NOON Year's Eve Party

As the end of 2013 is fast approaching (yikes!), some libraries are planning celebrations to ring 2014. Last year, I wanted to try a NOON Year's Eve program for families and it ended up being a huge hit! Over 100 people attended and had a ball. I held it from 11:00 a.m. to Noon on New Year's Eve Day. I didn't do registration (though I might require it next time) and it was open to all ages with their families. I purchased some New Year's decorations from the local party store in order to liven up the room. Here's what we did:

As the families filed in, I had them sit on the floor and I read The Night Before New Year's by Natasha Wing. This allowed the kids to get settled as well as any latecomers to join us.

After the story, I briefly explained what to do at each station. Most were self-directed and I included directions inside acrylic sign-holders at each table. These were the stations:

1. Resolutions Craft: I cut out some book-shaped Ellison dies in both blue and white, set out markers, and asked the kids to write down their New Year's resolutions. Then after the program, I hung them all up in the Children's Room.
2. Party Hats: Because no party is complete without a hat, I bought cheap party hats in bulk, set out stickers, and let the kids use their imaginations when decorating.
3. Noisemakers/Shakers: This was by far the most popular station. I bought clear party cups from the grocery store and set out various beads and beans. The kids filled one of the cups halfway with the beans/beads, put another clear cup on top, and sealed the middle with packing tape. I also had a table to make noisemakers out of toilet paper tubes. Kids decorated yellow construction paper to glue around the tube. Then they took a square of a wax paper and rubber banded it around one end. They could then blow into the other end and make some noise! We then used these during our balloon drop.
4. Time Capsules: I purchased some clear food storage containers in bulk with lids. These served as the capsule itself. I made this lid template where they could set the year that they wanted to open it. I also had them complete the last page on this PDF, the first page of this PDF and this crystal ball worksheet. I explained that when they got home they could add anything else they wanted to the capsule before they hid it somewhere.
5. Line Dancing: I found some kids line dancing CDs and danced the Hokey Pokey and the Macarena among others. It was a blast!
6. Snack: I served apple juice and cupcakes with "confetti" sprinkles for a treat.
7. Balloon Pop/Drop: I had to experiment with this a bit to find the right supplies for maximum impact. I ended up purchasing these balloons on Amazon. Really, any large clear balloon would work though. I then filled 2 balloons with tissue paper squares and confetti. I hung them from the ceiling with fishing line. I stood on a chair with a pair of scissors and we counted down to noon together. At noon exactly, I popped the balloons and put on the song "Auld Lang Syne".

Happy NOON Year!

Have you done a Noon Year's Eve program? What did you do?