New Year’s Eve Fun and Activities for the Family

To those who say New Year’s Eve, with its late hours and reputation for excess, is a tough holiday to celebrate with kids, we only laugh and smile knowingly!

Here are some cute tips for packing your New Year’s Eve celebration with the kind of surprise and silliness children love. Happy New Year!

NOISEMAKER SHAKERS
Fill plastic film canisters halfway with corn kernels and decorate with shiny stickers. (Con-Tact or construction paper, glitter, fabric paint and opaque paint markers are also good for decorating.) We poked a hole in the canister’s cap (a parent’s job) and threaded curled ribbon through. Knot the ribbon on the underside of the cap, and let the rest stream out of the top.

STREAMERS
Staple lengths of crepe paper to an empty cardboard tube or a straw and decorate with abandon.

COUNTDOWN NUMBERS
Draw and color in the numbers 1 through 10 on poster boards–one number per board. At midnight, each child promenades down a flight of steps, number card held high, as the crowd yells out the number and cameras flash. “That was their moment,” says Susan. As the last child hits the last step, the streamers were blowing and the shakers were shaking. “You would just not believe how cool that turned out.”

MIDNIGHT BALLOON SHOWER
Here’s how to do it:

• Line up two rectangular paper tablecloths and punch holes every 2 to 3 inches down one long side of each.
• Stitch the tablecloths together with yarn, leaving a foot or so at the end for a rip cord.
• Tape the cloth to the ceiling on three sides, leaving the side opposite the rip cord open. Tape the cord up separately, so it’s accessible. Let the center of the cloth hang down to allow space for the balloons.
• Inflate at least 75 balloons.
• Buy thin streamers and metallic confetti.
• Stuff the cloth with balloons, then add the confetti and streamers on top. (Reverse it, and the confetti will weigh down the cloth and filter out ahead of time.) Tape up the last side of the cloth.
• Let her rip! At the stroke of midnight, just one strong pull tears through the paper, releasing a cascade of balloons and confetti–followed by stomping feet and a cacophony of pops.

BUBBLE WRAP STOMP
Looking for a way to ring in the New Year that will have the crowd on its feet? Look no further than a packaging supply store. For just a few dollars, you can pick up several yards of large Bubble Wrap (or recycle Bubble Wrap that comes with holiday gifts). Just before midnight, unroll it on a hard surface, such as a wooden floor or driveway, and when the countdown concludes, join the fun with a “the Bubble Wrap Stomp.” It sounds like firecrackers!

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Streamers in the Wind

Memorial Day weekend is only 1 day away!  Not only is it one of my favorite 3 day holiday weekends, it is always that first feeling of the “official” start of summer.  I am sure a lot of parents are wondering (other than BBQing) what they will do with their kids over the long weekend.  Below is a fun wind streamer craft that is patriotic and easy to do with the whole family!  Don’t worry – it doesn’t make noise (I personally get a headache from chimes!), and you cam make this craft with little more than an empty oatmeal container and colored paper.

You can also use this activity to teach younger children about the “wind” (like a science lesson) and illustrate the direction on wind and how it plays a part in the environment. Martha Stewart was my inspiration for this project. 

How to Make a Patriotic Paper Wind Streamer

Items Needed:

• Empty oatmeal container, or similar cylindrical container
• Blue craft paper
• White craft paper
• Star-shaped paper or you can cut stars out on white craft paper
• Craft glue (Elmer’s works fine!)
• Double-sided tape
• Waxed twine
• Red-and-white grosgrain flat ribbon
• Red ribbon
• White ribbon
• Paper punch

Instructions:

1. Remove the bottom of the cylindrical container.

2.  Measure and cut the blue craft paper to fit inside and outside the container. The paper should come right up to the top and bottom lip of the container.

3.  Lay the double-sided tape to the three edges of the paper on the wrong side, and stick it to the container’s interior.

4. Create stars from the white craft paper, and glue them onto the second piece of blue paper. Lay the double-sided tape to the three edges of the paper on the opposite side, and stick to the container’s exterior.

5.  With the fine paper punch, punch four holes at the north, south, east, and west points of the container’s top. Thread a piece of waxed twine through one hole and its opposite hole, and tie in place. Repeat for remaining holes.

6. Cut lengths of the red and white ribbon to create streamers, and glue them at the bottom edge of the container. Lay double-sided tape all the way around the top and bottom edges of the container, and adhere the red-and-white grosgrain ribbon.

Enjoy this colorful and patriotic craft!

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