Looking for New Year's Eve ideas for kids? Do you not have the energy to do all the things you find on Pinterest? No worries! I'm here to help with some easy and simple ideas that use things you likely already have at home.
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We're in that stretch between Christmas and New Year's. I don't know about you, but I'm tired and don't want to put a ton of effort into the holiday. We always stay home for New Year's Eve because of kid bedtimes, plus my husband and I are ultimately homebodies. That doesn't mean I don't want some great New Year's Eve ideas to do with our kids.
This year is presenting a new challenge for us. We have our 11 year old daughter who is excited about staying up until midnight, plus our 2 year old and 4 month old who need their sleep. I tried to think of New Year's Eve ideas for kids that catered to both our 11 year old and our 2 year old who will be going to bed at 7pm. Below is ultimately what I came up with. Many of the ideas build up to the final one, so check them all out.
Dress up
Decorate - but keep it easy
Have some special food
Look at photos from the past year
Photo booth with props!
Crafts!
Watch the Netflix Countdown whenever
Celebrate New Year's Around the World
Alright, let's get started with the 8 New Year's Eve ideas to do with kids.
1. Dress Up
Everyone loves an occasion to dress up. Just because we are staying in doesn't mean we can't feel fancy. Therefore, one of my New Year's Eve ideas for kids is to have everyone wear their nicest outfits. This keeps it fun and exciting, and has minimal effort for parents.
2. Decorate - but keep it easy
The next New Year's Eve ideas for kids is to decorate your house. Again, the idea is to make things feel special with minimal effort. Therefore, I plan on (1) using things I already have at home (hello old birthday party decorations), and (2) letting the kids decorate. They will love it and I won't have to do anything!
If you don't love the stuff you have lying around, you can always buy a kit like this one. I love this one because it also works year-after-year (unlike ones that include the year).
3. Have Some Special Food
Plan to have something a little special for the evening. My husband and I will likely have champagne or sparkling wine, so I'll make sure I grab a bottle of sparkling cider for the kids. My kids also love when we have special popcorn, which is just popping some popcorn and letting them add some of their favorite candy to it.
To up the "special" factor, you can get some plastic champagne flutes.
4. Look at Photos from the Past Year
Take some time to celebrate this past year by looking through family photos. This is something even our toddler gets into - she loves looking at photos of herself. It's a simple and fun New Year's Eve tradition.
5. Photo Booth with Props!
After checking out photos from the past year, take some time to make some new photos and memories! Check out these homemade photo booth props. What a great (and simple) New Year's Eve ideas for kids that would be a ton of fun. You could also make a backdrop using materials you had on hand for decorating.
Not wanting to make props yourself? Check out these Photo Booth props. I again love them because there is no year attached and you can use them year-after-year.
6. Crafts!
Crafts can always provide great New Year's Eve ideas for kids. Here are some simple crafts that will also feed into idea #8
Make Noise Makers - I plan to make these toilet paper roll noisemakers and these paper plate noise makersbecause I already have the stuff on hand for both of these and they are toddler-friendly.
Make homemade poppers - I plan to make some simple homemade poppers for my kids to play with, as well as homemade confetti. All you need for these is a toilet paper roll or paper cup, balloon, and pompoms and confetti. Simply cut the end of the balloon off, put it around one open end of the toilet paper roll or paper cup (you'll have to cut out the bottom of the cup), tie off the balloon, then put your fillings in it. To "pop" it, pull down on the balloon and release it.
Don't want to make noisemakers? Check these out!
7. Watch the Netflix Countdown Whenever
Netflix has put together a New Year's Eve countdown with all your favorite characters. You can play it whenever works best for you, and your kids' bedtime.
8. Celebrate New Years Around the World
The final idea on my list of New Year's Eve ideas for kids is to celebrate around the world. It wouldn't be a post for The Simplified Parent without an educational twist! Here is an activity I came up with that allows every member of our family to celebrate the New Year multiple times, while also teaching us all about some fun traditions from around the world. Plus, these ideas use things you likely already have around your home!
Note: I created this timeline based on Colorado's MST timezone. If you live in a different timezone, you will need to adjust the timing for it to work out.
4pm - Spain
In Spain, they try to eat 12 green grapes in the last 12 seconds before midnight. If you can do it, you are guaranteed to have good luck for the year. See if your family members can do it!
5pm - Ireland
An Irish New Year's tradition is to bang bread against the walls. It is thought to scare away evil spirits and bad luck, while also inviting good luck in. Grab a crusty loaf of bread and try this out with your family (but hopefully you can still eat it afterwards).
6pm - Cape Verde
You first may need to look up where Cape Verde is (it's an archipelago off the coast of West Africa). It's a little obscure, but the only country I could find in that timezone. In Cape Verde, they celebrate New Year's with a lot of singing and music. They play through the streets, collecting more people along the way, and end up at a hospital playing loud enough for the sick people to hear as well. Make a band with your family and the noise makers from number 6.
7pm - Greenland
Greenland, like many other countries, celebrate the New Year with a huge fireworks display. Have a little fireworks fun by watching videos of fireworks, or setting off the poppers from idea number 6 in this post.
8pm - Uruguay
In many South American countries, they celebrate the New Year by throwing a pot of water out a window for good luck. Uruguay takes this up a notch by having water fights at midnight. Find a way to bring this to your home. It could be as simple as sprinkling one another with water, or more intense with water balloons and water guns. It depends on your family and the weather where you're at.
9pm - Puerto Rico
In Puerto Rico, in addition to throwing a bucket of water out the window for good luck, they also sprinkle sugar outside their house for luck.
10pm - Colombia
In Colombia, they place three potatoes under their beds - one peeled, one unpeeled, and one half peeled. They then pull out the first potato they touch (without looking) at midnight. The potato they get indicates the type of year they'll have - an unpeeled potato means a financial abundance, a peeled potato means financial hardships, and the half-peeled potato means something in between.
11pm - Mexico
After midnight in Mexico, it's a tradition to walk around the house with an empty suitcase or set an empty suitcase in the middle of the floor and everyone walks around it. This is believed to bring good travels for the coming year.
12pm - Colorado
If you make it to midnight with your kids, celebrate in the traditional style for wherever you live. For us, it's watching the countdown on TV and toasting with champagne (or sparkling apple cider) and kissing your loved ones. I also love the idea of this easy balloon drop since I have a ton of balloons in my house.
What's For Dinner?
Based on the stuff I am already buying (mainly, bread and potatoes), I plan on making pork loin, mashed potatoes, and bread. Got to keep it easy!
I originally wrote this post for my blog The Simplified Parent. Check it out at thesimplifiedparent.com
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