cocoa and restaurants if you need to sit on solid ground for a while. Learn more at tweetsie.com.

For an unforgettable toy train show, head to Indy, where you can scope out The Eiteljorg Museum's Jingle Rails. The model train display sprawls across some 1,200 square feet with 25 model trains wending their way through landscapes as diverse as the White House, the Indianapolis skyline and the Grand Canyon. 

Fun fact: All the 30-plus locations featured in the display are handcrafted from natural materials and adorned with holiday lights to up the yuletide quotient. 

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While here, guests can also enjoy the new winter market where local artists peddle everything from artwork to candles. Learn more at eiteljorg.org/exhibitions.

All aboard to climb up Mount Washington on the Cog Railway for a cuppa hot cocoa with Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

This winter, Cog Railway trains terminate at the alpine meadow marvel that is Waumbek Station. With an elevation of some 4,000 feet, the venue boasts panoramas of the southern Presidential mountain range to the Canadian border. 

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Travelers can enjoy a 25-minute pit stop to savor that aforementioned hot chocolate, get cozy in warming huts or stand beside a crackling fire pit. Learn more at brettonwoodsvacations.com.

Throw yourself into a Hallmark movie scene on a vintage train ride that traverses West Virginia’s rolling hills while channeling some North Pole merriment. 

Voyagers will be treated to a 75-minute ride complete with caroling, "The Nutcracker" character dance performances, and "Yes, West Virginia, There is a Santa Claus" story time. 

All of this and more can be washed down with Mrs. Claus’s milk and cookies. A scenic caboose final approach showcases glowing Christmas lights, dancing elves and a Santa cameo. 

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Back at the Christmas Event Barn after the trip, kids can enjoy a petting farm, crafts, photo opps, s’mores roasting and more. 

P.S. A first class ticket will have you hopping aboard a handsomely restored vintage 1940s-1950s dining car with lounge-style seating. Learn more at potomaceagle.com.

In the otherworldly vistas of the American Southwest, holiday splendor is chugging along on the Grand Canyon Railway, which morphs into the wintertime classic, The Polar Express. 

For 90 minutes, you’ll zigzag through landscapes as Chris Van Allsburg’s eponymous children’s book is read. 

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Music, Santa visits, hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies sweeten the deal on this excursion. Learn more at thetrain.com.

Known for its wine-tasting locomotive excursions in Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Wine Train during the holiday season hosts the Santa Train Jolly Journeys, much to the delight of kids — and kids at heart. 

Once you’ve boarded, expert carolers, cookies and cocoa, and Santa visits — plus printed and digital photo opps at four spots along the way. 

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Food-wise, choose desserts at Santa’s Cookie car or a full holiday dinner on an antique Pullman dining car dubbed the Gourmet Holiday Express. 

Don’t forget to soak up the stunning views from the Very Merry Vista dome observation cart before your time on this special train ride concludes. Learn more at winetrain.com. 

For another fabulous toy train show, check this out.

Now in its 37th year of operation, this highly detailed display has about 600 trains, a slew of famous landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Grand Central Station and the Dallas Skyline — plus a new display made entirely from LEGO bricks, all across 1,600 feet of track. 

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Bonus: Visitors can leave the exhibit knowing their admission fees benefit Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, which helps families with ill or injured children. Learn more at trainsatnorthpark.org.

A third holiday train show not to be missed is the impressive setup at the U.S. Botanic Garden in our nation’s capital city.

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Here, get excited about an outdoor model train extravaganza where the miniature cabooses circulate through — fittingly for the setting — pollinators and their plants. 

Throughout the show, which is made from plant parts, you’ll see oversized models of our country’s native flowers like milkweed, an orchid bee pollinating a vanilla orchid flower, a chocolate midge pollinating a cacao flower and much more. 

FYI: As with many museums in D.C., the U.S. Botanic Garden is free of charge. Learn more at usbg.gov/holiday.  

Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more

Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25. 

The island proudly proclaims itself as having the "longest holiday season in the world," according to the website Discover Puerto Rico. 

On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January. 

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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families. 

One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations. 

In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner. 

Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple. 

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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with. 

In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they'll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence. 

Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source. 

The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn't Christmas, but instead, the night before. 

In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast. 

Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo. 

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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico. 

Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that "commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth," according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com. 

For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico. 

Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season. 

The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.

This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades. 

Traveling for Christmas? Stay healthy with these 7 tips

Travel is a big part of the holiday season, with statistics showing that more than 119 million Americans plan to embark on some type of journey between Christmas and New Year's.

Unfortunately, traveling also increases the risk of getting sick — but there are steps you can take to increase your chances of staying healthy while away from home.

"When you're traveling, when you're on the road, there's a lot of risk of stress and disorientation," Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, told Fox News Digital.

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"You're not in your usual habitat, and that can make people disoriented, upset, anxious or even sleep-deprived, especially when changing time zones."

Siegel shared some of his top tips for preventing illness during holiday travel.

Staying hydrated has been shown to boost the immune system and protect against illness.

Water is always best, but other hydrating fluids include plain coffee or tea, sparkling or flavored waters, 100% vegetable juice, and milk or milk alternatives.

It’s best to travel while "well-exercised," Siegel said.

"If you have a regular exercise routine, I wouldn't suspend it a week before travel," he said.

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"If you're regularly exercising, sleeping right and eating right before you go, I think that that puts you in much better shape when you're traveling."

Siegel said he’s a "big believer" in wiping down surfaces, especially when traveling by plane.

"You wouldn't believe what these surfaces carry — we've studied that," he said. "There are a lot of germs in that tray table, and it's the person next to you who could be sick." 

"When you're about to take a trip, it is a good time for you to think about whether you’re up-to-date on your vaccines," Siegel said.

One immunization that isn’t given enough attention, according to the doctor, is Tdap, a combination vaccine that protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough).

It is given at least once every five to 10 years.

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"There's a ton of whooping cough around this year," Siegel said. "Thousands of cases are reported, but many thousands aren't."

The doctor also recommends the shingles shot for those over the age of 50 and the pneumonia vaccine for people 60 and older.

"When you're under stress from travel, that might be when you could get sick," Siegel said, as the immune system isn't functioning at an optimal level. 

"That's when shingles might reappear," he warned. "Shingles is actually a chickenpox virus that's dormant in your body for years, but can recur at times of stress."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that everyone 6 months and older receives COVID and flu vaccinations, with rare exceptions.

For those who take multiple daily medications, the doctor recommends traveling with one pill bottle and putting the various pills in it, making it less likely for any to get misplaced.

"Make sure you have more than enough," he advised. "You never know when you're going to get delayed, especially around holiday travel."

Siegel recommends bringing three or four extra days of pills for all medications.

"Depending on what chronic illnesses you may have, it's a good idea to be up-to-date with blood draws and visits to your doctor" before traveling, he added.

It can be challenging to maintain a regular sleep cycle while traveling, Siegel noted, especially when time zones are changing.

"The more you can catch some winks while traveling, the better off you're going to be," he said.

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For those who have trouble falling asleep while on the road, Siegel recommends identifying what makes you drift off at home and using those same techniques.

"I get asked a lot for sleeping aids," he said. "For people who are traveling on long trips, I personally am uncomfortable giving medication if the patient hasn't been taking it already."

While masks "got a bad name" during the pandemic because of mandates, Siegel noted that they are tools that can be used for those who are ill or at a higher risk. 

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"If you're a person who’s at risk of an infectious disease or has a chronic illness, the last thing you need is to get the flu, COVID or RSV."

The doctor recommends considering a mask for tight spaces where there are a lot of people around.

"You don't know what they have or what they are harboring," he said.

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"That's why I would consider one, especially if you're at high risk."

Overall, Siegel said, "staying hydrated, eating right and sleeping properly as best as possible is the way to go in decreasing stress while traveling."

Christmas trash becomes holiday treasure for woman who saves thousands of dollars every year

A woman in Florida has discovered an unusual way to brighten her life and save quite a lot of money at the same time.

It just means deciding to frequent some places that many others won't. 

Melanie Diaz of Tampa, Florida, finds some of the magic of Christmas after others have tried to trash perfectly good — and brand new — holiday decor items. (See the video at the top of this article.)

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The 20-something goes dumpster diving in the outdoor receptacles located behind retail outlets to find her treasures.

She's saved as much as $20,000 by retrieving gifts and decor from trash cans, including wreaths from Michaels and toys from TJ Maxx, news agency SWNS reported.

The 22-year-old does her trash-to-treasure work in December and January and plucks out discarded holiday items that would otherwise go to waste.

"It is my favorite time going dumpster diving on Christmas because they start throwing out a lot of Christmas stuff," she told the outlet. 

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"I love saving everything so I can put it in my house and decorate it for the next year."

She finds the dumpsters that are placed behind such popular retailers as TJ Maxx, Burlington, Michaels, Jo-Ann Stores, Pop Shelf and Home Goods — and said she's found a jackpot of holiday items.

Some of her biggest discoveries occur after Christmas, she said, when stores begin clearing out their leftover holiday inventory.

"My biggest finds are in January," Diaz told SWNS. 

"I went dumpster diving to the TJ Maxx store, and I found a lot — the dumpster was full to the top."

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From 10 wreaths salvaged from Michael's — worth about $400 — to $500 Christmas trees, Diaz has curated a festive collection.

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She has also retrieved puzzles and dog toys from TJ Maxx, saving around $200 each, and countless other holiday staples, including ornaments and stockings, SWNS reported.

Sometimes there's so much to grab, Diaz said, that she has to enlist help. 

She's had to "bring my family to help me because it was too much," she said. 

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After one trip, "we took everything into cars, and the next day we did a garage sale. We also kept most of the stuff. It was incredible."

Her discoveries have included ornaments, festive shirts and kitchenware.

Diaz said that while she saves a great deal for herself, she also enjoys sharing her finds with those who would like them.

"I give some stuff to my friends and family," she told SWNS. 

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