Parents Share Their Adorable New Year's Eve Traditions With The Kids

When you have kids, your options for ringing in the New Year shift somewhat. 

While a visit to your local pub, nightclub or even to watch the fireworks might’ve been on the cards previously, when kids are involved (especially little ones), their schedules typically demand a night in.

But that doesn’t have to mean the evening isn’t meaningful – far from it.

We spoke to five parents about the New Year’s traditions they’ve developed with their children over the years – from making special canapés to celebrating with a different timezone (so they’re not having to stay up ’til midnight), here’s what they shared...

1. An early countdown with balloons

“With small children, New Year’s Eve isn’t really about midnight – children have what we call ‘time blindness’, so the magic is in the experience rather than the clock,” said Dr Sasha Hall, a child psychologist and parent of two young children.

“In our family, we move ‘midnight’ earlier to around 8pm, or slightly later than their usual bedtime. That way, they still get the special feeling of staying up late, but without the overwhelm or next-day meltdowns. Developmentally, that one extra hour feels exciting and novel, but remains within their capacity for regulation.

“We do a big countdown together – 10 to one – holding a bedsheet filled with balloons. Each parent stands at one end, and at ‘one’ we throw the balloons into the air, pull the sheet away, set off party poppers, and let them rain down. That countdown is really powerful psychologically: it builds anticipation, shared focus, and emotional synchrony. Children learn to wait, predict, and then experience a joyful release.

“We then dance together for a few minutes. These moments create what we call ‘core memories’ – emotionally charged, relational experiences that children carry forward. It’s not about the time; it’s about connection, ritual, and feeling safe, seen, and celebrated together as a family.”

2. Crafting a small ‘Año Viejo’ and talking about what we’re thankful for

Milena Jurasz-Cruz, who has three children, said: “As I am Colombian, one of our most meaningful New Year’s Eve traditions is El Año Viejo.

“In Colombia, families traditionally create a large figure made from old clothes and materials and burn it at midnight to symbolically let go of the past year.

“Living in the UK, we’ve adapted the tradition to make it child-friendly and symbolic: instead of burning a large figure, we get a small, crafty ‘Año Viejo’  Together with the children, we talk about the year that’s ending, what we’re thankful for, what we’re ready to release and what we hope for the year ahead.

“It’s a gentle way to teach children about reflection, closure and new beginnings, while keeping a strong connection to cultural heritage in a safe and meaningful way.”

3. We celebrate with families in a different country

Parenting coach Emily Hughes, who has two sons aged seven and nine, said: “In my family we pick a country in a different time zone and celebrate with other families  When the kids were little it was Sri Lanka (6.30 UK time). Now they are a bit older we are doing it at Azerbaijan time (8pm UK).

“We find the live countdown for that country on YouTube (if we can) and do the full countdown and [sing] Auld Lang Syne. It means we all get the experience of a New Year’s party but without cranky kids on New Year’s day.”

4. Special canapés, New Year’s resolutions and making plans

Sarah Lewis, who works in PR and has two children aged 15 and 26, said they come together to create New Year’s missions for the year ahead.

“The kids love doing these, every year. And we do them on coloured paper and keep them so we can review them the following NYE (and take a peek mid-way through [the year] to see how we are getting on).

“We also always make a few really special canapés – ones that they love, and it changes with time. So this year it might be duck wraps, smoked salmon and pomegranate canapés or something with Matcha or our new favourite date balls.

“We pick one place we all really want to visit that year: could be The Isle of Wight, to Hampton Court Palace to Ibiza, [and] write a list of the people we would like to see more in the coming year, and invite them to lunch or dinner.” 

5. We make time capsules and bury them

5. We have a sleepover and play board games

Money coach and parent, Georgia Mulliss, said: “We always have our best friends come and stay. We’ve been best friends since we were 16, and we’re in our late forties now. It’s three women (all best friends), and two of us have male partners. The kids have grown up together: there are two 17-year-olds, two 15-year-olds, two 12-year-olds, and one 3-year-old.

“When we were in the season of babies, we’d all be asleep on the sofa by 10pm. I remember one New Year’s Eve, my friend and I were literally laying on the hallway floor outside the bedroom door, praying that the toddlers wouldn’t wake up again. That was us celebrating midnight. And last year, and in the early hours of 2025, we were playing a non-alcoholic version of Beer Pong with the teenagers, laughing hysterically.

“The constant through all of it has been board games. That’s what we do. We’ll have the kitchen set up for board games, a table in the lounge for board games – sometimes there’s been a season where the older kids have learnt poker or 21, so we’ll have a few different gaming areas going.

“When the kids were little, we’d do buffet tea in their bedroom and have a little disco party for them. We had this brilliant disco ball from Robert Dyas that you plugged into an ordinary lamp, and it would spin and turn the room into a disco. We’d get them settled – usually one parent would end up in a toddler bed asleep with them, or they’d have a big sleepover on the floor with blankets. Then we’d play games downstairs.”

“Now they’re older, they play the games with us. Last year we were all playing UNO No Mercy together – it’s this horrific version of UNO that was an absolute favourite. We’re really into escape room board games as well, the cardboard ones you can buy. And our classics are Timeline, Dobble (which has been hysterical for years), Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Throw The Burrito, [and] Ticket to Ride when we want something longer.

“The thing about board games is – I always think it’s really lovely not to have pressure but to have options. Nothing is mandatory, it’s invitational. We’ve got quite a bit of neurodiversity in our group, so we set things up so people can join what feels good. Same with the food – I always make sure there are food choices that everybody is comfortable with. All our safe favourites, displayed buffet-style on the island so people can help themselves.

“By about 11pm, we’ve generally finished playing games. That’s when we do our reflections, what we are glad to see the back of, what we are proud of, and what we are excited for next year to hold – and that takes a while because there are five adults now, and the teens tend to get involved too.

“We’ll have some classical music on the TV in the background. Then we pause for the countdown at midnight. After midnight there will probably be a stupid movie put on, as people drift off to bed.”