As parents of little children you probably don’t want them to stay up until midnight – you might not feel like staying up until midnight yourself if you’re sleep-deprived! But it’s still nice to celebrate the start of the new year with our little people so on this week’s blog we have some ideas for you of how to celebrate with little ones without the late night.
Get dressed up
You might not be out on the town like your pre-parenting days but that’s not to say you can’t still dress up for the occasion! It’s fun to all get dressed up and have a party together even if you’re not leaving the house! It makes it feel special for the children too!
New Year’s themed crafting
Make a countdown clock for them to decorate and colour in each segment as midnight (ie. bedtime) approaches, paint some fireworks or make some New Year’s Eve party hats!
Sparkly new years cup cakes
Make some simple cupcakes and decorate them with sparkly sprinkles! We love this super simple cupcake recipe from BBC Good Food.
Make a 2024 wish tree
On one of your walks collect a large stick. Dry it out and paint it then everyone from the family can hang their wishes for the upcoming year on it. You could also use a jar and put your wishes in there.
Make a time capsule
The idea of this is that you create a time capsule, which is a snapshot of your life as it is now. Pop in some magazine clippings, favourite snack wrappers, pictures drawn by your little ones and photos and make sure you include the date. Write on the outside of the container the date the time capsule can be opened and on that date you can look back and remember what life was like this year!
Practise gratitude
Gratitude is a complex concept that can be tricky for young children to understand but modelling gratitude from a young age will naturally help them learn this skill as they grow older. Tell your children what you’re grateful for from the year that has just passed and hopefully they will follow suit by telling you what they are thankful for too.
Countdown to bedtime
Okay so they might not be around for the midnight countdown but midnight in Sydney Australia is at 1pm in the afternoon so you could use a clip of their fireworks or you could show your children a clip of London’s fireworks from last year to use as a countdown so they get to experience the countdown and fireworks before they go to bed.
Happy New Year!
However you plan to see in the New Year with your little ones we hope you have a wonderful time and we wish you a very Happy New Year!