New Year’s Eve celebrations are often a challenge because of the late hour and it is often past bedtime for the parents…I mean kids. So this year I thought I share some ideas that I found online to give you some starting point of things you might consider.
Time Zone Out: Consider having a special themed celebration with the family of a city in a different time zone. For instance you can have a New York styled celebration and have it leading up to Midnight ET/9PM PT. You could have New York Style Pizza for dinner, bagels, soft pretzels and “Big Apple” pie.
NOISEMAKER SHAKERS
Fill plastic film canisters halfway with corn kernels and decorate with shiny stickers. (Con-Tact or construction paper, glitter, fabric paint and opaque paint markers are also good for decorating.) We poked a hole in the canister’s cap (a parent’s job) and threaded curled ribbon through. Knot the ribbon on the underside of the cap, and let the rest stream out of the top.
COUNTDOWN NUMBERS
Draw and color in the numbers 1 through 10 on poster boards–one number per board. At midnight, each child promenades down a flight of steps, number card held high, as the crowd yells out the number and cameras flash. As the last child hits the last step, the streamers were blowing and the shakers were shaking.
Make a Joyful Noise Unto the LORD. Do a countdown of your child’s favorite Christian songs they love. You can do one a minute starting at 11:50 until the clock strikes 12! End with a prayer of blessing for each of them for the new year to come.
