New Year’s Eve is when you’re on the brink of entering a brand new year with limitless possibilities and opportunities, and a perfect occasion for families to celebrate this day together.
Having a fun-filled and happy New Year’s Eve is the best way to bid goodbye to the year. ❤️
New Year’s Eve Activities for Your Kids
Make New Year’s Eve enjoyable by planning activities at home for your kids to make the occasion more merry and exciting.
In this blog post, I’ve compiled a list of activities you can do with your kids to make the last day of the year memorable, a fitting send-off to the year. 😇
Make a Resolution Chart
You can utilize the last day of the year to decide New Year resolutions for the upcoming year with your kids. 🤩
Print a resolutions template on a sheet of paper and let your kids write what resolutions they want to set for the new year – habits they would like to develop or quit.
Fill Coloring Pages
Print out new year-themed coloring pages that your kids can color on New Year’s Eve to get in the spirit of the coming year.
This is a great activity to keep them engaged, improve their fine motor skills and foster creativity. 🖍️
Make Party Hats
Ring in the new year wearing handmade party hats made with your kids.
Print out a party hat template, trace and cut out the outlines of the hats from thick paper. Glue the hat to form a cone shape.
Kids can decorate these party hats with new year-related messages and elements. Add a ribbon to tie the party hats around their heads. 🥳
Compile a Year End Memory Book
An end-of-the-year memory book is a perfect way to look back and preserve your favorite memories in a book.
In a colored scrapbook, let your kids stick their favorite pictures and write down their favorite memories from the year – things they enjoyed, places they traveled, and their happiest days. 📒
This encourages them to reflect on the year and practice gratitude.
Pro Tip:
Kids can fill the pages of the memory book at the end of every month and finish the last few pages on New Year’s Eve. They can look through the memory book on New Year’s Eve and relive the memories of the whole year.
Make Greeting Cards
Make greeting cards to send loved ones to wish them for the new year. 💌
You can make greeting cards with colored paper. Decorate and paint the cards. Write a personal message inside the card to make it even more special.
Create Fireworks in a Jar
My son loves doing this fun experiment, and a great way to celebrate the last day of the year with fireworks at home.
Fill 3/4th of a jar with water. In a small bowl, add 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Add three drops of food coloring in two colors of your choice and whisk. Add the oil and food coloring to the jar of water. Watch the fireworks being created in the water.
Create a Time Capsule
A fun activity to store your memories from the year in a time capsule.
Your kids can write down a list of things they want to remember about the year on small pieces of paper. They can also add drawings, photos, and trinkets. Put them into a mason jar and store them away to open the capsule in the future. 🕰️
Pro Tip:
You can measure your kids’ heights with a thread and outlines of the handprints of your kids to the capsule to see their growth.
Make Party Poppers
Make party poppers at home with this easy craft activity.
Cover one end of a toilet paper roll using a knotted balloon – with its tip cut off. Use tape to secure the balloon to the roll.
Wrap the paper rolls with colored paper and get your kids to decorate them with stickers, washi tape, or draw with a marker. Fill the poppers with confetti and release the balloon to let it pop. 🎉
Pro Tip:
You could replace the confetti with paper punch hole confetti made at home or pom poms.
Create a Balloon Countdown Challenge
My son enjoys counting the hours to the new year with this balloon countdown challenge that makes things fun.
On strips of paper, write down challenges for your kids to do. They can be simple challenges like dancing, singing, or even eating a cookie.
Roll the papers and put them into the balloons. Blow the balloons, write down the hours on them with a marker, and tape them to a wall. 🎈
Kids pop the balloons at the designated time and do the challenge that’s inside.
Pro Tip:
You can include countdown balloons for whatever number of hours you like. You don’t need to do an hourly countdown and can do them for random hours with fewer balloons.
Paint a New Year’s Signboard
Welcome the new year with a fun signboard activity your kids will love.
Write and cut outlines of the numbers of the year individually on paper. On cardboard paper, tape the paper numbers securely and let your kids paint the cardboard leaving the number to create a stenciled look.
Remove the outline papers after your kids have done painting. Decorate the numbers to make your new year’s signboard.
Make New Year’s Banners
My son and I love making banners to hang on our walls every new year.
Cut small circles or any shape from thick sheets of paper. Get your kids to paint and decorate them.
Draw and cut the numbers for the upcoming year and glue them to the center circles of the banner. Punch holes and tie them together with a string to make the banner.
Pro Tip:
You could also use small paper plates to make the banners.
Create Paper Crowns
Make fun crowns to wear on New Year’s Eve.
Take a rectangle strip of thick paper and make it into a band that fits around your kids’ heads. Get your kids to color and decorate their crowns with crayons, stickers, and glitter. 👑
Complete a Word Search
My puzzle-loving son has a great time doing these word search sheets that are fun and also develop their vocabulary.
Print out a word search template with different words and phrases that are typically related to the occasion of the New Year. Make your kids search for the words that are listed in the puzzle. 🔎
Bake Countdown Desserts
Bake cookies and cupcakes with the number of hours leading up to the new year written on them – as countdown desserts.
Kids can decorate the cookies and cupcakes with sprinkles and indulge in them afterward. 🍪
Decorate a Wreath
A simple craft activity that my son enjoyed doing to create a wreath for the new year.
Cut the inside circle of a paper plate, leaving only the outside rim. Kids can decorate it with stickers, glitter or cut the numbers of the year from paper and glue them to make a wreath at home. ✨
Make Paper Roll Fireworks
My son loves doing this craft with empty paper rolls.
Cut long and thin slits on one end of the paper rolls. Kids can flatten the slits, dip them in acrylic paint, and stamp the slits of the rolls onto paper to create fireworks. Use multiple colors to create a beautiful piece of art. 🎆
Create a Countdown Clock
A fun way to keep your kids excited and count down the hours leading up to the New Year. ⏰
Paint a paper plate to make the base of the clock. Write down the twelve numbers of the clock around the paper plate.
Cut the minute and hour hands from thick paper. Punch a hole in the center and attach the hands to make the clock. Kids can decorate the clock face with sequins and glitter.
Have a Dance Party
Put on your dancing shoes, play good music, and have a dance party at home with your kids to celebrate New Year’s Eve. 💃
This is a great activity to keep your kids entertained while also having a lot of fun.
Make Pipe Cleaner Headbands
Get your kids in celebration mode with pipe cleaner headbands that are easy to make and a fun activity for kids.
Let your kids twist and shape pipe cleaners into the number of the upcoming year. Use tiny pieces of pipe cleaner to attach the numbers to make adorable headbands for your kids to wear. 🎀
Pro Tip:
To make the shaping process of the pipe cleaners easier, write down the numbers on paper as a guideline to help them follow.
Paint Fortune Cookies
New Year’s Eve is the perfect occasion to make predictions of what lies ahead in the future with the classic fortune cookies and make it better by painting them. 🥠
Buy a pack of regular fortune cookies. Mix food coloring with a bit of milk to make edible paint. Let your kids get creative in painting the cookies, and then you can crack open the cookie to read the message stored inside.
Play Bingo
Play a fun game of New Year’s Eve-themed bingo with your kids. 🃏
Print bingo templates with elements commonly associated with New Year’s Eve and laminate them to make the board more durable. Kids can play classic bingo with these templates.
Watch a Movie
The perfect occasion to curl up in your living room, eat popcorn out of a tub and watch a movie with your kids.
You can stop with just one or have a movie marathon of your kids’ favorite movies to make the best of the last day of the year. 🍿
Teach the Months
A day before the new year is a perfect opportunity to teach your kids about the months of the year. You could teach them the names of the months and get them to write them down to remember better. 🗓️
You could also teach them about the seasons that span different months of the year.
Review Your Year
Print templates of the year in review sheets. Get your kids to fill out the activity sheet by looking back at the year and answering the questions – the lessons learned, what they enjoyed and disliked, and their best memories. 😁
Make a Noisemaker
My son enjoyed making this musical craft at home.
Get your kids to paint and decorate the backs of two paper plates. Attach a straw to the inside of one paper plate, halfway to the center, to make it easier to hold.
Add dried beans and seeds to the plate. Glue the inside edges of both paper plates to make the noisemaker. 💥
Get ready to make some noise and welcome the new year.
Create Photo Props
Create photo props to make your New Year’s Eve photos more fun. 📷
Draw or print outlines of elements you want to use as props in photos and are associated with the occasion on thick paper.
Kids can color and decorate them. Attach skewers to the photo props for kids to hold while taking photos.
Make a Wish Jar
My son looks forward to making wish jars every year. 🪄
Write down wishes on small strips of paper that you and your kids want to achieve in the coming year and add it to a jar. You can add your wishes and dreams for the coming year, however small or big.
Customize a Snack Bar
Kids can customize a snack bar with healthy and fun snacks they like. They can munch on these snacks throughout the day to make the occasion even better with delicious food. 🍬
Pro Tip:
You could also make personalized snack goodie bags that kids can fill with their favorite snacks and decorate their bags with markers and stickers.
Make Pipe Cleaner Fireworks
My son enjoys doing this simple and engaging craft activity.
Kids can paint paper cups and decorate them with stickers and glitter to make their designs. Cut pipe cleaners of different colors to your desired size.
Turn the paper cups upside down with the bottom side facing upwards, and poke the pipe cleaners into the cups to make your fireworks. 🎆
Make Celebration Play Dough
My son loves anything to do with play dough and enjoys this activity. 🎊
To celebrate the new year, kids can create shapes with cookie cutters and add confetti to make it festive.
You could also follow a tutorial to make play dough at home to make it more engaging for your kids.
Conduct a Family Interview
End the year by conducting an interview with all the family members. You could ask everyone a set of questions to answer about the year and the memories they hold dear.
Record the interviews with a phone or camera to make a digital capsule and watch them later in life. 📹
Bake a Cake
End the year with a sweet indulgence with a freshly baked cake made at home. Involve your kids in a baking session and let them help bake a delicious cake to ring in the new year with a sweet note! 🎂
My son and I enjoy the process of baking and eating the cake together.
Pro Tip:
You can add the year to the cake with frosting or sprinkles. A cake topper made by your kids will make for a great addition.
Conclusion:
These activities have made many of our New Year’s Eve fun and memorable as a family.
I hope you enjoyed reading about the activities you can do on the last day of the year. Comment below which activities you liked and would try at home with your kids for the next New Year’s Eve. ☺️
I’m a former teacher with a background in child development and a passion for creating engaging and educational activities for children. I strongly understand child development and know how to create activities to help children learn and grow. Spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, reading, and volunteering in my community.
