6 Simple and Fun Kid Friendly New Year’s Eve Ideas

While you might not stay up all night with your kids to watch the ball drop, New Year’s Eve can still be celebrated in a kid-friendly way. As a parent, I think this time of the year is a great way to get closer to your family and make some new resolutions for the year.

Some parents might not think that New Year’s Eve is a kid friendly holiday. There are tons of ways you can spend New Year’s Eve, even if you want to go to bed early with your younger children.

If you need some simple and quick kid friendly New Year’s ideas, I’ve got you covered. I’ll be sharing some of my family's New Year’s Eve traditions here. This way you can still have fun at the close of 2022!

1. Have a Dance Party

Start off simple and put together a playlist of fun songs your kids like. Most likely, you won’t have the time or energy to go out with your friends all night long. I know being a parent makes it harder to do the things you used to when you were younger, but you can still dance and have a blast with your kids!

Host your very own dance party in your living room. I suggest getting some strobe lights, New Year’s Eve decorations, party hats, and balloons to set the atmosphere. Then dance along with your kids to your favorite songs. You can even learn some new dance moves!

2. Pop a Balloon Every Hour

If you have older kids and plan on staying up till midnight, try this next kid-friendly New Year’s Eve idea. Buy some balloons at the store and write the time on each balloon. For every hour you will pop a balloon until the clock hits midnight.

Younger kids can join in and start popping balloons as soon as they wake up and pop their last one before they go to bed at an earlier time. I also like to put confetti or glitter into my balloons before I blow them up. This makes it a little more exciting to pop the balloons, but you don’t have to do this.

3. Make Resolutions and Offer Incentives

New Year’s isn’t complete without a few resolutions. While your kids might not take this as seriously as you, it’s still nice to talk about your New Year’s resolutions and keep your kids included. You can even offer to reward them if they stick to their resolutions!

Some resolution ideas could include keeping their grades up, spending less time on screens, and saying please and thank you more, but you can create your own resolutions with your family.

4. Make Kid Friendly NYE Foods

New Year’s isn’t complete without a family meal and some party food. Depending on what your kids like to eat, you can make all kinds of snacks and meals with them. I’ll go over some kid friendly food options that aren’t too hard to make below. If you want you can even plan out your New Year’s menu with your kids and come up with some fun food recipes for kids.

Kid Friendly NYE Recipes:

• Kid-friendly Charcuterie Board: Charcuterie boards can be made kid friendly for your celebration. There are so many awesome ways to set your board up. From different cheeses and crackers to more creative options. Check out this list of fun recipes here.

• Kid-friendly fizzy drinks: You can make some special drinks for your kids this year. Sparkling grape soda and other sparkling juices are great options. Try to mix your own drinks by using sparkling water and other fun ingredients. You can find some awesome non-alcoholic recipes at this link here.

• Dips and Chips: If you want to keep things simple you can’t go wrong with dips and chips. Cheese dip, hummus, and spinach dip are perfect for New Year’s but there are plenty of choices. You can also have a tray of veggies to keep things healthy.

• Instant Pot Meal: You’re probably going to be busy setting up everything for your family celebration. So, I highly suggest trying out some of these easy instant pot meals here.

• Snack Mix: Finally, this simple kid-friendly snack mix is sure to be a hit. Put together popcorn, pretzels, chocolate chips, and Chex mix.

5. Have Your Own Photo Booth

After eating and dancing, you might want to take some pictures with your family. This next New Year’s activity can really liven up your night. Dress up in New year themed glasses, party hats, and other unique accessories. Then make your own photo booth with a backdrop. You can use craft paper to make your own giant photo frame or buy props at your local store. Post your photos online and don’t forget to have fun while you strike a pose with your family!

6. Pick a Time and Make Some Noise

Again, a lot of kids might not be able to stay up till midnight to watch the ball drop. This doesn’t mean that you can’t ring in the New Year though. It’s midnight somewhere in the world! So, pick a time when your kids will go to bed. Then you can have your own mock midnight celebration. My kids and I like to use noisemakers and pop a final balloon before heading off to sleep.

Final Thoughts on Kid Friendly New Year’s Eve Celebrations

You don’t have to skip out on New Year’s Eve if you have kids. While having a family does put some limits on what you can do this year, there are still a lot of exciting events and activities you can plan with your loved ones. I went over some of the easiest ways you can kick off the New Year in a kid friendly way. You can experiment and add your own traditions to this list. Feel free to comment below with your own ideas for a kid friendly New Year’s Eve celebration.