10 Ideas for Celebrating New Year’s Eve with Kids

NYE! Pre-kids, this holiday meant lots of sparkles, dancing, and friends! Post-kids, New Year’s Eve continues to mean sparkles, dancing, and family… with a lot less bubbly! 🙂

The last few years, we’ve celebrated NYE at home with the girls and it’s become a fun tradition I truly look forward to. I do a few things that have really proven to add to the festivity of this holiday! Read my list of ideas, below:

+ Buy your kiddos a fun outfit or accessory to celebrate! This can be small but admittedly, I’m a sucker for sparkly dresses! Oh and that sequined top or dress that’s hanging in the very back of your closet, mama? Wear that! Even if you’re home, you can still dress up! I find that going through the act of getting ready, putting on makeup, and getting dressed instantly puts me in the mood to have some fun.

+ Don’t forget accessories! I store and reuse New Year’s Eve headbands, hats, necklaces, etc. every year. I also make sure to find horns and glow sticks for the girls 🙂

+ Decorate with mini disco balls, throw some pretty tinsel on your Christmas tree (I like finding this during the after Christmas sales), and decorate your mantel with balloons!

+ Make lots of yummy, festive food. Serve on that fancy china you got on your wedding day… my girls love eating off something that is fancier for the night.

+ Try a new cocktail or make mini mocktails… aka lemonade. I got the girls a disco ball cup that I pull out of the Christmas tote each year to specifically use for this night. You could even do a little new years tea party!

+ Pull out all of your board games or cards. Some of my best memories of recent New Year’s Eves include playing games with the fam. If you need some DIY game ideas, you can find some fun ones here. A simple game of charades is a fan favorite, here!

+ We have an early ball drop (8-9pm range). This signifies the night is almost over (aka bedtime) 🙂 We google search “ball drop for kids” and have found some cool countdowns that they love! Don’t forget to play the traditional song, “Auld Lang Syne.”

+ A toast after the ball drops is a must!

+ Following the toast, we turn up the music, turn down the lights, break out our mini Amazon strobe light (the kids will LOVE this btw), and have a dance party. My favorite time of the entire night! 🙂 After this, it’s bedtime!