It is always so exciting to ring in a new year, but New Year’s Eve is one holiday you might feel a little lost on when you first start a family. Gone are the nights of staying out at a club or party until 2 AM and you have probably switched bottles of champagne for bottles of pumped milk (the most valuable kind of house white, right?). Despite the changes, New Year’s Eve can still be an absolute blast at home with the people you love the most. Below are our 20 favorite activities to make ringing in the New Year extra special with little ones!
PS Don’t miss my New Year’s Eve parenting hack at the end!
20 New Year’s Eve Activities To Do with Kids
Here are a couple of fun activities to do together to welcome in the New Year!
- Get dressed up and have a fancy dinner.
- Create a fun hourly countdown. You could pop a confetti balloon every hour on the hour or make goodie bags to be opened each hour.
- Create a family slideshow and cuddle up on the couch to watch it together.
- Have your little ones write out a toast.
- Of course, you need mocktails to toast with! There are tons of great mocktail recipes out there. We are big fans of anything including gummy bears.
- Make some glittery slime.
- Learn about different New Year traditions around the world.
- Put what you learned to practice by eating grapes for good luck.
- Create a New Year’s Eve sensory bin.
- Make a countdown paper chain.
- Bake NYE-themed cookies.
- Have a special snack each hour to countdown with.
- Help your kids do a year in review to look back on. Get a printable here with prompts.
- Make confetti poppers.
- Play New Year’s Eve games. You can grab printable games here!
- Create a DIY photobooth.
- Have a family slumber party.
- Build a family fort.
- Have fun with sparklers.
- Make a bucket list for the upcoming year!
A Little Help from Pinterest
Here’s My #1 NYE Parenting Hack
Usher in the New Year in a couple of different timezones. No, I don’t mean jet-set in your private plane to multiple destinations (although I wish). I mean let your kids think that the ball has dropped at 9 PM. Do the whole shebang with the countdown and confetti poppers, then put your little angels to bed! I call this “mock midnight”.
This works extremely well if you are located on the West Coast because you can actually watch the ball drop when it is midnight on the East Coast. BUT Netflix also has countdowns available to watch on-demand.
Once they are tucked in, the parents can have a little alone time. Drink a fun NYE-inspired cocktail, catch up on a TV show, and usher in the New Year with a little romance.
How are you spending New Year’s Eve?
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