For adults, New Year's Eve is often an evening of food, friends and champagne at midnight. With children the evening looks different. Some children are tired at eight o'clock, others want to stay up, and everyone needs something to do while the adults cook. Here are 12 ideas for New Year's Eve with children aged 3 to 9, and some experiences that can make the evening calmer.
Make a plan together
Talk to the children about the evening in advance. What will happen, when do we eat, and are we waiting until midnight? Many children find it exciting to know what is going to happen, and then there are fewer questions along the way.
Decide whether the children will be awake at midnight too. You know your child best. Some families celebrate New Year early for the youngest, for instance at eight o'clock, so they also get to join in. Others let the children sleep and celebrate afterwards with the adults. Both are perfectly fine.
12 ideas for New Year's Eve
- Celebrate New Year at eight o'clock. Count down from ten, toast with juice and let the children shout happy new year.
- Make paper party hats. Cut a triangle, roll it into a cone and decorate with pens and glitter.
- Make a "best of the year" drawing. Your child draws the best of the year and you hang the drawings up.
- Write New Year wishes. Small notes with things your child looks forward to next year. They can go in a jar and be opened next New Year's Eve.
- Hold a New Year party for the teddies. Let the children lay the table and invite the toys.
- Dance to music. Put on a playlist and let the children have their own dance party. Children who need to burn off energy like it.
- Make a treasure hunt. Hide small notes with tasks around the living room, for instance finding three round things. It suits several children at once.
- Make the food together. Let the children help lay the table, make snacks or decorate a cake.
- Decorate the living room with lights. Hang up drawings or paper stars and switch on fairy lights.
- Have a games night. Choose simple board games, card games or memory.
- Build a town and celebrate New Year there. Let the toys celebrate on the floor while you cook. See below.
- Read a story or listen to an audio story before the children go to bed or take a break.
Build a town that celebrates New Year
Children can keep themselves busy while you cook. A wooden town that they build themselves can be a good setting. In Crateit Town there are roads, cars, a fire station and a police station, and the town can be rebuilt. Your child can hold a New Year party in the town with a little stage, a long road and something to celebrate. The sets arrive uncoloured and can be coloured with markers, so your child can give the town party colours. It is an idea that can take hours if your child feels like it.
If you want a quiet moment before midnight, you can listen to one of Crateit's audio stories. There are three original Danish stories, free to download.
When it gets late
Young children can get overtired when the evening drags on. Have a plan for what happens if they get grumpy: a sofa with a blanket, a calm story or a quiet game. If your child falls asleep, that is fine too. Do not let the plan become more important than the mood.
If you have guests with children, you can read our tips for a playdate at home. The ideas work for a New Year's Eve too, where several children need to entertain themselves. And if you want the children to be able to play quiet games without you, you can read how children learn to play on their own.
Bangs and fireworks
Some children like fireworks, others do not like the loud noises. Talk about it in advance and let your child decide whether to watch, look out of the window or stay inside. You know your child and can choose what suits you.
After New Year
Remember that 1 January is also a day. Plan a calm morning and let the children sleep in if they can. Lunch in pyjamas, a film or an outing can be a good start to the year.
Food and snacks for children
You do not have to make a big meal for the children. Many families do a tapas evening or a buffet of food that the children can help themselves to. Then they can choose what they feel like, and you avoid arguments. Let the children help make a New Year table with napkins, place cards and paper stars.
Give the children something special to drink, for instance squash in a nice glass or hot chocolate. It makes the evening feel special without requiring much effort. Also have something light to eat late in the evening in case they get hungry again. And let us be realistic: it is also fine to eat a bit more sweets than usual on a day like this.
Make a small tradition
Children remember what repeats. It can be a fixed dish, a drawing of the year or a party hat that is kept in a cupboard until next year. Write a little New Year letter to yourselves: what happened this year, and what are we looking forward to? Put it in an envelope and open it next New Year's Eve.
Frequently asked questions
What can children do on New Year's Eve?
They can make party hats, draw the best of the year, dance, play games and hold a New Year party for the teddies. Choose a few activities, so there is room for calm too.
Should children stay up until midnight?
That is your choice. Some families celebrate early for the youngest, and others let the children try to stay awake.
How do we keep children busy while we cook?
Give them a task they can do on their own: a drawing, a building project or an audio story. Then you have time for the food.
What if my child is frightened of the bangs?
Talk about it in advance and find a plan, for instance staying inside, taking a break in a quiet room or looking out of the window.
Crateit is wooden toys with no screen and no batteries. See more here.
