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Count down the hours
Whether you couldn’t find a sitter for New Year’s Eve or you just don’t feel like fighting holiday traffic, you can still have a fun and kid-friendly celebration. If you have young children, you might want to celebrate earlier and keep to their regular bedtime schedule. Pick the time you want to start (and end!) and count down the hours with these easy activities.
Scroll through the arrows above for some fun ideas to ring in 2023.
Celebrate with food
Bake a clock
If your kids love baking, a fun and delicious activity is to make a countdown clock. You can do this by baking cookies or cupcakes and arranging the treats in a circle on a round serving platter or pizza pan. Decorate each with the numbers of the clock and use licorice sticks such as Twizzlers as clock hands to mark the time.
Milk and cookie cocktails
Every party needs snacks! Serve up milk and cookies in style by coating the rims of small glasses or even wine glasses with colorful sprinkles. Jill at CBC Parents shows you how it’s done.
Celebrate with a bang
DIY noisemakers
Create DIY noisemakers using objects from around the house. Decorate empty, lidded canisters such as butter containers, coffee cans, Pringles cans, etc., and add dried beans or rice to make shakers. Or try this crafty idea made with paper plates and candy from Momtastic.
Sparkling science
Younger kids love to watch bubbles grow when vinegar is added to baking soda.
You can glam up this simple science experiment by adding glitter or confetti to the baking soda. To do this, mix together baking soda and glitter or confetti in a shallow bowl (be sure to use plastic confetti, not paper). When kids add drops of vinegar with droppers to the soda mixture, it will produce sparkling bubbles.
Christmas crackers
Christmas crackers may be traditional accompaniments for a celebratory Christmas dinner but they’re equally as fun for New Year’s Eve. These brightly wrapped cylinders are pulled apart, breaking the cracker open with a popping sound. Be sure to check the prizes inside before purchase to get kid-friendly items (most boxes of crackers have a description on the back of the box).
Mark the occasion
Go big with balloons
It’s not a party without balloons, right? These confetti-filled balloons will brighten up your space, and then you can pop them at midnight for a confetti shower!
You can fill these with helium or not — either way, the kids will love them.
If you really want to wow the kids, stage your own balloon drop! You can make one by taping a plastic party tablecloth filled with balloons to your ceiling or buy this kit.
Photo booth
Even if it’s just you and the kiddos, why not have a photo booth? No need for an elaborate setup: Tacking up a sheet or plastic tablecloth to the wall to use as a background works well. Gather fun props from around the house, such as hats and sunglasses, or buy a New Year’s Eve photo booth prop set.
Family time capsule
Putting a time capsule together as a part of your New Year’s Eve activities can be a nice way to reflect on the past year. This can be as simple or elaborate as you wish! Grab a shoebox or big manila envelope and gather your time capsule items. Ideas for what to include: your child’s handprint, a family picture and an interview. Ask your kids about their current likes and dislikes, life goals, etc., and note their answers to look back on next year. Once finished, tuck away your time capsule until next year.
Wind down before bed
The night can get long, and a quiet break for story time is good for everyone. Try one of these holiday-themed books to balance out the activities.
- “The Night Before New Year’s” by Natasha Wing: The kids want to stay up until midnight, but can they make it?
- “Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution” by Pat Miller: A fun way to explain New Year’s resolutions to children.
- “Shante Keys and the New Year’s Peas” by Gail Piernas-Davenport: This book introduces kids to the way New Year’s is celebrated in different cultures.
Whatever you choose to do with your family on the eve of the new year, you can make sure it’s memorable with these surefire party pleasers.
Editor’s note: This article, which was originally published in December 2019, has been updated for December 2022.
