Looking for ways to ring in the New Year with little ones?
Have a count down!
To make it easier for them to understand, I set up our foam clock with the time we were counting down to, right next to the real clock. And, since the preschoolers weren’t staying up to midnight…we counted down to 12:00 noon!
While waiting for the big moment, play games! Check out some of our favorite preschool games for ideas.
Don’t forget the party hats. Instead of buying them, make your own great party hats like we did!

Count down those last 10 seconds!

And then have a toast and special treat. (Mine loved the fancy glasses I found, which were plastic!)

These are just a few simple ways to celebrate New Years with toddlers and preschoolers.
Have older kids?
Check out these simple ways to celebrate New Years with kids:
Gaby @ Tmuffin says
Stopping by from I Thought I Knew Mama’s Linky…
It looks like you had a ton of fun! I’m impressed. Even I had trouble staying awake on New Year’s Eve! I love the clock idea. I need to use that in Baby T’s room so he knows what time to wake up in the morning!
admin says
Oh, well we celebrated at noon on New Year’s Day – no way am I keeping the little guys up that late! (It’s a tough one for adults!)
Kimberly Cosby says
Adorable!
Kristen says
That looks like so much fun that next New Year’s we are coming to your house to celebrate with punch, cookies, bowling and rocket poppers!! Good job on celebrating with the kids!!
admin says
They DID have fun! (And having it at noon instead of midnight meant everyone was awake and in good moods.) I’ll make extra cookies next year! 🙂
MiaB says
how fun!!! We celebrated by popping fireworks… my daughter loved it 🙂 I was surprised, I thought it would scare her!!
~MiaB
http://www.mamamiasheart2heart.com
admin says
Noises tend to scare my little girl – we tried to let her see fireworks earlier this year and she begged to go inside. Her brother, though, LOVES noises! 🙂
admin says
Yeah, at that age they really don’t get it, and having it at noon meant they were in much better moods than if I tried to keep them up.
Charise @ I Thought I Knew Mama says
Wow! How fun! I’m sure the kids loved it!
Thanks for linking up 🙂
Karen Dawkins says
New Year’s Eve day was awesome! We were on vacation in Florida (actually my DH had a conference to attend and we tagged along)… so we spent the day at Sea World. AWESOME!!!!
New Year’s Day…. UGH! We drove home, north on I-95 (for those who live on the left coast, I-95 rivals LA traffic any day) and stared at brake lights forever… and ever… and ever…. Thanks to words with friends, beat the traffic (a spectacular app for travel) and texting, I didn’t get too bored. LOL
admin says
New Year’s Eve in Florida sounds wonderful! Haven’t been to Sea World since I was a kid….
I think I can skip the traffic, though… Glad you got back okay!