Noon Day Countdown Party

Happy New Year's Eve!  This year we had our first ever Noon Day Countdown party!  Woo-Hoo!  I was super nervous that we would have nobody show up, but we ended up having 55 kids and 45 adults!!!  We had a wonderful age range of tiny tots to young elementary, which I am very pleased about.  I am already plotting how to make things better for next year, but you can check out what we did below!  Here's to your 2020 being full of God's gracious blessing!

Crafts:

Noisemakers are always a favorite with kids, right?  These are super simple to make!
Credit: https://www.education.com/activity/article/Make_some_New_Years_noise/

Party hats are a must have at your countdown party!  We had two versions laid out on one table, a crown or a party hat.  The party hat is my favorite because it is nothing more than a paper cup and string!  How adorable is that!  Only one website is working where I found the hats at, so I apologize for not being able to give credit.
Credit: http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2011/12/easy-new-years-noise-makers-party.html?m=1

This craft is so adorable and the kids really got into decorating the face and hat on the craft.  I think next year we might decorate a pig to go along with the book by Numeroff about giving a pig a party.

Credit: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Birthday-Celebrations-for-the-Classroom-1333657

This is probably my favorite craft, just because you can make it so beautiful!

Credit: https://www.projectswithkids.com/paper-fireworks-craft/

Games:

We had a lot of games setup, which really helped entertain everyone until the countdown.  I had bingo setup in the back of the room.  In the front we had a giant version of bowling and giant version of Connect Four.  I did get a really nice beanbag toss game.  What was so wonderful about it was many of the kids would pose behind it!  The other game was a simple one to make, a party hat ring toss game.

I always have food at my parties but I didn't at this one, I honestly didn't see the need for it.  Afterwards I realized the flow of this party went supremely well, we didn't have any place super crowded, everyone kept going to somewhere different, nobody got clogged up.  This got me to thinking, do I really need food at every party I do here at the library?  No, I don't.  Now this is to say that I want to cut food completely out of my parties.  But I think I would like to only do food once or twice out of the year and not at every single party that goes on.  When I do food I have to take up space with tables for every to sit and eat at, plus food and drink tables.  I would rather use this space for interactive games and crafts.  Time will tell what happens, check back to see!