Ringing in the New Year is fun, but it gets really late if you have young kids. At AllMomDoes, we’re based on the West Coast so we have the benefit of ringing in East Coast New Year with our kids and getting them into bed well before the stroke of midnight.
{Or sometimes we just let them stay up and ring in allllllllll the New Years coast to coast. It depends on how tired the parents are.}
If you want to help your kids celebrate the arrival of 2023 without a sleep deprivation hangover, you’ll have to create your own magic. Whether that means live-streaming an earlier time zone or just totally fudging the time and pulling up a standalone countdown at 7:14 pm, here are some options to help your kids ring in the New Year a little early.
NYC Ball Drop Live Stream: There are a few ways to live stream the ball dropping in New York City, which is a fun way to ring in the New Year early if you live further west. Some of them require a cable or subscription, while others are free. Note that if you are expecting to live stream one of the shows/productions that the networks put on from Times Square, you’ll probably need a cable or service subscription. Most live streams just show the crowds/ball drop (no hosts or performers or high-quality production).
Time and Date Countdown Clock: Simple and does the trick. This real-time countdown clock automatically sets to your time zone, but if you choose “multi time zone countdown” (below the countdown clock) you can choose to display another time zone that’s ringing in the new year earlier.
Fireworks + Auld Lang Syne (YouTube): This is a 60-second countdown followed by fireworks and Auld Lang Syne. Clocking in at three and a half minutes, the countdown part isn’t quite as dramatic but the post-countdown celebration lasts a little bit longer than other options.
Sesame Street Countdown: This one could be good for younger kids, especially if you are Sesame Street watchers in your house. This one is not year specific.
Netflix: At the time of this writing, Netflix hasn’t released any countdowns yet – but we expect that they will since they’ve been doing it for the last several years. Add a reminder for their Countdown Collection so you’ll get notification as soon as they’re released!
How do you ring in the New Year with your kids?
