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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Thank you soo much for the clock printables! I was going to do this for my children and got invited to a friends house so there will now be a total of 6 kids, how perfect these are 😀
This is such a super fun idea Liz!!
Thanks for stopping by Marla! We love the NYE Bags, even my teens love them.
~Liz
I’m going to do these tonight! My little one gets so excited about new years eve, but wonders why we don’t do anything fun. Not this year! Thank you so much for the idea!
Hello, sorry I am late to stop by and let you know how much we love your goodie bag idea – it has featured over on my blog twice! I thought I had left a note already- sorry!
It is 10.36am here on New Years Eve and I have just finished getting our goodie bags ready for the first one at 12pm. The kids will love it so thank you so much for being an inspiration. Happy New Year to you!
http://mudpiesandsunshine.com/2012/12/30/9-new-years-goodie-bag-ideas/
http://mudpiesandsunshine.com/2012/12/25/12-new-years-activities/
Hi Nicole, I’m so excited that you liked the Countdown Bags! Have fun and Happy New Year!
~Liz
What did you put inside?
This year I found items at the Dollar Store and at Walmart in the party section. Small games, soft nerf type airplanes, word search puzzles, glow sticks, pencils, candy, fruit snacks, etc. And in the last bag, is always the noise makers and poppers.
Hi Liz! I love this idea and I know my kids will too. I made them this morning for tonight and the kids are already dying to see what’s in them. I hope you have a Happy New Year and 2012 is great for you and your family.
Hi Leanne! So glad you found them! Wishing you the very best in 2012 to you and your family!
~Liz
Just stopping by to let you know that I have featured your project on Fun Family Crafts! You can see it here
http://funfamilycrafts.com/new-years-eve-countdown-goodie-bags/
If you have other kid friendly crafts, I’d love it if you would submit them 🙂 If you would like to display a featured button on your site, you can grab one from the right side bar of your post above.
Hello there! This is a great idea! Thank you for sharing! I wanted to let you know that I featured this on Stay At Home Nation. I would love for you to come check it out! You can grab a button from my sidebar & post it proudly since you have been featured! Have a Happy New Year!
XoXo
~Iffy~
These are adorable! I’m including them in a Things To Try – New Years with Kids idea post on my craft blog : )
Jaimee @ craft-interrupted.blogspot.com
This is a great idea. I will use this idea but I think I will make just one bag for all the kids to open – we will have 6 for New Year’s.
Thanks Elizabeth! That is the beauty of it, you can make as many of as few as you need. And fill with whatever you like. I found some great packages of little toys at the Dollar Tree and in the party section at Walmart today.
Happy New Year!
This is an awesome idea. I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blolgspot.com. Grab mY “FEatured” button.
I used your idea last year with my three grandchildren. I color coded the clocks, so each child had their own color. They are young, so it made it easy to keep track of their bag. They were so excited and loved the little treats. I am doing it again this year. Thanks for the great idea!
I absolutely love this idea. And great tip about saving the noise makers to midnight! haha
Oooh, what a fun idea!! My son is 3 so we’re just starting to try and come up with some New Year’s traditions we can enjoy with him…I’m thinking this would be a great one. Would you link it here at my party?
http://oneartmama.blogspot.com/2011/12/shine-on-fridays-6-and-some-fabulous.html
Great idea! Definitely going to do this next year! How fun! Thank you for sharing!