My kids are getting to the age where not only are they fascinated with starting a New Year, but they also want to stay up late to help celebrate 🙂 Here is a fun and easy way for the entire family to pass the evening, and countdown the hours until midnight, with a Balloon Countdown to the New Year!
This article is written by Karissa Tunis
For more on this topic, check out the full New Year New Goals collection
Balloon Countdown Directions
Find a fun spot in your house to tie a bunch of balloons. In this example I used confetti balloons that I purchased from the Dollar Tree, and simply taped them to our fireplace mantle. But you could also tie balloons to a railing, a chandelier, furniture, or get creative! And you can pick any color or size of balloon that you like.
Step 1
Inflate 1 balloon for every hour leading up to midnight that you will be celebrating. Here we started around 6pm, right after dinner.
Step 2
Fill each balloon with one little note of instructions. These instructions will give everyone direction for the next hour. Below is an example from my family of five celebrating from 6:00pm – 12:00 midnight. But feel free to get super creative with it! You can make it fun, make it silly, or fill each balloon with a clue to help solve a mystery. Perhaps you are even feeling inspired to create a treasure hunt around your home! But don’t feel pressure to make a big deal out of this. We kept it simple. It kept the kids involved and entertained, and they all ended up making it to midnight – and that was my only goal with this.
Below is what we did:
Balloon Countdown Hour by Hour
6:00 – Wishing Wall – Grab a bunch of post it notes and make your own wall of wishes, and set goals for the New Year.
7:00 – “#3” – #3 is our youngest child, so incase he doesn’t make it as late as the rest, he get’s to go first. From 7-8pm he gets to pick all of the games we play.
8:00 – “#2” – From 8-9pm our other son gets to be in charge and decide what we play.
9:00 – #1″– From 9-10pm our daughter (and she is also the oldest child) gets to be in charge and lead all the crafts and artwork.
10:00 – Dad – from 10-11pm my husband gets to lead all activities.
11:00 – Mom – from 11-midnight I help the kids get ready! We prepare a few fresh snacks, we straighten up all of our decorations, hand out the party blowers, mix up some low-sugar kid-friendly drinks, and we get ready to ring in the New Year!
12:00 – Happy New Year! – for this balloon you could fill it with confetti and/or a few small pieces of candy or treats.
For more on this topic, check out the full New Year New Goals collection
