Happy New Year! Who says New Year’s Eve celebrations aren’t for kids? Not us! We have four really cute and fun ways that your children can help ring in the New Year.
Even if your children are small, they can still take part in the big countdown to the New Year and still make it to bed well before the big ball drops in Times Square.
Here are our 4 favorite family New Year’s Eve ideas. Have fun!
1. Time Zone Trickery
Who says you have to wait until midnight in your time zone? It’s close to midnight somewhere in the world, right? So if your kids are fading by 8 p.m., find a country that’s celebrating earlier than midnight your time. Just check out your time zone.
2. Countdown Drama
Let your kids count down the 12 minutes until midnight (in the time zone you chose). Do a family hug at every minute mark. Write out the numbers one to twelve on individual sheets of paper. Tape them to the wall and let the kids pull them down, one by one. You can also have 12 different snack stations with mini-snacks: 1 chocolate kiss, 4 kernels of popcorn, etc. Let everyone move from one station to the next as each minute passes. You can also write down things to do on the countdown papers: 12 jumping jacks, 11 silly faces, etc.
3. Make Some Noise
Spend part of New Year’s Eve making noisemakers for your midnight revelry and have a noisy parade around the house. Let your kids decorate empty plastic containers (with lids) and then fill them with unpopped popcorn kernels, beans, pennies, etc.
4. Eve Eatings
Set up a buffet for pizza, sundaes or tacos. While you’re enjoying your feast, put iMOM’s 16 inspirational quotes in a bowl and let each family member pull one out. Talk about the qualities presented in the quote that you can try to emulate in the New Year.
How do you celebrate New Year’s Eve?