10 Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve with Kids

The changing year is always an exciting time! Whether your kids are ready to stay up till midnight or not, here are some fun ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve as a family.

1. Get out the fancy glasses (or plasticware).

Get a variety of juices (orange, cranberry, grape) and some fizzy water, cider or soda and let kids create their own mocktails. Have a contest to come up with the most delicious drink and most inventive name.

2. Tulsa Winterfest

Winterfest in downtown Tulsa is still going strong. Why not take the family ice skating?

3. Dance Party!

Let the kids choose the songs and have a dance party. Or have each kid choose a song and come up with a dance to perform for the rest of the family.

4. Write resolutions together.

Talk to kids about your resolutions and why you picked them, and then help kids come up with some of their own. Write them down and post them, or put them in a time capsule to open next New Year’s Eve to see who kept their resolutions. You might even break a big resolution into smaller steps with one-month increments.

5. Make a Photo Booth

Get a big roll of craft paper (white or a color) and let the kids decorate it with designs or a scene. Find some silly hats, glasses and other props and let everyone take pictures in the photo booth. There are also photobooth apps you can download.

6. Make activity balloons.

Write down any activity on a slip of paper (like “play Old Maid” or “Draw a picture of mom”) and put slips into balloons. Pop one an hour until midnight and do the activity in the balloon.

7. Family Storytime

Have each child pick a favorite book and, if he or she can read, read it to the family, or have mom or dad read it.

8. Movie Night

Have a cozy movie night with hot cocoa, lots of blankets and pillows and popcorn.

9. Record Memories

Gather supplies to make a family scrapbook showing the past year.

10. Make Some Noise!

Get noisemakers and supplies for kids to make crazy hats. At midnight, let them go outside to bang pots, make noise and celebrate the new year.