Happy New Year! 10 Fun Ways for Kids and Family to Celebrate + Free Printables!

Updated: Jan 1

Celebrating the New Year is exciting and here are ten great ideas for making memories and having fun!!

Ringing in the New Year is so much fun and is a wonderful time to make memories with the kids!

10 Fun Ways for Kids and Family to Celebrate + Free Printables!

Whether you're getting together with friends or staying in, here are 10 terrific ideas to make your New Year's celebration a fun one!

1. Make a Time Capsule

This is a favorite tradition of ours and is so much fun to take out each year and look back at our past Time Capsules! We put together free printables to make this a very easy prep so you can get right to the festivities!

This Time Capsule and New Year's Questionnaire is also a fun activity for classrooms, a Scout meeting or visits with friends or family!

These printables are also a nice way to break up a long car ride or when you have some extra time and looking for an off-screen way to keep the kids occupied! Visit here to see our post and free printables or visit our shop!

2. Play Games

Kids love playing games and spending time with family! Board games and card games are a great way to spend time together and give the screens a break!

Break out a deck of cards or play some Monopoly, Jenga, or Charades!

3. Go for a New Year's Hike or Walk

Whether it's a moonlit stroll before midnight tolls or a New Year's Day walk after eating too much at brunch, getting outside and just enjoying a bit of fresh air and conversation is the perfect accompaniment to the new year!

Whether you're just walking around the neighborhood or heading out to enjoy a park, this is a great way to just spend time together and it's absolutely free!

4. Enjoy Some Delicious Dishes!

Whether it's treats, dips & chips, Belgian Waffle Sundaes or a New Year's Day Brunch, enjoying some delectable foods is always a good idea!

A fondue station- chocolate or cheese- or DIY Fro-Yo Bar are two more sure fire hits!

Frozen Hot Chocolate and Mocha Morning Balls are a fave for our New Year's munching and Smoothie Bowls, Strawberry Scones and these Mini Quiche are perfect for a New Year's brunch menu!

5. DIY A New Year's Eve Photo Booth!

We've made DIY photo booths for Birthday parties, Girl Scout gatherings and for just hanging out at home!

Sometimes we had props and sometimes we just went through closets and drawers to find what looked fun!

We've always had fun taking photos in our crazy outfits and get quite the chuckle when we look back!

Below are our some fun New Year's Photo Booth Props that we are excited to use this year! Just print, cut and tape to a chopstick or sturdy straw for your own New Year's Photo Booth!

6. Watch a Movie

Movies + New Year's Eve = a terrific pairing... particularly if you love staying in or want to keep it an earlier night!

It's a great time to watch that family film that's been on your watchlist or waiting in the queue!

If you're looking to catch up on your holiday movies, here are 25 of our faves! Make some popcorn and grab your cozy blanket!

7. Do a Puzzle!

Put on some tunes and take out that puzzle you've been meaning to get to! We do this every year!

The above 'I Had One of Those' 1,000 piece puzzle by White Mountain was so much fun!

Here's the puzzle we're doing this year!

8. Countdown!

Photo: One Good Thing

Can't make it to New York City to see the ball drop? Us neither! Have fun with dropping or popping balloons either on the hour or to welcome in the New Year at the stroke of midnight!

Can't make it till midnight? Pick a different time and make that the goal! It's midnight somewhere!!

Make some Clock Cookies like these from Everyday Dishes, or open different goodie bags on the hour for more fun countdown options!

9. Rewind the Year With Photos!

These years go so quickly! Photos are a fun way to revisit all of the great memories!!

Take a seat and flip through your pics to have some family fun! Have some extra time? Print a few out to frame or make a collage or some scrapbook page!

10. Dance, Sing or Make Some Noise!

Above Photo: Alpha Mom

If you have some performers in the family, music is the way to go! Do a search for some lyrics and let the Karaoke begin!

This Karaoke mic was a Christmas gift for the younger member of this blogging duo and it's so fun!!

Above Photo: Natural Beach Living

Or, if you're resting your vocal cords, break out some noisemakers- get creative with kitchen utensils and let the neighbors know you're celebrating!

Well we hope you found some fun ideas to make your New Year a Happy one! If you decide to give them a whirl, be sure to snap a pic and tag us @mykidzbookshelf if you post it!

Have a fun New Year's tradition you want to share? Let us know in the comments below!

Be sure to Pin this post so you can return to it in the future!

Know someone who might like this post? We'd love it if you'd share!

We hope you have a very Happy New Year!

April & Cenzia

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