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30 New Year’s Eve Activities for Kids

Holiday Fun for Families· Kids Activities

Spending NYE at home as a family? Grab this list of easy and exciting New Year’s Eve ideas for kids — from crafts to recipes and more!

collage image showing photos of NYE crafts for kids

New Year’s Eve Party Ideas for Kids

Before kids, my idea of the “perfect” New Years Eve was a little bit different: dressing up, hitting the town, and probably spending more money than I intended.

In recent years, my husband and I have stayed in for New Years Eve with the kids, and I think I might just enjoy those cozy nights as a family even more!

BUT…if you’re going to spend New Year’s Eve with kids, it helps to have a plan!

How Can I Make New Year’s Eve Special For Kids?

Activities, party games, and themed snacks can make the night go by smoothly until it’s time for the ball to drop. It also lets kids feel more involved and understand the significance of the celebration.

Even if they’re not staying up all the way until midnight, these fun New Year’s Eve activities for kids will make them feel like part of the festivities!

Other things you can do to make the day special:

  • Create a playlist of you favorite songs
  • Have a dance party with glowsticks and party wands
  • Make a party spread of NYE themed foods (I’ll share recipe ideas later in the post!)
  • Let the kids stay up a little past their bedtime

Should I Let My Kids Stay Up Until Midnight On New Year’s Eve?

This is entirely up to you of course! However, for little kids, it can be difficult to stay up so late, even if they think they want to.

Spoiler alert…my kids don’t stay up all the way until midnight on new year’s eve! However, we do let them stay up past their bedtime.

Here are some ways to celebrate EARLY on NYE with little kids:

  • Find a countdown video on YouTube for little kids, so they can participate even if they do not stay up til midnight
  • Do “noon year’s eve” instead, so younger kids can enjoy party fun in the daytime
  • Let them watch an earlier countdown in a different time zone (we do this!)

 

Contents hide
1 New Year’s Eve Party Ideas for Kids
2 How Can I Make New Year’s Eve Special For Kids?
3 Should I Let My Kids Stay Up Until Midnight On New Year’s Eve?
4 Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Recipes
5 New Year’s Kids Crafts
6 New Year’s Eve Games and Activities for Kids
6.1 More holiday and Christmas fun for kids:

Affiliate links provided for your convenience; disclosure policy available here.

This list is full of fun ideas for an exciting New Year’s Eve with Kids from our favorite family bloggers. Click on the links below for full tutorials/instructions.

 

Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Recipes

What’s a New Year’s Eve party without snacks?! These festive and delicious desserts and drinks will keep the kiddos happy (and maybe the grown-ups too!)

a New Year's Eve dessert charcuterie board with chocolates and candies

New Year’s Eve Dessert Charcuterie — The whole family will love this festive spread of sweet treats! You can customize with your favorite chocolates and candies and special treats.

 

Celebrate the new year with this sweet countdown clock! This New Year's Eve Cupcakes Clock is easy to make and perfect for parties or a night in with the family.

New Year’s Eve Cupcake Clock — A clock made with cupcakes! Makes a gorgeous centerpiece and enough to serve a crowd!

 

stack of strawberry champagne cookies with pink sprinkles

Strawberry Champagne Cookies — Made with champagne extract instead of real bubbly, these sparkly cookies are totally family friendly! Plus they’re tasty and beautiful!

 

cups with colorful Christmas punch topped with whipped cream and gumdrops

Gumdrop Punch — This candy flavored drink will definitely be a hit with the kids!

 

marshmallow pops frosted to look like clocks

Marshmallow Clocks by Nifty Mom — Chocolate dipped marshmallows decorated to look like a countdown clock. Fun and tasty!

 

"unicorn horns" made from chocolate covered waffle cones

Edible Party Horns — Unicorn horns or party hats, you decide! Either way, these are a tasty party treat and the kids will have a blast decorating them!

New Year’s Kids Crafts

From keepsake crafts to party decor, these easy projects will be fun for kids to make on the big day and to countdown to the new year!

Inside: Ring in the New Year with this adorable New Year's Eve Ball Drop Card! A commemorative countdown card that slides to reveal your child's photo. Kid-Made New Year's Eve Ball Drop Card Yesterday I was writing a check (fun, right?) and I paused while writing the date. Was it really 2018? It feels like just yesterday we were preparing for Y2K! But yes, here we are on the brink of 2019, with New Year's Eve barely over a week away! Our kids are still on the young side, so they don't stay up until midnight. However, we still want to include them in the festivities and find ways to make the night special. This New Year's Eve ball drop card is a fun and easy kid's craft for the occasion! They can make it to use for their own countdown, or as a keepsake to give to family. New Year's Countdown Card Supply List For your convenience in re-creating our New Year's Eve Ball Drop Photo Card, I’ve provided shop-able ad links to some of the products used; disclosure policy available here. Black card stock Small paper plate (6") Silver glitter glue Sequins Metallic paint marker Child's photo Craft glue or glue gun Scissors How to Make a New Year's Eve Ball Drop Photo Card First, watch our quick video tutorial to see exactly how we made our easy New Year's Eve Ball Drop Card for kids. Then keep reading for full photo step-by-step instructions. Click video to play: <div class="adthrive-video-player in-post" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/VideoObject" data-video-id=""jL2VKthz"" data-player-type="" override-embed=""> <meta itemprop="uploadDate" content=""2018-12-23T01:59:36.000Z"" /> <meta itemprop="name" content=""NYE-card-Low"" /> <meta itemprop="description" content=""Ring" /> <meta itemprop="thumbnailUrl" content="https://content.jwplatform.com/thumbs/"jL2VKthz"-720.jpg" /> <meta itemprop="contentUrl" content="https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/"jL2VKthz".mp4" /> </div> The first thing we did was decorate our ball, so it would have plenty of time to dry. To decorate, we spread silver glitter glue to cover the entire surface of the paper plate. While the glue was still wet, we sprinkled sequins all over so that when the glue dried the sequins would stick to the plate. Feel free to customize your New Year's Eve ball with whatever sparkly supplies you have on hand - this is what we had at home and meant to be an idea starter. You could also use metallic silver paint, paint markers, loose glitter, plastic jewels, aluminum foil, etc. While your glitter ball dries, you can work on the rest of the New Year's card. Cut a slit in the middle of your black card stock, vertically, leaving about one inch uncut at the top and bottom. Use a metallic paint marker to write a countdown on the right side of your paper, from 10 to 1. On the top left corner of your card, glue your child's photo. You may need to trim the photo so that none of it is showing when the glitter ball is on top of it. When your glitter ball is dry, glue one end a jumbo craft stick to the back of the paper plate. Slide the craft stick through the slit in your black card stock, so that the glitter ball is on top of the left side of the card stock, and that the rest of the craft stick is behind the card on the right side. Now you can slide the New Year's Eve ball up and down your card, using the craft stick. Have fun and customize your card with New Year's messages and any special decorations you like! More New Year's Eve Fun for Kids Be sure to check out our list of more than 25 of our favorite easy New Year's Eve activities for kids too:

New Year’s Eve Ball Drop Photo Card — A cute countdown card idea that slides to reveal your child’s photo! Let your creativity run wild!

 

metallic homemade confetti poppers for Nye

DIY Confetti Poppers by Happiness is Homemade — A safe alternative to fireworks that’s just as fun!

 

NYE noisemaker mask for kids

Party Horn Photo Props by Pink Stripey Socks — Make funny faces and loud noises to celebrate the new year!

 

mini ball drop craft for kids

Mini Ball Drop by One Artsy Mama — A mini model of a glittery ball drop that the kids can use. They’re gonna love it!

 

paper plate clock craft

Countdown Clock Craft by Buggy and Buddy — An easy to make paper plate craft so kids can countdown to the new year.

 

homemade metallic NYE party hats

DIY Classic Party Hats by Girl Inspired — Why buy when you can make your own and customize?! Even older kids and adults will love these fun additions to the new year’s eve celebration!

TIP: Use them as photo booth props!

 

 

Fireworks Craft by In the Playroom — All you need are toilet paper rolls and paint to make festive fireworks art!

 

paper plate tambourine for NYE with year on it

New Year’s Eve Noise Makers by Teaching Mama — This paper plate tambourine craft is sparkly and festive!

 

paper cup party popper with pom poms

Paper Cup Party Poppers by Red Ted Art — Made with paper cups and pom-poms, these party poppers are safe for little kids. All you pop out are soft and colorful pom poms! This is perfect for preschoolers!

confetti balloon for NYE

Confetti Balloons by Design Improvised — Pretty up the party with these sparkly balloons! Grab some glitter, glue, and balloons and get creating! You could even make a balloon drop with them!

 

blowing on a homemade noisemaker made with a drinking straw

DIY Straw Noisemakers by Meaningful Mama — All you need are simple drinking straws to make these homemade party noisemakers!

 

fill in the blank NYE printable

Fill in the Blank Printables by LalyMom — These printable party activities are sure to keep everyone busy and laughing!

 

countdown banner for NYE

Countdown Banner by the Crafting Chicks — An activity, countdown, and party decor craft combined! The best part is it can be made with basic craft supplies.

New Year’s Eve Games and Activities for Kids

It can be a challenge to keep the kids entertained while they wait for the big moment, so here is a list of New Year’s themed games and learning-based kids activities to try:

 

Wishing you all a safe and happy New Year!! — Stacey

PS – if you have any favorite new years eve party ideas to share, I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

More holiday and Christmas fun for kids:

Whether you're looking for inspiration, or just a laugh, this is an awesome collection of over 500 bizarre Elf on the Shelf hiding spots! (safe to look at with the kids!)

500+ Elf on the Shelf Hiding Spots

Stacey aka the Soccer Mom
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