New Year’s Eve Countdown Goodie Bags
Traditions are one of the things I love most about the Holidays. Many, many years ago, we started a great tradition…New Year’s Eve Countdown Goodie Bags. Put together these fun bags to open throughout the evening, they are great for kids and adults!
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Each hour leading up to midnight, fill a bag with toys, candy, small puzzles and more. Be sure to leave the noise makers for the midnight bag.
My boys were quite young when we began this tradition, but they still wanted to stay up until midnight, and quite honestly, it was hard for my husband and I to stay up that late too. So, we started using Goodie Bags to countdown to midnight.
First you will need to prepare the bags. I’m using white lunch bags, any bag will work though. You can either make your own clocks on construction paper or use the Clock Printables that I made for you.
Head on over to grab the Printables! I made 6 sets in different colors so you can coordinate for each child if you want, making it easier for each child to keep their bags separate. I also keep the clocks from year to year.
This post is from several years ago, so that’s why you see 2014. But you can still find all the items for this year.
To fill the bags, I always look for small toys and items that have multiples in a bag. The party section is a great place to find small items. I also always put the noise makers and poppers in the midnight bag and hand those out a few minutes before the hour, that way, we aren’t hearing the noise for hours. Some other items I have used in the past are glow necklaces, small puzzles and toys, and candy.
Right now is the perfect time to find small items in the Christmas section on sale.
Since these Countdown Bags are great for any age, I put together a group of ideas for different age groups for you.
New Year’s Eve Countdoown Goodie Bags
New Year’s Eve Countdown Goodie Bags for Toddlers
- Sticker Books
- Bubbles
- Snacks like Teddy Grahams
- Plastic Bracelets
- Small Puzzle
New Year’s Eve Countdown Goodie Bags for Pre-Teens
- Hacky Sacks
- Yo-Yos
- Glow Bracelets or Necklaces
- Candy
- Stationery Set
- Toys from Sports Favor Pack
- Slap Bracelet
New Year’s Eve Countdown Goodie Bags for Young Adults
- Playing Cards
- Glow Bracelets or Necklaces
- Candy and/or Cookies
- Air Freshener for Vehicle
- Noise Makers
I display them with shiny gift bag filler and noise makers. This has become such a tradition for my boys, that even my oldest son who is 23 asks me to be sure to have bags for him too. So really, there is not an age limit for these Countdown Bags – fill and have fun!
Watch the Facebook LIVE Video here to see how I put them together and tips on what to include in the Countdown Bags.
Do you have New Year’s Eve traditions?
Need more ideas? Here are Dessert Recipes, Party Food and Fun!
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I love the cute bags that you created
we stay up to watch the ball drop snack and visit
What a super idea! I have passed your link along to several friends. I already have bags and cardstock.
Thanks! A perfect way to give everyone their horns, confetti poppers and our traditional can of Black Eyed Peas.
The New Years Eve Man (aka The Leftover Man) sneaks into the house each New Years Eve while everyone is outside yelling Happy New Year. Now the Leftover Man can only bring items that weren’t bought at Christmas, those poor little gifts left homeless. We are 3 families who have been friends for 35 + years, and every Labor Day Weekend we camp together and on New Years Eve they pack up and come spend the night at our house. We’re down to just the adults now (well, our children are now adults, but you know what I mean)but we still have a wonderful time. It’s fun to see what the Leftover Man can find on the cheap cheap.
Neat idea…thank you for sharing.
Wow what a fun and cute idea!
Alison, Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy and Healthy New Year to you and your family!
~Liz
I LOVELOVE LOVE this idea. We have no traditions for Holidays. I need to make some and this is a great start! i have to do it for 6 children so Dollar Tree here I come! Plus i am going to share this idea.
I’m so glad you like them! They are very fun for the kids and even adults 😉
Happy New Year!
~Liz
What a great idea! I bet my kids would love it!!
Found you through stumble and you betcha I gave you a thumbs up!
.-= Alison@howdoesshe´s last blog ..BEST April Fool’s Day Prank – EVER =-.
Super cute idea! I linked to it on my weekly roundup (post is under my name). I’ll file this away for when my little one gets older!
.-= Lenetta @ Nettacow´s last blog ..Link Roundup – Happy Birthday Hubs Edition =-.
This is such a fun tradition! Thanks for sharing. Found you through Tip Junkie.
we just started the countdown bags this year & the kids loved them! http://puertabella.blogspot.com/2010/01/nye-sleepover.html
we also write down our wishes for the new year & place them in our “wish boxes” & open them the next year to see if any of our wishes came true!
.-= susan@pocacosas´s last blog ..NYE Sleepover =-.
@susan@pocacosas, The wish boxes are a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
~Liz
What a neat idea! I love it! Thanks for sharing.
.-= Cindy´s last blog ..First day of the rest of my life =-.
Thanks so much for this neat idea! I did this using 5 bags. I started with 8PM. My son (7 yrs old) loved these bags. He waited for each hour so that he could see what was in each bag. I will be using this idea each year now. Thanks again!
@Lowbudget, Great, I’m so glad you had fun with them. It really makes the night go faster. Happy New Year!
~Liz
This is such a fun idea! Thanks for sharing and for the great photos to help me really “see it.”