Can You Survive New Year’s Eve with Kids? Have a Memorable and Fun Night with these Ideas

By Nohad

December 27th, 2022

By Nohad Mouawad

In the countdown to New Year’s Eve, most parents might be remembering nostalgically the days before kids, when New Year’s Eve meant an all-night party and a carefree night of fun. Maybe there was a competition with friends to see how late you could stay up or who could see the sun come up at the end of the night, or even how many nightspots or friends’ houses you could visit. Now, with young kids, that has all changed and maybe you can barely stay awake until the countdown. You might even be dreading how to keep your little ones fed, happy and entertained during another festive evening during the holidays.

New Year’s Eve doesn’t have to be boring or a headache-inducing celebration, dancing to Cocomelon and friends. There are plenty of ways to make your New Year’s celebrations enjoyable and fun for kids and adults, and to start some fun family traditions that you will all remember and repeat for years to come:

Have a Kid-friendly Menu: It might seem obvious, but a New Year’s Eve menu that your kids will like, can really mean the difference between a successful celebration and a boring party where all the guests are whining. By menu, I don’t mean chicken nuggets and French fries. You and your kids can have some fun with the food by making kid-friendly canapes and drinking some alcohol-free sparkling grape juice or any juice that you add bubbly water to. For the canapes, mozzarella and tomato on toast, turkey and cheddar cheese, cream cheese and smoked salmon, salami and olive are all fun, delicious and not-too-exotic. Grab some mini toasts, crackers, bread sticks and skewers from the supermarket and ask your kids help you prepare these appetizers. They can also mix the juice and sparkling water and add a strawberry to each glass. If you really want to be prepared for New Year’s Eve, sign up to the Mini Chef Happy New Year cooking class on the 28^th and 29^th of December at Mamalu’s kitchen, where you can learn how to make skillet pizza bombs, cheddar and bacon biscuits, and even a kid-friendly mimosa.
Plan Entertainment: The best thing you can do on New Year’s Eve is tire your kids out! Rent a bouncy castle and slide from Heartmade events, and they will be asleep way before midnight, after bouncing around all evening. Book through the QiDZ app and get a special deal. Heartmade can also set up a cozy family movie night in your own backyard, complete with bean bags, an outdoor screen and even tents. Have your kids invite some friends and their parents over, and everyone will be happy.
Plan an (Advance) Countdown: One of the best parenting hacks is to make the countdown to midnight way before If your kids are younger than 7 or 8, and can’t tell the time yet, this is especially easy. Instead of having them wait until the clock strikes 12 and you are all exhausted, put on the countdown after dinner. Just look up countdown to New Year’s on YouTube, cue it up on your TV and count it down with your kids and scream Happy New Year!
Don’t Forget the Party Favors: My kids favorite part of every New Year’s Eve are the cotillon or party favors. The louder the better! Get them party hats, noise makers, streamers and funny masks from Party Centre and get a discount with QiDZ. Have the kids put them on and take some fun pictures and selfies, while making noise during your early countdown.
Let Someone Else do the Planning: There’s an even easier way to plan New Year’s: have someone else do the planning and organizing! Handleforme will put together a full kid-friendly New Year’s setup for you, including the décor, table settings, backdrops and other fun rentals like a cotton candy machine. They can also provide fun entertainment to keep your kids busy all evening.
Get Out and Party like it’s 1999: Having kids doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate New Year’s out of the house. There are so many fun family-oriented events around the UAE, such as the New Year’s Eve at BM Beach Resort. Spend the night and watch the record-breaking 12-minute fireworks display on Marjan Island, have a full night of entertainment and dig into a gala dinner. Kids will also love watching the Dubai fireworks show from the Love Boat or watching the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Abu Dhabi. If you’re looking for a family-friendly New Year’s Eve, at Azur kids under 6 dine free and they have everything from Christmas-themed drinks to a delicious buffet. There are also great NYE dinners for kids and parents at the W Hotel Dubai, FireLake Grillhouse and Radisson Blu Deira Creek. If you want a front-row seat to the Burj Khalifa fireworks show, book a table at Sikka Café at CityWalk for some delicious pan-Arabic food and free-flowing hot drinks and soft drinks. If you prefer the Burj al Arab fireworks show, Publique restaurant in Souk Madinat Jumeirah has a great deal for kids, while offering a six course menu and cocktails for adults.