As the master of activity-filled parties for kids, I thought I’d ask Carrie Pasfield to write up a post on how she celebrates New Years Eve with her brood. I have to say, I’d sign up to be a Pasfield!
Do you want to spend New Years Eve with your little kids and still want to maintain some semblance of sanity? Believe it or not, that’s a possibility. For the last few years we’ve been letting our kids stay up til midnight to ring in the new year. Oh yes. All 3 of the little ones. They just turned 3, 5 and 7.
And before you stop reading completely thinking that I’m completely off my rocker, let me clarify: our kids ring in the new year for LONDON. If you live, like we do, on the east coast that means they get to run around, hoot and holler at the very reasonable hour of 7pm.
While admittedly the London fireworks and ball drop don’t get a lot of coverage, if you time it right it works out beautifully. CNN usually shows the international festivities at the top of the hour. Keep the kiddos occupied til the stroke of 7 (ahem, I mean “midnight”), pass out the noise makers and switch to CNN. Then let them romp around making noise for a bit. Reign them in to try and sing “Auld Lang Syne” — not to worry, they don’t know the lyrics any more than you do! — pass out some celebratory juice boxes and Bob’s Your Uncle! (that’s British for Viola!) (which is French for TA DA!)
In the hours leading up to the “stroke of midnight,” we occupy the kids with little craft activities.
- This year, we are start a new tradition of a time capsule that gets packed away with the Christmas decorations each year not to be seen til next year, much like this one seen at Disney’s Family Fun.I’ll help them jot down a few holiday memories and sign their names because their signatures are so different year to year. In the capsule will go some pictures of the outside of the house and their rooms and maybe a tiny present to themselves for the next year. This will all go into a festively wrapped shoe box and dramatically sealed shut to await it’s opening when Christmas comes out again.
- And then the party hats – kids and adults alike love to have them for new year celebrations. And making their own is a fabulous way to get them into the spirit! Martha Stewart has a fun and easy way to make festive hats for the occasion. Add some glitter and shiny stones to make them extra special. Martha also has a tutorial for DIY party blowers.
- If you have hats, you have to have noisemakers. This is a good time to raid those almost-empty tubes of wrapping paper and ribbon from Christmas. Both Family Fun and Make and Takes have great little tutorials perfect for any age child’s crafty hands. And if you think your kids would like to go especially crazy with this craft, check out these noise makers.
Little finger foods always make it seem more like a party. For such a short event for just our three little short people, we generally focus on the crafts and not the eating. We’ll put out some healthy choices, like veggies and dip, and one special thing. I am thinking this year we might try our hand at these Bubbly Jell-O Parfaits that are sure to thrill the children.
And there you have it. A New Years Eve WITH your children you are sure to enjoy – I know we do every year!
– Carrie
Paula @ JC's Loft
Thursday 30th of December 2010
Oh what a clever idea! The kiddos usually spend NYE with the grandparents, so maybe I should forward this to them : )
Nicole @ Tradewind Tiaras
Thursday 30th of December 2010
I love family-friendly New Year's Eve celebrations! My parents always included us kids when I was little (games, noisemakers, etc. at our house or a friend's house), and we've continued the tradition. Our 7 year old has always been a night owl, so we've been letting her stay up until real midnight since she was 2 (and she's always treated us extremely well!). Our 19 month old...different kid, different sleep needs. The London idea is *brilliant*. What a lovely way to include her, too!