New years eve sure hits different as a mom of 4 little ones. I don't even want to stay up till midnight, let alone allow my kids to stay up that late. I love the idea of celebrating ringing in the new year together at noon! Enjoy the festivities, have some lunch, pop some apple cider or "kids wine" as my crew calls it and everyone down for their naps by 1:30.
Balloon Drop
Here is an easy at home DIY on the famous Ball Drop. Hang a dollar store table cloth on the ceiling and toss some balloons up there. You can leave it just like this or add some streamers to be extra festive. At noon (or whatever time you decide to celebrate) pull the side and watch the kiddos have a ball!
Bust out a craft
My monsters love crafts, either open ended or an end product in mind. I love harvesting their creativity and helping them extend the project by asking questions. This year we are going to make some Wishing Wands. We are going to use some help from nature and go on a walk to hunt for the perfect sticks for this project but you could use whatever you have laying around. Plus this kicks off our 1000 hours outside challenge! (We have yet to make it, I'm determined 2023 will be our year!) I cut out two stars out of cardboard for each wand we are going to make and let the kids decorate them with whatever we have laying around. This part you might need adult supervision for because I used my hot glue gun to sandwich the cardboard with the stick. Add some streamers and strings to make this project extra magical.
Some questions you could ask your kiddos...
Why did you choose that color for your wand?
If you could grant a wish or perform magic, what would you do?
What are other ways we could make this craft?
What could we add to your wand to make it extra magical?
New Years Tree
Now I normally keep my tree up for a couple weeks after Christmas but this year I was so overstimulated and wanted to just take all my decorations down immediately. I took all the ornaments off our tree but left the lights on. On New Years Eve well decorate the tree with some colorful balloons and streamers to make it more "New Years" festive rather than Christmas. My kids love balloons and anything colorful so I'll let them keep it up another few days before my anxiety says it's time to put my living room back together.
Mocktails
I love a good cocktail for myself but I'm not about to start day drinking before 12:00 with my kids home the rest of the day. I picked up some cotton candy from the dollar store to stuff in some plastic champagne glasses. I figured we would just use the sparkling cider but you could add regular champagne for yourself or a clear soda or sparkling water. It's really just the bubbles that add the fun for the kids so whatever works for you. Plus my kids love the fancy glasses and cheersing with us.
New Years Countdown Bags
Now I am all for something to help pass the time with antsy kiddos. I filled a few good ole brown paper bags with treats, glow sticks, and party poppers, to help pass the time. I just labeled them every 20 minutes from 10:00-12:00. You could also toss in some fun questions to ask your crew and talk for a little.
What was your favorite thing we did this year?
What is something in 2023 you are looking forward to?
If you could do anything differently from this year, what would it be?
What is a skill you would like to learn in 2023?
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