Let’s enjoy these simple New Year’s Eve Countodwn activities that will entertain children of every age! If you need some New Year’s Eve activities to enjoy at home, these ideas will keep both you and the kids occupied until midnight arrives!
Another year is nearly over. It is hard to believe that New Year’s Eve is JUST around the corner. As my children grow older, they insist that they want to remain awake until midnight!!!! I can hardly stay awake for that long myself, never mind the kids. To make it easier, we put together a wonderfully fun and easy New Year’s Eve Countdown for Kids.
Although our schedule runs from 12pm – 12am, you can adjust it to fit your plans – begin at 3pm.. and finish at 9pm.. complete some of the activities on New Year’s Day.. or, as we do, enjoy one activity every hour while counting down to midnight. The activities become simpler and require increasingly less help from you as the evening continues. That way, you can unwind with a glass of bubbly!! Make sure you print all the activities beforehand!! ENJOY!!!
These New Year’s Activities skip some of the usual pastimes we often rely on, like watching wonderful films while eating far too much candy or playing yet another game of charades. Naturally, those are enjoyable options to revisit… but here are some additional and fresh New Year’s Eve Activities and New Year’s Crafts for you!
Wishing each and every one of you a very Happy New Year!!!
Zero O’Clock – A mischievous opening craft
A playful “before you begin activity”… we made some incredibly sweet little New Year’s Eve Bubble Wands.. we thought they would make an excellent New Year’s Eve activity for toddlers (or perhaps for New Year’s Day).. rather than dealing with all the noisy bangs at midnight.. why not try some charming and peaceful bubble blowing instead? Real bubbles for adults…. and bubble wands for toddlers! They are a delightful substitute for loud noisemakers when celebrating with young children. I am certain you can invent plenty of enjoyable bubble games as well!
You can find an entire collection of DIY Party Poppers and Blowers here. You can also discover this fantastic selection of Firework Crafts!
12pm Noon – Start your New Year’s Eve Activities with a Countdown Clock (no balloons required for popping! Ha).
COUNTDOWN CLOCKS for New Year’s Eve (Printables)
We have something absolutely DELIGHTFUL to get you started.. begin your New Year’s Eve Countdown by printing, colouring and putting together (we promise it is incredibly easy to assemble) these varied Countdown Clocks… they can be personalised as well, making them even more memorable…. include your own times and activities (or recreate the New Year’s Eve Countdown For Kids ideas we have provided here today!).
1pm – Activity 2 – Begin Decorating for New Year’s Eve
DECORATE for New Year’s Eve
So.. there is still plenty of time left in the day, making it the perfect moment to prepare for your New Year’s Eve celebration. Start by dressing up your space for the evening. Pick from:
Hattifant has created a beautiful glittering jewel garland for you as well – reflect on the past year with the collection of “I am grateful” jewels and (The I look forward to 2018, have NOT been updated, but the grateful gems remain meaningful every year). Afterward, colour them and thread them together on the mantelpiece. It makes a charming New Year decoration!
2pm – Activity 3 – Make Time Capsules (this activity is also perfect for New Year’s Day!)
FAMILY TIME CAPSULEfor New Year’s Eve
We are huge fans of Family Time Capsules because they are simple and entertaining.. plus, you can completely adapt them for your household… place ANYTHING you like inside.. use a jar, a tin, or make a small folder that slips into your bookcase for safe keeping. Choose whichever option works best for you and your family. It is a wonderful opportunity to talk TOGETHER about the highs (and lows) of the previous year… while adding photographs, tales and special memories.
An ALTERNATIVE idea would be to keep a small jar at home during the year – add ticket stubs, notes, messages,photos ALL THROUGH the year.. and then look back on it together as a family on New Year’s Eve.
A wonderfully simple and enjoyable way to look back over the past year.
3pm – Activity 4 – Begin creating a beautiful Arty Calendar
CREATE A CALENDAR 2018 (PRINTABLE)
Everyone needs a calendar, don’t they? We adore this easy wall calendar project, which you begin on New Year’s Eve and continue adding to during the year. I created something similar for my mother when I was still in school.. and more than 30 years later, she still has it!! Teehee. How wonderful. I also really like how easily you can PERSONALISE these DIY Calendar Templates – use bubble writing to “highlight” important dates during the month (such as family birthdays) and have fun adding plenty of doodle details. Children can also discover the months and the clever “knuckle” method – which months contain 31 days and which contain 30….
Enjoy each month and consider something seasonal to include. We put a few tiny penguins in this example for January, though some cheerful fireworks or artwork would look wonderful too! In the playroom has another enjoyable project to explore like this.
4pm – Activity 5 – Create some Christmas Thank You Cards (they have to be finished eventually!)
THANK YOU CARDSfor New Year’s Eve (Printables and DIY)
With New Year’s Eve stretching out before you, it is an ideal opportunity to catch up on a few tasks… why not turn those chores into something imaginative and enjoyable by making your own DIY Thank You Cards? Here is a wonderful selection of handmade thank you cards sure to please your friends and family:
5pm – Activity 6 – Set the PARTY mood by making party hats for yourself and your guests
PARTY HATS & CROWNSfor New Year’s Eve
Enjoy creating party hats and crowns for New Year’s Eve.. as always, we have a fantastic New Year’s Eve Printable for you – assemble the pre-designed ones, featuring stars and watercolours as shown in the image, or use the blank templates and decorate them however you like!! We also adore making pom poms.. and our party hat pom poms are crafted USING ONLY YOUR FINGERS. So much fun!!!!
An easy STAR Headband for New Year’s!
Hattifant also offers a fantastic collection of Party Crowns to create (remember to save these for 3 Kings’ Day and upcoming Birthday celebrations!!)
Find your templates here:
6pm – Activity 7 – A fun and unusual New Year’s Eve Game
Fortune Teller Globes
Teehee… do you put your faith in Fortune Tellers…? Even if you do not, you can still enjoy plenty of family laughs with this lovely Fortune Teller Paper Globe.. ask it a few special questions about the year ahead and watch it respond… will you become wealthy? Will Mummy finally let you have a Puppy? Will you travel to a new country?
What would YOU ask it?
Visit Hattifant to get your Free Download!
7pm – Activity 8 – next, we definitely need some New Year’s Photo Props
PHOTO BOOTHfor New Year’s Eve (Printables)
Photo Booths are an INCREDIBLY FUN way to capture memorable keepsakes. Just remember that it is about ENJOYMENT, not taking the perfect picture!
These Party Booth printables pair REALLY WELL with our earlier Party Hats and Crowns.. and we believe you can never have too many Dress up Ideas.. can you??? Hopefully, you will already have created your hats/ crowns earlier in the evening.. Now it is time to include a few more New Year’s Eve Dress Up ideas… we have two collections.. a straightforward Print and cut set from me and a fantastic print and colour/ design set by Hattifant:
8pm – Activity 9 – New Year’s Gifts for Friends, Family and Guests – Adorable Crafts
FRIENDSHIP GIFTSfor New Year’s
Why not set aside a little time to prepare some sweet small gifts for friends when you return to school? We all enjoy the Christmas Holidays, but it is equally lovely to reunite with your friends once school begins again. Gift-making ought to be fast
and simple.. and we strongly suggest choosing a meaningful bookmark to enjoy with your school books in the New Year… as you may know, we are HUGE fans of Corner Bookmarks here on Red Ted Art. They are fast and simple to learn, and you can decorate them however you like.
Alternatively, Hattifant offers some BEAUTIFUL Printable Mitten Bookmarks, which you can enhance with a cheerful DIY Pom Pom…
9pm – Activity 10 – Paper Toys for New Years
New Year’s Eve PAPER TOYS
We have two FANTASTIC Paper Toys for you to create for New Year’s Eve… the first is something the kids can make on their own – some brilliant joke-packed Cootie Catchers.. and the second one MAY require a little assistance (you can always move the activity earlier to the afternoon!!
This New Year’s Quiz is based on the wonderful New Year’s Eve customs described in the following section. However, I wanted to feature it here as well! It includes an empty cootie catcher template, allowing you to add your own facts or jokes too! It is incredible how much enjoyment you can create with only a few sheets of paper!
Create your own collection of New Year’s Eve Party Dolls!
10pm – Activity 11 – Quirky New Year’s Traditions from around the World
GUESS THE TRADITIONfor New Year’s Eve
If you haven’t worked it out yet, we absolutely LOVE Traditions here on Red Ted Art. That may be one reason I enjoy crafting with the kids so much – Christmas is packed with family customs for us (particularly when creating DIY Ornaments). New Year’s Eve is just the same and offers a wonderful chance to establish your OWN family traditions.. whether that means completing our Countdown Clock above every year, or snapping funny Photo Booth pictures.. I’m sure you will ENJOY discovering these amusing and unusual New Years Eve traditions from different parts of the world.
Print them, read them aloud to the kids.. and ask them to identify which tradition belongs to each country!!
11pm – Activity 12
About me Mini Book
Create these wonderfully entertaining About Me mini books (using just one sheet of paper and NO GLUE!), and then complete all the information. Look back each year to see how things have changed.
ALL ABOUT ME Coloring Page for New Year’s Eve (Printables)
We are big fans of these “All about me” coloring pages from Skip to My Lou.. this is the third consecutive year that she has created a lovely updated edition, and I think they are INCREDIBLY FUN!!! They are not only a wonderful way to look back on the year, but also create a fantastic keepsake for you and your children!! Take out last year’s “about me” page and see what has changed. Wonderful!
12pm DING DONG HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Finally: Some New Year’s Eve Party Game Ideas
Now… since no New Year’s Activities article is complete without a collection of entertaining party games, I wanted to feature some of the finest and most popular New Year’s Eve Party Games to try:
- New Year’s Eve Bingo – we always enjoy a little bingo.. search for “New Year’s Eve Bingo Printable” online and plenty of excellent websites offering free templates will appear. Choose your preferred design.. print it, and you’re ready to play!
- Charades – naturally, this long-standing family favourite belongs at every New Year’s Eve Party – enjoy this entertaining miming game. Need to review the Charade Rules? Find them here.
- Musical Chairs
- Traditional choices like 20 Questions, 2 truths and a lie and Never Have I Ever
Tell me which games are your FAVOURITES! I’d really love to hear more.
