6 Family-Friendly New Year’s Eve Activities

Instead of finding a sitter and heading out among the crowds on New Year’s Eve, plan an exciting night in with family and close friends.

Use these six family-friendly activities to create a simple balloon timeline that doubles as a decoration. Inflate one balloon for each hour leading up to midnight and insert a piece of paper with an event for that hour written on it. Once the balloon is tied shut, write the hour on the balloon for guests to see. Each hour, let a child pop the coordinating balloon to reveal the next event.

6:00 – Pizza Party
Depending on your setup and number of guests, you can make personal pizzas for each individual or a few larger crowd-pleasers. Either way, keep things simple by using pre-made crust, store bought sauce, and a buffet-style topping line.

7:00 – Board Games
Fun for the whole family, board games are a great way to keep your guests busy until midnight. For ideas, check out Four Board Games Every Homeschool Family Should Own and Five Fun Games for Family Game Night.

8:00 – New Year’s Snacks and Kid-Friendly Drinks
Frost cookies shaped like party hats and serve star-shaped apple pieces with peanut butter or caramel. You can also set up a build-your-own-beverage bar with ingredients like lemon-lime soda, orange juice, and sparkling grape juice with frozen fruits or lime slices for garnish.

9:00 – Build a Time Capsule
Inform your friends about this event ahead of time, so they can bring family photos or small trinkets to place in their capsule. Have each family fill a shoe box with reminders of their favorite memories from the past year. At the end of the night, send each family home with their time capsule to stow away for opening next New Year’s Eve.

10:00 – New Year’s Eve Bingo
Make homemade cards and fill the spaces with images of balloons, confetti, fireworks, streamers, party hats, music notes, etc.

11:00 – Set Up Your Campsite
Help your guests avoid dangerous holiday traffic by inviting them in advance to spend the night. Use your final hour before midnight to change into PJs, build blanket forts, and maybe even roast marshmallows over a makeshift candle campfire.

12:00 – Ring in the New Year
Celebrate the arrival of the new year with a toast of sparking grape juice. Then, settle down and get some rest in your newly constructed blanket fort.