"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1: Happy New Year! When we think of New Year’s Eve before we had kids, many images may come to mind. Remember when we used to get all dolled up in our cute outfits for a night out on the town? Or perhaps you recall those special memories made at a friend’s house as you more intimately celebrated the end of one year and the beginning of another? Regardless of how you used to celebrate, now that we are moms, things look a tad bit different on New Year’s. I actually enjoy being creative and transforming special holidays to be more family-focused—hence why we’re here to share easy and fun New Year’s eve celebration ideas for families.
As we evolve as parents, so do our celebrations and our priorities. Even our New Year’s resolutions take on a different perspective because these tiny humans of ours have given birth to a new version of our identities. When developing new traditions for holiday celebrations, there are a variety of ways to make these milestones memorable, easy, and fun for all ages. What I love most are the unique ways you can celebrate New Year’s Eve (before 9 p.m.) with your family. Below are some fun and easy New Year’s Eve party ideas for your families to bring in the new year with festivities, sparkles, and joy.
1. Do Some NYE-Themed Crafting
Bust out the pompoms, glitter, and hot glue gun to get crafty with your littles on New Year’s Eve. You can go the simple route with these crafts and they will still produce endless amounts of fun. Create these confetti poppers from Melody in the Making and add some pizzazz to your celebration.
You can also craft these countdown clocks by Buggy & Buddy with your kids and adjust the time if your family doesn’t plan on staying up until midnight. My personal favorite is designing a Wishing Wand by Life Over C’s to discuss some sweet wishes you and your little twinkling stars can hope for in the new year.
2. Host a Family Game Night
Once your child is in the toddler age, games are a good go-to for celebrations. I love infusing some competition into a celebration to add some spark to family time. Playing these Minute to Win It Games by Family Education guarantees some great times for all, plus they include supplies you likely have on hand—no need to buy anything new!
Consider the classic bingo game but make it New Year’s themed by using this New Year’s Bingo created by Kristen Duke Photography. You can’t go wrong when choosing the oldie but goodie board games like Twister and Charades, which never disappoint and always bring smiles to a gathering.
3. Have a Family Movie Watch Party
For a more mellow night in, movies are a great option to enjoy and relax on New Year’s Eve. The following rentable movies are New Year’s-themed and provide some sweet messages on explaining this holiday and honoring the diversity of celebrations.
- Sesame Street Celebrates Around the World: Available on YouTube
- Happy New Year, Charlie Brown: Available on AppleTV+
- A Very Merry Pooh Year: Available on Disney+
4. Celebrate with Food and Drink
Nothing is better than tasty treats for a New Year’s Eve celebration. These delicious recipes are easy for little hands to join in the cooking so it’s a fun time for all.
NYE Appetizers
For a healthier version of New Year’s cooking, consider these yummy-licious fruit rockets by Eats Amazing. I’d recommend subbing out the grapes for raspberries if you have younger kids to avoid possible choking hazards. Or make a New Year’s-themed snack board with cookies, cheese and crackers, and more.
NYE Desserts
Whip up a special desert just for the holiday. Think cupcakes, cookies, or even a full cake. Or, go all out and make everyone’s favorite sweet treat so everyone goes into the New Year with a smile on their face.
Kid-Friendly NYE Drinks
You’re going to need something to wash the treats and desserts down with! Everyone can get in on the celebratory fun with some sparkling apple or grape juice. The kiddos will feel the magic of the holiday without a doubt.
5. Do (an Early) Kid-Friendly Countdown
Our little ones may be too young to stay up until midnight, but with these creative countdown ideas, you can speed up the clock and not forfeit any merriment in the process.
Recreate the Ball Drop
Bring New York City’s iconic ball drop to your home with this fun and easy NYE idea by It’s Always Autumn.
Get Creative with the Countdown
Another version of a countdown is to decorate balloons with specific times to design your own countdown balloon clock by Twinkle Twinkle Little Party. If you want to give your sweethearts a treat on the hour for a memorable countdown, try these countdown bags by Coffee and Confetti Mom to bring excitement and anticipation for the new year.
Go Low-Maintenance
For a super easy countdown idea, head to your favorite streaming service where there are a number of kid-countdowns to stream.
6. Design a Thankful Tree
Have each family member contribute to each leaf on the tree by sharing something they are thankful for. Be sure to snap a photo because you’ll want to remember how your littlest members of the family answered the question.
7. Create a ‘Year in Review’ Slideshow
A simple, profound, and meaningful way to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your family is by recalling favorite memories of the year and sharing hopes and wishes for the upcoming year. Create a “Year-in Review” by gathering photos of your family’s favorite moments of the year that you can reveal with anticipation on New Year’s Eve.
8. Put Together a Bucket List for the Upcoming Year
Brainstorm as a family items for your bucket list and display them in a communal area of your home. Your family can get excited for all the extraordinary memories to come.
9. Have a Pajama Party
Since it is New Year’s Eve, consider letting your kiddos stay up late to see if they can catch the clock striking midnight. Spend the evening together in your coziest New Year’s Eve PJs doing fun things as a family like making a fort in the living room, telling “scary” stories, and watching you favorite movies together.
10. Set Intentions for the New Year
New Year’s is all about setting ourselves up for success for the year ahead. We can all do so by making a list of resolutions, goals, or affirmations for the new year. No matter what age your little ones are at, they can get excited and motivated to tackle goals they set for themselves.
11. Make a Time Capsule
While it’s so fun to reminisce on all the fun you had throughout the year—even with some trials and tribulations—why not make it even more nostalgic for the following year? Start a New Year’s Eve tradition and make a time capsule every December 31. This is a great alternative if you want to go beyond making a slideshow. Make your time capsule with something as easy as a shoebox and decorate it as a family. Then have everyone add one item to represent your year.
My family went from one to two kids this year, so I’ll be adding a family photo or a newborn sock to ours! Go around the room and explain why you chose what you did, and bonus if you add a little note to throw into the mix. Once you’re done, pick a special spot, like a game-room shelf to keep it. You can also pack it with all your yearly New Year’s Eve decorations, so you won’t forget about it.
12. Have a Dance Party
Besides looking forward to what the New Year has to offer, I always get excited seeing what my most played songs and artists were for the year. Whip out your Spotify Wrapped year-in-review playlist, and dance the night away to all the top songs you listened to this year. Plus, a little dance-off between parents and kids adds a little extra laughter to the night.
Carmen Garcia-Shushtari, Former Branded Content Editor
Carmen has over 20 years of experience working as a teacher, university administrator, and manager. Her true love has always been writing, and her editorial work explores the joys and challenges of being a working mother while pursuing her own dreams. She is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, a mom of two precious boys, and an LA native.
Patty Schepel, Editorial Intern
As the editorial intern, Patty works with The Everymom’s team on pitches, creating original articles, updating existing content, photo sourcing, writing shopping product descriptions, inputting freelance articles, and more. When she’s not working, you can find her spending time with her family, training for half marathons—she ran one 16 weeks pregnant—traveling, cooking, reading a rom-com, and keeping her sourdough starter, Rose, alive.