New Year’s Party Countdown Activity for Kids

Thank you to ASTROBRIGHTS® Papers for sponsoring this post, New Year’s Party Countdown Activity for Kids, as a part of ASTROBRIGHTS® Colorize™ Your Party campaign. All opinions are 100% my own.

This project is a fun activity for the kids that will surely Colorize your New Year’s Eve! Now that I am older and most of my friends have children, we celebrate the New Year together and let the kids stay up until midnight. To keep them busy, you can make this simple countdown activity using only four pieces of paper.

Recently, I published a tutorial for colorful New Year’s party fringe banners to help Colorize your party with Astrobrights. Astrobrights papers is a line of vibrant color paper. I have used several colors in past projects and color pallet I chose or this project was Plasma Pink, Solar Yellow, Stardust White, and Eclipse Black to match my fringe paper banners.

Time: 30-45 Minutes

Materials:

4 Pieces of Astrobrights Papers
Paper Cutter
Stickers or Adhesive Gems or Tape
Pen or Pencil
Hole Punch (optional)
Raffia Ribbon (optional)
Tree Branch (optional)

First start by making the envelopes. One piece of 8.5”X11” Astrobrights Paper makes 4 envelopes. Using a paper cutter, cut one piece of paper in half, vertically so that you have two 4.25”X11” pieces. Next, cut one side into two 4.25”X4.25” pieces. Repeat with the other side. You will now have four 4.25”X4.25” squares. Repeat for the remaining 3 pieces of paper.

Keep the remaining rectangles.

Cut each of the rectangles in half. Set them aside. You will need these for your notes to insert into the envelope.

To make an envelope using your pre-cut squares, fold two sides together as shown.

Fold the bottom upwards.

Fold the top downwards.

Each rectangle will now fit inside each mini envelope.

Write a special activity for the kids at the party to enjoy. For example:

Sing Jingle Bells at the top of your lungs!
Play a game of charades.
Make up a short play and perform it for the adults.
Pop a bag of popcorn and share it.
Hula hoop outside in the cold!

Insert each note into the envelopes and seal them with tape, glue, adhesive gems, or stickers.

I punched a hole in each one and hung the 12 envelopes on a branch. At the party have the children take turns opening one envelope every half an hour from 6:00 to 11:30 or 6:30 to midnight. Another option is to write the times on each envelope as well. I started this tradition last year with kids ranging from 2-12 and they had a blast. They were so excited every half hour. It keeps them active, excited, and filled with anticipation to see what is coming next.

You can find more inspiration and ideas to COLORIZE your life at COLORIZE.tumblr.com and don’t forget to check out my matching New Year’s Banner and Paper Straws. I also share another beautiful DIY butterfly lantern I made for my daughter’s birthday party as well. I hope you try it out! Thank you to Astrobrights Papers for sponsoring this post!

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