5 New Years Activities For Kids
Last year, I wrote a post that discussed letting your children stay up until midnight to ring in the new year and what to expect if you do. But this year, I thought I’d list off some new years activities for kids that you can do regardless of if you’re staying up all night!
Because there’s more than one way to make the holiday special for your child, and form fond memories with them.
#1 – Write Down Goals
One thing that me and my girls have done ever since they were little is sit down and write our resolutions together. Usually we do this while having a little snack (pizza rolls are our favorites), and it’s become somewhat of a tradition for us.
Obviously, when kids are small, these resolutions probably aren’t going to be too profound. But it can still be a fun exercise. And if you’re not a big fan of “resolutions”, you can always opt for goals instead. Since there’s a lot more flexibility in that department.
You could even form some goals as a family, instead of having everyone write down a list! Such as… have a movie night once a month, try out ‘x’ amount of new recipes together, etc.
#2 – Watch Movies
Speaking of… New Years Eve is obviously the perfect time to watch some movies as a family. Especially if you’re staying up all night as a family and want an activity that will eat up a little time.
Another bonus to this activity is that it can give smaller children a chance to drift off and take a nap, whilst still feeling included. Then, you can just wake them up at midnight if you want to, but they still snuck in a few hours of rest!
I used this trick with my kids, since my younger daughter didn’t want to sleep officially but started to get very sleepy towards the end of the night.
#3 – Create A Recap Of The Past Year
As I’m sure we all know, New Years Eve is mostly about excitement for the upcoming months. But I think it’s nice to have a small portion of the night set aside to show gratitude for the previous year. So the next activity I want to suggest is actually creating some sort of yearly recap with your family.
There are multiple ways you could do this… Ranging from creating a time capsule filled with small items that represent the past year, to having everyone put together a little recap of their year on paper and then read it off to the group. You can get as creative as you want with it!
But I think, regardless of how you go about it, it’s a great exercise to show kids how to look on the bright side. Whether or not the year went as planned.
#4 – Play Some Board Games
This is probably the most classic of the new years activities for kids that we’ve discussed so far, because who doesn’t like a good board game on a holiday? But it’s a classic for a reason, and that reason is that it’s fun for everyone!
Some of mine and my family’s favorites include…
- Monopoly
- Risk
- Trivial Pursuit
- Scrabble
- And Yahtzee
And obviously, if you’re more of a card game family… Then feel free to substitute this idea with that.
#5 – Have A Dance Party
And lastly, consider adding a dance party to your New Years Eve routine. This could either be a way to get your kiddos extra energy out, or for some families, to get themselves reenergized for the final stretch of the evening before midnight.
But in any case, it’s really fun and is a great way to boost everyone’s mood. Plus, the act of putting together a playlist for the occasion can be entertaining as well.
Bonus Idea: If you and your kids love music and creating playlists, you could each make a “soundtrack” for the following year and play it for each other on New Years Eve.
Final Thoughts
I hope you enjoyed this post and found something within the list of new years activities for kids that you can use. New Years Eve is such a fun time, and is one my girls’ and mine favorite holidays. So I knew I had to make a post dedicated to talking about how we make it fun.
