New Years Eve can be fun with kids -- and it doesn't have to go until midnight!
Each year we love to get together with family or a few friends to host a New Years Eve party! We typically start celebrating with our kids early in the evening, around 5 or 6pm, and party for an hour or two. We always keep things simple and low prep so that we can focus on having fun!
Hosting a New Years Eve party with friends/family can be easy- even with a toddler!
Whenever I start planning a party (even if it is just for my own little family of six), I like to make a simple outline of what we are going to do and what we are going to eat.
For food, we typically stick to fun kid food that we don't eat all the often- mini corn dogs, taquitos, mozzarella sticks, chips- and fruit. Sometimes we'll make a special pizza in the shape of the new year number. For the adults we do some favorite dips and salads.
Hosting a New Years Eve potluck makes party throwing especially simple. We assign one person fruit, one person drinks, one person an appetizer, and one person a dessert. Then we make a few kid food things and we're set. Easy peasy!
Simple New Years Eve party games are the best!
We typically like to set up the NYE Activities by making a big balloon shaped clock. Each balloon is filled with a piece of paper with the name of an activity on it. Once we do one activity, we pop the next balloon. We don't wait a full hour to pop each balloon. Most activities only take 10-15 minutes (or less!).
Here are 9 simple activities we did last New Years Eve. Often we have 12 activities, but last year 9 was plenty.
1. Cup towers
Everyone can have fun building cup towers and knocking them down! Just make sure you grab a lot of red cups, because this activity is popular!
2. Confetti fizzy explosions
Put some baking soda and confetti into a plastic champagne glass. Place the cup inside a small baking pan. Drop some vinegar into the champagne glass using an eye dropper or turkey baster and watch as your confetti fizzes and explodes out of the top of the glass!
3. Eat food
This is one of the most popular activities. LOL. Kids sometimes have a hard time sitting down to eat, so we build time to eat into the festivities! Each kid will usually try a few things. This also gives the parents a little breathing room so that they can get set up for the next activity or have a chance to chat with friends.
These marshmallow poppers are great all year long at a variety of parties! I love watching the kids launch the marshmallows and chase after them and eat them! Go here for more details.
5. Blow New Years Eve party horns!
This one is self explanatory and easy. You might want to bring some earplugs, because this activity is LOUD. Kids love it. Make sure you set a time limit for blowing and then collect the party blowers afterwards or you may never be able to hear again!
6. Make a dessert
When little hands and mouths are busy, it is fun for everyone. We love to set up a little treat activity so that the parents can chat while the kids assemble their treats! One favorite is to make mini trifles in champagne glasses. We use brownies or pound cake and add berries and whipped cream. They are always delicious!
7. Karaoke
We love pulling up Karaoke versions of our favorite songs on YouTube and singing along. The kids think it is hysterical. We let them take turns picking the songs.
8. Netflix Countdown
There are so many NYE countdowns you can find on YouTube and Netflix. You can make New Years Eve happen any time of the day! We just turn on a countdown and celebrate together while watching for the 20-30 seconds.
9. Martinelli's Toasts
Lastly, we always have Martinellis sparkling apple cider in plastic wine or champagne glasses for the kids. They love clinking glasses with one another.
These activities for New Years Eve are super simple but help kids feel like they got to celebrate a little bit.
If you liked these 9 easy activities, then you may like our New Years Eve Activities for Kids post with several more ideas!
Do you have any other favorite New Years Eve activities you love?
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