New Year’s Eve With Kids: Midnight, Fireworks and Still Getting to Sleep

New Year’s Eve is one of the few nights when almost everyone expects children to stay up late, and one of the few when you may be tempted to agree. Whether you want a proper midnight countdown or a normal bedtime with a bit of sparkle, it helps to decide your plan before the evening, not at nine o’clock when everyone is tired. Here are some options that work for different ages, and how to protect the days around it.

Pick a plan that suits your child

• The early countdown. Pick a time that suits bedtime — six or seven o’clock — and count down to “midnight” with a clock, a glass of juice and a cheer. Many younger children are delighted, and nobody has to be up at 1 a.m.
• The nap-and-party plan. For an older child, a quiet afternoon rest or an early supper can make a later night easier. It rarely works with a child who has already dropped their nap and is wobbly by seven.
• The normal bedtime. Perfectly reasonable. Tell them you will wave from the window or set a note for the morning. Many children would rather be asleep than feel they are missing out once the idea is reframed.
• The full midnight. Fine for some school-age children once in a while. Decide on the wake-up plan before you say yes.

Keep the usual routine as the anchor

Even on a late night, a short version of the usual order helps: pyjamas, teeth, one story, lights low. The familiar steps tell a keyed-up body that sleep is coming. If the evening has been loud and busy, add a few quiet minutes — a story, a few slow breaths — before the lights go off. Our guide to bedtime before a birthday or big day covers the excitement side of this in more detail.

If there are fireworks

• Warn them. Explain that there may be bangs, what they are, and that they are far away.
• Soften the sound. Close the curtains and windows and run a fan or white noise to blunt the bangs.
• Stay close. A sensitive child may need you in the room. That is fine for one night.
• Borrow the storm tips. Fireworks and thunder frighten for similar reasons — see bedtime and thunderstorms for what helps.

Stories for the turn of the year

Stars, lights and quiet beginnings suit the night well. These are calm stories that can be read before the countdown, or after it when everyone is finally winding down.

The days after

• Keep the wake-up time where you can. A late night followed by a long lie-in can push the whole next evening later.
• Expect a wobbly day. Plan a quiet morning, a walk and an earlier supper.
• Go back to normal within a night or two. One late night does not undo a routine; a week of them might. If school starts soon, see resetting bedtime before school starts.

If you are reading more seasonal stories this month, our Christmas Eve and winter picks pair well, and stories about change and new beginnings are a good fit for early January. More calm reading is always waiting in our bedtime stories.