Holidays | Winter

New Year’s Eve With Kids: A Family Party Night To Remember

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There are many family-friendly New Year’s Eve party ideas to choose from when it comes to celebrating the coming new year with kids. Below you’ll find an extensive list of creative ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve at home.

It’s so much fun to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your family! Spending that quality family time
indoors with everyone, while you create your own New Year’s Eve with kids celebration, can be a fun
memory making event.

While the days of going out and partying all night are long gone, the days of having fun with those who are most important to you aren’t. You just need to know how to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your family…and here are some fabulous ideas!

Plus, be sure to grab these free printables forNew Years – kids of all ages will enjoy them and so will you!

    Or, if you prefer to purchase them for only $1 instead of joining our email list, you can do so in our shop (and check out our other awesome printables for your kids while you’re there!)

    If you’re not quite sure what to do, here are the best board game ideas, movie suggestions, and party themes to choose from!

    New Year’s Eve With Kids: Party Theme Ideas

    If you’re looking throw an epic bash with your kiddos this New Year’s Eve, here are some party themes to make it happen. Fun, memorable, and with all the makings of you family’s new favorite tradition, these ideas are fun for the adults and kids alike.

    Host a Mock Countdown

    If your kids are too young to stay up until midnight, you can host a mock countdown while you celebrate New Year’s Eve with kids. Pick a reasonable time before your kids’ bedtime to host a mock countdown to the New Year.

    You can pull up a video to watch last year’s ball drop as you countdown to the “New Year” with your younger kids before putting them to sleep. Don’t forget to shout “Happy New Year” with your young kids when the countdown reaches 0.

    Balloon Drop

    Buy a balloon drop kit or make your own balloon drop at home. Fill a bunch of balloons with helium and place them inside fish netting. These balloons will stay taped up to the ceiling in the fish netting until the ball drops at midnight on New Year’s Eve with kids.

    As soon as the clock strikes midnight, pull the tape off that’s holding the balloons up so they drop down on top of everyone in celebration of a New Year. 

    Slumber Camping Party

    Have your kids invite some friends over and host a slumber camping party for New Year’s Eve with kids. You can complete this camping party with a tent in the family room, pajamas for everyone and sleeping bags all over as you enjoy songs and dance parties leading up to the ball dropping ceremony.

    If you don’t have cable, there are many video sites that live stream the ball dropping in Times Square for your family to enjoy during this family-friendly New Year’s Eve party idea. 

    parents on New Years even with kids with streamers and confetti

    Create a Photo Booth

    Gather up some New Year’s Eve props for kids to enjoy in a homemade photo booth. You can have hats, streamers, dress up clothes, and a wide range of printable props for a New Year’s Eve photo booth that you can find online to use with this family-friendly New Year’s Eve party idea.

    The awesome thing about having a photo booth themed New Year’s Eve party with kids is that the adults can have just as much fun as the kids with the photo booth props. 

    Semi-Formal Theme

    Just because you’re staying in on New Year’s Eve to celebrate with kids doesn’t mean that you can’t get dressed up. Gather up those dress clothes for your kids, or perhaps a fancy outfit from the holidays.

    Have your kids dress semi-formal complete with bow ties for the boys and tiaras for the girls and all of the adult family members dress in semi-formal wear too. Don’t be afraid to make it really fun with top hats and tails if they guys want or the ladies to make fun fascinator hats.

    Serve fancy kid-friendly appetizers with hot cocoa in fancy cups to all of the guests as you host a family-friendly semi-formal New Year’s Eve ball in the comfort of your own home. Make the menu and plan the evening activities together with your kids ahead of time so everyone in attendance gets an itinerary of the night’s food and events…and everyone is excited about what will happen!

    Glow Stick Theme 

    There are so many glow in the dark options out there for both kids and adults to enjoy. You could celebrate New Year’s Eve with kids by hosting a glow stick themed party. Gather up some supplies before New Year’s Eve arrives so that you have everything you need on hand to turn the lights out and enjoy this family-friendly New Year’s Eve party idea.

    You’ll need to have glow in the dark cups, plates, necklaces, bracelets and anything else that you can think of while you enjoy complete darkness other than the glowing light that comes from all of the glow in the dark supplies.

    The Best Family Board Games For Your New Year’s Eve With The Kids

    Looking for some friendly competition and lots of laughter as you ring in a new year with the best family games? Here’s our top pics!

    family playing board game together and having fun

    Apples To Apples: Pick Your Edition

    With kid, junior, Disney, Bible character, and full party editions, Apples to Apples is a game that you can get for the crowd you’ll be celebrating with. Loads of fun (and loads of laughs!) will have you enjoying this game for family nights all year long.

    Twister Ultimate

    Just like the classic…but better for a big family or a crowd. Twister is a great way to get people into the party mood.

    Qwirkle

    This is a fun game with colors and shapes. Fun for kids and adults, this strategy game is a delight to everyone at the table. Who doesn’t want to get a qwirkle?

    Mouse Trap

    You’ll definitely be laughing when you play this game together! Classic fun enjoyed by generations, Mouse Trap has endless possibilities to laugh, strategize, and play together.

    Operation

    Who doesn’t love the challenge of pulling out a wish bone with a steady hand? Don’t set off the buzzer though! Operation is a great game everyone will enjoy.

    The Best Movies For Family Fun This New Year’s Eve

    In addition to the latest blockbuster hit, what movies are family friendly and great for a New Year’s Eve with the kids? Why not pull out some classics that you may never have seen before?

    One fun way we celebrate each year is to get a movie no one has watched before and dig in with our favorite popcorn and popcorn seasonings and enjoy a new flick together. Here are some you might enjoy:

    Year End Reflection: All About Me Printable

    I also created a fun printable that I want to start as a New Years Eve tradition. The printable asks questions for the child to answer including their favorite color, food, movie, etc.

    Get a binder and decorate the cover with your child’s name to keep all of the questionnaires in, add their school picture or a favorite photo from the year, a few school assignments or art projects, and save it for always.

    Then every year you can look back and see how much your kids have grown and changed.

    You can download and print a copy of the All About Me Year In Review & New Year Resolution Free Printables here:

      Or, if you prefer to purchase them for only $1 instead of joining our email list, you can do so in our shop (and check out our other awesome printables for your kids while you’re there!)

      Making Your Family Friendly New Years Eve Perfect

      In an effort to stay up until at least 12:01, we are going to fill our evening (and night) with fun hands on activities, crafts, and of course snacks. We’ll start earlier in the day by adding some fun Easy DIY New Year’s Eve Party Decorations to our home. Then we’ll set up our crafts and activities.

      Don’t forget to make your own noisemakers complete with bells, and confetti so that your kids are able to make a bunch of noise as soon as the ball drops. In order to host the most successful family-friendly New Year’s Eve party, you’ll have to prepare to have plenty of games on hand, entertainment, food, and supplies to keep the kids busy until the clock strikes midnight.

      Whether you go with a New Year’s Eve themed party event, or take some of these creative ideas for celebrating New Year’s Eve at home to craft up your own family-friendly New Year’s Eve party, this evening will be full of fun and laughter with those who matter most to you, your family.

      "how to enjoy a family friendly new year's eve" with free printable picture of kids and fireworks

      Thanks for sharing - You're awesome!

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