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Family Theme Night Blog

Fun-filled family night activities based around themes kids love!

5 Ways to Ring in the New Year with Kids!

Posted by Laurie Moulton on Friday, 30 December 2011 in new years

New Year's Eve is usually considered more of an adult holiday/celebration, but it can also be fun to do something special with the kiddos to ring in the new year! Here are five ways to involve the kids:

1. Bubbly Fun, Kid-Style

It is tradition for adults to drink some "bubbly" at the stroke of midnight. Let your kids enjoy their own bubbly beverages: a juice bar with seltzer water or club soda! Kids love making their own juice blends, and adding some fizz makes it special.

Or, get out some bubble solution usually reserved for springtime, and celebrate the new year with some bubbles floating in the air.

2. Not-So-Fiery Fireworks

I wasn't sure whether to place this next idea in the "bubbles" category or the "fireworks/explosion" category. There is something about starting the new year with a bang, and I don't know a kid around that doesn't enjoy watching the now classic Mentos/Diet Coke experiment. In lieu of popping a bottle of champagne, kids might just love the opportunity to welcome the new year with a Diet Coke explosion! (If you are not familiar with this experiment, beware that it gets very messy--but dropping Mentos candy into a 2 liter bottle of coke makes an impressive fountain. Definitely an OUTDOOR activity!)

Kids might also enjoy a fireworks craft. Let your little ones design their own fireworks on paper. Provide black construction paper, white school glue, and glitter. Help them make squiggles of glue, and add glitter to their fireworks design.

3. Ball-Drop

The majority of Americans wait for "THE ball" to drop on New Year's Eve. Tell your kids about this tradition. Perhaps they will want to design their own "balls" to drop (such as a styrofoam ball decorated with glitter, sequins and craft supplies, or a ball made out of aluminium foil with streamers attached). Or if your kids are active like my boys, they might just enjoy dropping balls (my kids love any excuse to bounce a ball!).

4. New Year’s Baby

My kids always ask me about the "New Year's Baby," and I'm not sure that I get it myself. However, it does seem to be the iconic depiction of the new year. So, why not embrace the idea and have fun with it? Get out or borrow some baby dolls and have diaper changing races or stroller races--could make for quite a memorable start to the new year!

5. Holiday Treats and New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Eve tends to be the last evening of holiday indulgence before the "New Year's resolutions" kick in. Kids won't be thinking about such things. However, they will love some holiday treats! Here is a twist on one holiday treat: instead of drinking eggnog, place it in an ice cream maker instead--yum, eggnog ice cream!

And speaking of resolutions, even though kids might not be old enough to understand the tradition, perhaps it is a great time to write down the things your kids wish for the coming year. Their thoughts would be the perfect addition to a scrapbook!

Happy New Year!

Are you looking for more fun ideas for kids? My new book, Memory Making Meals: Fun & Easy Family Dinners (Created by an Ordinary Mom), is now available on Amazon (both paperback and Kindle editions). Click on title below picture.

memory_making_meals_cover_web

Memory Making Meals: Fun & Easy Family Dinners (Created by an Ordinary Mom)

And for more fun ideas and activities for your family, take a look at my book Let the Adventure Begin! Theme Nights for Families with Young Children (available on Amazon in both paperback book and Kindle versions). It includes ideas, activities and resources for 56 family fun night themes.

let_the_adventure_begin_book_cover_updated_web

Let the Adventure Begin! Theme Nights for Families with Young Children:

Fun & Easy Family Night Activities

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Tags: celebration with kids, children, family fun night, family night, kids, new year, new year's eve, new year's ideas for kids, ring in the new year

Laurie Moulton

Thanks for visiting my site!

My name is Laurie, and I am the author of the Family Theme Night Blog and two books (Let the Adventure Begin: Theme nights for Families with Young Children, and Memory Making Meals: Fun & Easy Family Dinners). I am also the mom of two boys, Drew (age 8) and Stephen (age 6). As a family, we have been doing family fun nights based around different themes since the boys were four and not quite two. I have put together lots of fun, easy and inexpensive ideas. We have enjoyed the adventure, and I want share these activities and resources with you!

More about me:

The boring stuff (my “credentials”):

I’m a graduate of Wheaton College (IL) and Nazareth College (NY) with degrees in elementary education and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Before becoming a mom, I loved the challenge of teaching in the Rochester City School District.

The fun stuff:

• I love to travel (although I’ve traded European adventures for camping trips and amusement park visits).

• I consider swiss chocolate paired with a novel to be absolute bliss.

• I think hiking and geocaching with my family is a blast (until the boys get tired and cranky, but the first part of the hike is always fabulous!).

• My ideal getaway is a quaint bed and breakfast enjoyed with my wonderful husband.

• I actually love watching football and look forward to setting up my fantasy team every year (although it is a bit of a drag to be a Bills fan these days).

• I’m a huge Anne of Green Gables fan—I even convinced my husband to take me to PEI for our honeymoon!

• Besides planning and writing about our family theme nights, I enjoy teaching Sunday School and coaching an Odyssey of the Mind team.

• I love experimenting in the kitchen.

• I really do treasure every moment I spend with my family—especially our family fun nights!

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