I always like to ring in the new year! However, as a new parent, I felt a little lost on how to spend this sometimes wild night with my kids and make it special for them.
You may have swapped champagne bottles for bottles of pumped milk (the quintessential house white, right?), but that doesn’t mean you have to cut back on the fun. 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 the little ones!
And here is one New Year’s Eve parenting hack you don’t want to miss: You can stream the ball drop or a New Year’s celebration video early and still get your kids to bed on time!
20 New Year’s Eve Activities to Do with Kids
Here are some fun activities to do together to ring in the New Year!
- Dress up and have a fancy dinner.
- Create a fun hourly countdown. You can pass out confetti balloons every hour on the hour or make goodie bags to open every hour.
- Make a family slideshow and cuddle up on the couch to watch it together.
- Have your children write a toast.
- Of course, you need mocktails to toast! There are tons of great mocktail recipes out there. We are big fans of anything including gummy bears.
- Make some glowing slime.
- Learn about different New Year traditions around the world.
- Practice what you’ve learned by eating grapes for luck.
- Create a sensory bin on New Year’s Eve.
- Make a countdown paper chain.
- Bake NYE themed cookies.
- Have a special snack every hour to count.
- Help your children create a year in review to look back on. Get a printable here with prompts.
- Make confetti poppers.
- Play games on New Year’s Eve. You can get printable games here!
- Make a DIY photo booth.
- Have a family slumber party.
- Build a family fortress.
- Have fun with sparklers.
- Make a bucket list for the upcoming year!
Click to Shop NYE Essentials!
Here is My #1 NYE Parenting Hack
Usher in the New Year in two different time zones. No, I don’t mean jet-set on your private plane to multiple destinations (although I would!). I mean let your kids think the ball drops at 9 PM. Do the whole shebang with a countdown and confetti poppers, then put your little angels to sleep! I call it “mock midnight”.
This works great if you are located on the West Coast because you can Actually watch the ball drop at midnight on the East Coast. But, there are also great options that you can stream anytime! There is the PBS Kids’ New Year’s Eve Countdown o A Classic Countdown on youtube. Netflix also has a total New Year celebration for premium ad-free subscriptions.
When they are tucked away, parents can have some alone time. Drink a fun NYE-inspired cocktail, catch up on a TV show, and bring in the New Year with a little romance.
How are you spending New Year’s Eve? Let me know in the comments!
Pin for Later – New Year’s Eve Countdown for Kids [+20 Activities To Do Together!]
Amber is the CEO and mom in charge of Rookie Moms! She is raising six amazing people and has been through a lot as a mom including high risk pregnancies (preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome), adoption, navigating special needs, working from home, and more. Now he’s on a mission to pass on the knowledge he’s learned… from one mama to another!
