Christmas came and went and now you need New Year’s Eve party ideas! New Year’s Eve with children can be a lot of fun! For my family, it is the one day every year that we let our children stay up way past their bedtime. I hope that you will use these ideas and learning activities below to start your New Year’s celebration off with a bang!
Kids Educational Games
Countdown to Midnight with Balloons
Use balloons to countdown the hours until midnight. You will need 12 (or more) balloons, some tape, small pieces of paper and a marker. Write little exercises on the little slips of paper such as “dance” or “hop 10 times” and roll them into a tube shape. Before blowing up the balloons, stick the rolled up papers into the balloons. Blow up the balloons. Write the letters 1 – 12 on each already inflated balloon. Arrange them in a circle to look like a clock. At 1pm, pop the balloon that says 1. At 2pm, pop the balloon that says 2 and so on and so forth until 12am. If you have younger kiddos that may not be able to wait an hour between pops, try adding balloons with smaller time increments. Kids will love popping the balloons!
Countdown to Noon
If you have very young children or children that cannot tolerate staying up late without demonstrating poor behaviors, consider celebrating at noon instead of midnight. You can do the same kid-friendly New Year’s activities without the crying baby and you can enjoy yourself after you put them to bed.
Year in Review and 2019 Goals
This awesome worksheet is one way to talk with your kids about how their year went on New Year’s Eve. Then, on New Years Day, you can help your children think ahead by planning for 2019! This sheet is nicely arranged to guide you through the conversation with the little people in your life. Older children can likely do this on their own, but younger children may need a little more explanation and help filling in the blanks. You can keep these papers and review them at your next New Year’s Eve party to see if you met your goals set the year before.
More New Year’s Activities
Read a book!
Here is a great list of books to read at New Years:
The Night Before New Years by Natasha Wing
New Year’s Day by Kathryn Imler
Squirrels New Year’s Resolution by Pat Miller
New Year’s Eve Game
Check out this awesome free printable game to help your celebrate 2019! For families and friends, young and old, this game can be a great way to reflect on the many things that you did in the past year.
Make Your Own Party Hats
Every amazing party wouldn’t be complete without party hats, right? Make a quick stop at your local party supply shop and get some plain party hats. Grab some pipe cleaners, glue, foam shapes, glitter, scissors, and streamers and there is no doubt that this activity will be a hit!
Make Cupcake Flutes
These adorable champagne glass cupcakes are sure to be a hit with the kids at your party. Grab some little plastic flutes from your local party supply store and bake your favorite cupcakes. Dish out the candy (gummi bears, M&M’s,Skittles, or any other colorful candy) and let the children make their very own “glasses of champagne.” If you’d rather, these would make great favors to have the kids take along at the end of the night when your New Year’s Celebration has come to a close.