It’s time to say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021… from home.

Yes, that means we’re going to be celebrating with the kids (most likely) before midnight.

Hey! The kids have had quite the year as well, so let’s let them have fun by ringing in the new one with us.

5 New Year’s Eve Party Ideas for Kids

1. New Year’s Eve Mock Countdown

We did this last year at noon and it was a lot of fun.

Granted, we did it in a public place with lots of people, food, and music where they played with pizza dough at an Italian restaurant… but there is no reason we can’t ring in the new year at 12… in the afternoon.

Another idea is to set the clocks forward four hours or so, pretend it’s midnight, and pull up some old New Year’s Eve party celebration videos to watch.

The neighbors may think you’re nuts for banging the pots and pans outside at 8 pm, but hey, we have bedtimes to make people.

Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Toast

It’s all about the toast!

This year, my daughter is really into mocktails.

She will jump at the chance to order a Shirley Temple at a restaurant just because it sounds fun, looks cool, and comes with a cherry.

There are so many more fun drinks you can make to toast with the kids.

Since we just wrapped up Christmas, we’re still on the hot chocolate and chocolate bombs kick, so we may toast with those too!

Even just putting a plain ol’ drink in a fancy glass does the trick for kids!

Don’t forget to add ice cream and sprinkles to your drinks because, well… why not?!

It’s a party!

New Year’s Eve Cake

You can’t have a kid-friendly party without including a cake.

Naturally, you want the cake to match the theme of the party – New Year’s Eve.

You can also bypass the usual metallics, silvers, and golds and go with something else just as festive to make the cake fun, like choosing from one of the many Publix cakes.

(It’s what we do!)

You can say we’re blasting off into 2021 with bright colors, we hope 2021 will be magical with a unicorn, or bringing the sparkle to 2021.

We also love to make s’mores.

In lieu of a cake, you can make your kids work for their dessert (because it’s fun) and make some s’mores.

Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Decorations and Party Games

Just like the cake may choose the theme, the decorations might too.

For this, you can walk the aisles at your local party supply store, like Party City.

The usual plates, cups, and napkins are a must… but don’t forget the little extras like table toppers, streamers, party hats, and noisemakers.

This is also a great time to bust out all those board games you have in the closet to play.

My kids got quite a few new ones for Christmas.

In our house, we also have a few card games that prompt conversation.

Something we like to do is share three gratitudes with each other every night.

On New Year’s Eve, you can share some for the entire year.

After all, it’s a great year to do it!

Kid-Friendly New Year’s Eve Slumber Party

If your kids are like mine, that won’t last until midnight but they will still like the idea of a staying up all night for a slumber party.

You can do all the slumber party things there are to do with the plan to stay up late like building forts with blankets, watching TV in pajamas, eating lots of junk, dancing, facials, the list goes on and on!