How to Throw a Noon Year's Eve Party for Kids
No matter how old you are, you're probably pretty ready to kiss 2021 goodbye. And growing kids want to celebrate the new year just like their parents do—but we all know that can't quite happen. So what to do?
Enter the Noon Year's Eve Party. This genius kid party trend is centered around counting down to 12 p.m. instead of a.m. so no one gets left out of New Year's Eve fun or messes up their bedtime routine. Plus, if done right, your Noon Year's Eve party will have the kiddos tired out just in time for the adult festivities to begin. Pretty smart, right?
To help make your midday celebrating just as special as midnight, we've rounded up some of our favorite Noon Year's Eve party ideas. Happy 2022!
Fotosparrow/shutterstock
Let Your Kids Pick Out Fun Outfits
Get your kids excited about their big day by allowing them to dress up however they want. Encourage sparkly, festive attire and explain to them the whole reason we celebrate the changing of our calendars. They will feel like rock stars with free creative reign over their looks and you won't have to stress over someone throwing a fit.
Cookies Are Always a Good Idea
Decorating cookies isn't just a Christmas tradition. Edible pearls, an array of shiny frostings, confetti sprinkles, and edible glitter will keep this activity on-theme and makes for a fun dessert later on in the day. The kids will be thrilled they get to be around sugar well before "midnight."
Have Your Kids Craft for the Occasion
Wash up from cookie decorating and continue the creativity by crafting for the countdown. Coming up with fun countdown hats and noisemakers made out of cardboard toilet paper rolls means you don't have to buy those items beforehand. Cutting up confetti and incorporating bells and whistles into anything and everything will help your kids fully understand what a New Year's Eve (or should we say Noon Year's Eve) party is all about.
Set Up a Photo Booth
Put all that crafting to use by constructing a photo booth. Just hang a paper backdrop (festive New Year's Eve wrapping paper will do the trick) and set up a camera on a tripod or have a designated phone photographer in place. Blast some music and have the kids dance around, posing with their new, festive props—they'll have a blast and so will you. One day your kids will be off celebrating with their own friends, old enough to cheers with real alcohol (and not just sippy cups). These photos will be a precious keepsake that'll last a lifetime.
Priscilla Gragg
Come Up With Resolutions
After the excitement of the photo booth has died down, have the kids come together to create vision boards for the new year. Explain to them how this holiday is all about starting fresh and setting new goals to accomplish by helping them decide on their resolutions. Have them flip through and cut out an array of images from children's magazines so they can gain insight into what they see for their futures.
Play Up the Countdown
Before the clock strikes noon, gather the whole crew—crafts and noisemakers in tow—and play a fake countdown. With a simple search on YouTube, you will find plenty of fake countdowns made for kids who are ringing in the new year early. (We advise to set this up early so that the ad before the video isn't a downer.) They'll appreciate the authenticity of the moment and go crazy, which will hopefully tire them out for later. You can even print out the lyrics and teach them the official song of the new year, "Auld Lang Syne."
Let Them Pick the First Meal of the Year
A few days before the Noon Year's Eve party, let your kids collectively decide what they want their first meal of the year to be after their countdown marks lunchtime and this way they'll feel like they are having the best start to 2022.
Don't forget that you've already made dessert, too! Grab the cookies from earlier and pass them out as a final treat so the Noon Year's Eve party ends on a sweet note. Let's just hope the sugar rush dies down before your party guests come knocking.
