Tonight is New Year’s Eve and, for our family, it typically feels tricky to find fun ways to celebrate with the kids. With the twins being 5 months old, we’re probably not going to make it to midnight this year. I spent some time brainstorming and Googling and have compiled this list of 10 Family Activities for New Year’s Eve. Hope it’s helpful for you and yours! –Drew

Download this as a printable PDF

10 Family Activities for New Year’s Eve

1. Make your own confetti poppers!

• All you need is a balloon, an empty drink bottle, and a piece of paper.
• Directions

2. Invite friends/neighbors to gather and light fireworks and sparklers!

• Most grocery stores or Party City stores carry sparklers.
• Fireworks may be harder to find!

3. Facetime friends and family members!

• Maybe dress up in fun costumes.
• If FaceTime doesn’t work, you could make personalized videos to send.
• Be sure to especially reach out to those who may be lonely this New Year’s Eve.

4. Ball Drop Countdowns!

• If you have young kids and can’t stay up late, there are “ball drop” videos on YouTube from past NYE celebrations.
• Also, Netflix has some fun countdowns.

5. Count-Down Bags!

• Create “count-down bags” kids can open each hour of the day.
• Here’s a link with some ideas

6. Word Searches!

• Race to see who can do the New Year’s Word Search the fastest!
• Search online for “New Year’s Word Search” to find hundreds.
• You can also download one here.

7. Thankful Things!

• Grab a piece of paper and think of things you are thankful for from the past year.
• Either draw a picture collage of those things or make a list!
• After you’re done, go around the table and talk about what you put on your paper.
• Fill up your cups with some sparkling juices and toast. We see “Praise the Lord for…”

8. All Things New!

• As a family, read a passage from scripture about God making “all things new” and discuss it as a family.
  • Revelation 21:1-5: Talk about John’s vision of the new heavens and the new earth and discuss what it means that Jesus is coming back to make all things new.
  • 1 Corinthians 5:11-21: Focus on verse 17 and ask “in what ways do you want God to make you new this year?”

9. Listen Together!

• Listen to a song about God making “all things new.”
• You can search YouTube or Spotify and tons will come up.
  • All Things New by Andrew Peterson
  • All Things New by Big Daddy Weave
  • All Things New by Hillsong Worship
  • All Things New by Elevation Worship
  • I Am Making All Things New by Wendell Kimbrough
    • This one ties in closely with the Revelation passage
  • Brand New by Ben Rector
    • Doesn’t have to do with the scripture passages, but it’s fun!

10. New Year’s Questions!

Spend time answering some questions from below:

• When is a time you laughed out loud this year?
• What is something you’re proud of from this year?
• maybe something you learned or a way you’ve grown
• What’s something that surprised you this year?
• Who is a person (outside of your family) who was especially kind to you this year?
• Who is someone you’ve grown to love even more this year?
• What prayer did God answer this year?
• What is something you’re hopeful for/praying for in the new year?