If you’re like me, by the time New Year’s Eve with kids rolls around, your bag of holiday-magic tricks may be a little exhausted. (Or is it me who’s exhausted?)
Fear not: It can be easy-ish to create memories with a few (metaphorical!) fireworks and sparklers if you’re hosting a few families or just staying in.
New Year’s Eve with Kids: You got this
YouTube karaoke.
We busted this out spontaneously with my kids, nieces, and nephews over Christmas—putting the lyrics on the smart TV, and even pulling in the spectators to dance with them. My mom even had the genius brainchild to slice up a pool noodle for microphones.
Try searching for “karaoke for kids” on YouTube. Definitely helps if kids are readers, but you might be surprised what lyrics they remember!
Minute to Win It games.
I wrote about our Minute-to-Win-It games for our New Year’s Eve with kids several years ago, employing household items like Oreos, plastic cups, tennis balls, and pantyhose.
Just decide on a few games beforehand so you can grab what you still need. Grab 30 ideas here for your competitions.
Tie-dye.
Haven’t done tie-dye since high school? It’s gotten a lot easier. A simple kit from Walmart or Amazon contains squeeze bottles containing dye powder; just add water, shake, and dose onto tees and bandanas. Consider covering your table with sliced-open trash bags for easy cleanup. (Your kit will likely have plastic gloves.)
Kid Trivia (optional: for prizes).
We tried this last year with our teenagers, and it’s become a family hit. I keep a few prizes for their age group (my kids love Arizona tea, Frappuccinos, small candles, and candy), and we either Google questions (“kid trivia questions” works) or use one of our boxes or books of trivia (this year’s hit: a Star Wars Pictopia I nabbed for $5 at Goodwill. There’s a Harry Potter version, too).
A few options to “buzz in”:
- Participants slap their table or their leg to “buzz in” and attempt to answer a question.
- If it’s multiple choice and we’re all answering at once, we swap out A, B, C, and D for numbers 1-4, and all show their answers at once.
Dance party.
You’ve done this already, right? Let your kids take turns picking songs, and make sure you dance along with them.
Ratchet up the experience by hauling out the dress-up clothes, because fedoras, boas, and sequins make everything more fun and unforgettable.
Family Olympics.
Get creative about relays that could highlight each child’s strengths. Consider printing out medals, or making some using ribbon and aluminum-foil wrapped circles cut from index cards. This site has printables!
- Carry marbles on spoons.
- See who can jump the farthest.
- Race with stuffies in laundry baskets.
- Have dress-up relays where a participant has to put on every item you’ve stuffed in a bag.
- Pass a hula hoop down a chain of people holding hands.
- Jump toward a finish line in pillowcases.
- Throw beanbags or balls of socks into a laundry basket from far away.
- Play dodgeball using balled socks.
- Race Matchbox cars down a plank.
- Keep a balloon aloft for a minute.
- Grab more indoor family olympic ideas here.
Trick shots.
If your kids have ever watched the likes of Dude Perfect, they’ve probably attempted their own trick shots.
Can they arrange an obstacle course to send a ping pong ball down the stairs and into a cup? Can they make shots backward and blindfolded into a Nerf basketball hoop? Maybe toss pieces of cereal into a cereal box?
Grab a little inspiration from crazy Dude Perfect trick shot videos. And ideas for actual children with actual budgets here and here.
Can your kids get theirs on camera?
Bonus: Consider downloading a kid-friendly app like iMovie, so kids create a movie trailer of their highlight reel.
Scavenger hunt.
Most families may not want to go out much on New Year’s Eve with kids, though I find scavenger hunts around the community—especially documented on photo—the best.
Divide your group or family into teams (or have kids be their own team), and have them take pictures of their finds.
I love the indoor gratitude scavenger hunt from FamilyLife, And here’s a list of 35 hunts for kids. Here’s another printable one that would involve your kids going outside around the house.
Newlywed Game–for the Whole Family
In one of the most popular posts here ever, don’t miss Kids Activity: The Newlywed Game (FREE PRINTABLE).
New Years Eve with Kids? It’s in the bag. Ready to make memories? (…Grab a nap first.)
And don’t forget to nudge your kids toward Jesus with this post on How to Help Kids Create New Year’s Goals (FREE PRINTABLE).
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