10 Ways to Celebrate New Years Eve with Kids
Big celebrations for New Years Eve are a MUST and they can be so much fun when you bring your kids into the picture! There are endless possibilities for celebrating NYE with kids, but today I’m bringing 10 of the best fun ways to celebrate New Years Eve with kids to the picture! Keep reading for some of the most fun ways to celebrate NYE with your kids, including some ideas for new NYE traditions to start with your kids this year!
When to Start Celebrating NYE with Your Kids
Many new parents might find themselves wondering when to begin celebrating New Years Eve with their kids, since ya know, they won’t remember those early years anyway and don’t understand what is going on. But as for me? I think you should start celebrating right from the start!
There are so many ways to include your kids in your New Years Eve festivities no matter the age. While this post is geared toward kids who are old enough to understand what we are celebrating, there are also ways to celebrate NYE with younger kids! With that, don’t let their age stop you from celebrating bringing in the new year. Might as well get started on the New Years Eve traditions early on!
Importance of Traditions for Kids
Traditions are essential for kids, and that is why I say start them now. Start them early.
Haven’t started any traditions yet? Well, now is the time!
When you think of holiday traditions, odds are you think of Christmas traditions, but there can be traditions for any holiday and NYE shouldn’t be left out!
Traditions are a great way to not only bond as a family over the holiday season, but they offer a great opportunity for your child to build their own sense of belonging around the holidays.
You see, holiday traditions offer three great things for your kids.
a sense of identity
family bonding strength
building character
This post from Brunswick Crossing does a great job of explaining the many great things that come from setting family holiday traditions and I do suggest giving it a read after reading through this list of ways to celebrate New Years Eve wit h kids!
How to Build Traditions with Your Kids
Now that you understand some of the importance of setting family traditions around holidays, let’s get into how to actually build the traditions.
The short- just get started! This list is a great place to begin. Take a few ideas from the list below of ideas to celebrate New Years Eve with kids and see what sticks! When the next year comes around, odds are your kids will ask to do something again that you guys did the year before and there comes the family tradition!
My best advice would be to not force the holiday traditions with your kids. Instead, focus on creating the memories and you’ll figure out what lasts and what doesn’t!
10 Ways to Celebrate New Years Eve with Kids
There are so many ways to celebrate New Years Eve with kids, but I have to say, these ten ideas for celebrating NYE with kids are the best!
Here are my best ideas for ways to celebrate New Years Eve with Kids:
hosting a family slumber party
creating a time capsule as a family
hosting a fancy family dinner
toasting to the new year with grape juice in champagne flutes
writing out your new years resolutions together
having a balloon drop
looking back on the year as a family
making a 2023 bucket list as a family
watching a NYE countdown
banging pots and pans at midnight
1. Host a Family Slumber Party for NYE
We’re kicking off this list of ideas for celebrating NYE with kids with a BANG! Bring in the New Year as a family with a fun family sleep over in the living room. Celebrate all night long with some of the other ideas on this list but end the night together with beds made up on the couch or floor!
2. Create a Time Capsule as a Family
This idea for celebrating New Years Eve with kids is something that can last a lifetime. Check out this post for ideas for creating a time capsule as a family this New Years Eve.
Essentially, use something like an old shoe box and let the kids go to TOWN decorating it. Then stuff it with memories from the year! Whether that be drawings, letters, pictures, or memorabilia. Stuff it full and store it away until the next NYE and then you can open it as a family and continue on the tradition!
3. Host a Fancy Dinner at Home for New Years Eve with Kids
Another way to bring in the new year would be by hosting a fun, fancy dinner at home for your family! Get the entire family involved and go all out. Appetizers. Sides. Main course. Desserts. Mocktails. The whole thing! You could have so much fun with this as a family.
Work together to create a menu for this and get the whole family involved. Take it a step further and set the table with some fancy dinnerware, or better yet, order some NYE themed tableware from Amazon and keep things fun but simple!
4. Toast to the New Year with Sparkling Grape Juice in Champagne Flutes
This is a great way to celebrate New Years Eve with kids once the clock strikes midnight and it offers a chance for the older kiddos to feel a bit more mature too! And don’t worry, you don’t have to break out your glass champagne flutes. You can easily order some plastic ones from Amazon that look like the real thing!
5. Write Out Your New Years Resolutions Together
This is another great idea for a New Years Eve family tradition to do as a family. Sit around the table and write out your resolutions together. Maybe even make a big board that can go up in the house so you can all work toward them together!
6. Have a Balloon Drop
Balloon drops are SO fun for kids! Check out this post for some instructions for how to create a balloon drop for NYE in your own home!
All you have to do is blow up some NYE balloons and tape them up on the ceiling inside of a shower curtain or cheap plastic table cloth. Once the clock strikes midnight, untape one of the sides and let the balloons fall over your kids! They will think it is so cool!
7. Look Back on the Year as a Family
Yet another great way to celebrate New Years Eve with your kids as a family. Look back on the year together. This could be as simple as pulling out your phone and scrolling through family photos and videos, or take it a step further by going around the table and having each family member share a few of their favorite memories of the year!
8. Create a 2023 Bucket List as a Family on New Years Eve
This one might be the most fun way to celebrate New Years Eve with kids. Make a bucket list together! This could be things to do together as a family, or even things they want to do themselves such as master a backflip on the trampoline! Encourage them to get creative!
9. Watch a New Years Eve Countdown
One of the easiest ways to celebrate NYE as a family with kids is to turn on a New Years Eve countdown. There are PLENTY! I suggest searching on Youtube for “NYE Countdown”. You’ll find live ones from news stations, fun interactive ones for the kids, and so much more! If you have cable, you could also just turn on your local news channel to watch the ball drop in NYC!
10. Bang the Pots and Pans
Lastly, we have the pots and pans. This activity is LOUD but oh so fun for the kids! If you’re not familiar, all you have to do is let the kids grab some pots and pans from the kitchen and when the clock strikes midnight, let them run outside banging them together as loud as they want! This is an oldie but a goodie way to celebrate New Years Eve with kids!
I hope you found some great ideas to celebrate New Years Eve with your kids this NYE!
Be sure to follow along on Instagram @eclectickurves for more updates year round!
Enjoy Today!
-Sierra
