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New Year's Eve Countdowns, First Night, and Other Connecticut Celebrations for Kids

Get on your party hats and take the kids out for New Year's Eve fun in Connecticut! Photo courtesy of First Night Hartford
Get on your party hats and take the kids out for New Year's Eve fun in Connecticut! Photo courtesy of First Night Hartford
12/23/22 - By Kelley Heyworth

Connecticut is waving goodbye to 2022 with New Year's Eve events and family-friendly celebrations for kids. Before you become a parent, New Year's Eve is all about sparkly dresses and ties. But New Year's Eve with kids sees celebrations take on a whole new dynamic. Partying with your kids in tow means finding things to do on New Year's Eve that the kids will enjoy and that will happen before midnight. This year families have a wide range of options to choose from like holiday light drives, museums, ice skating, gingerbread festivals, and more. Here's to ringing in 2023 with fun family memories!

With New Year's Eve extending into the weekend, plan a New Year's adventure with our list of great Winter Day Trips To Take in Connecticut. And if the weather outside is frightful, check out our 15 Ideas for Celebrating New Year's Eve at Home with Kids.

 

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Get down with some winter fun this New Year's Eve! Winterfest Hartford photo courtesy of the IQuilt Partnership
Get down with some winter fun this New Year's Eve! Winterfest Hartford photo courtesy of the IQuilt Partnership

New Year's Eve Celebrations for Kids - Hartford, New Haven, and Central, CT

New Year's Eve Torchlight Parade at Ski Sundown

New Hartford
Ski in the New Year with Ski Sundown. Lifts and trails will be open beginning at 8:00am and there will be an evening Torchlight Parade by the Ski Patrol a few minutes before the clock strikes midnight. READ MORE

Winterfest at Bushnell Park in Hartford

Hartford - FREE
Free skating 7-days a week at Winterfest on the east side of Bushnell Park over by the Pump House. Don’t have your own skates? Winterfest has free skate rentals too. READ MORE

First Night Hartford 2023

Hartford
First Night is a celebration of the New Year through the arts.  It is an alcohol free, family-friendly, public celebration that marks the passage from the old year to the new with art, ritual and festivity. READ MORE

Fantasy of Lights at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven

New Haven
The Fantasy of Lights has become a holiday tradition for thousands of families from all over Connecticut and New England. The mile-long route features over 60 displays and 100,000 lights. Many of the displays are animated and some are fitted with LED bulbs, making them more colorful and vibrant.  READ MORE

Festival of Silver Lights at Hubbard Park in Meriden

Meriden - FREE
Witness the illumination of more than 350,000 twinkling white lights. Enjoy more than 200 figures and buildings decorated with lights in this spectacular display.  READ MORE

Holiday Lights at Lake Compounce

Bristol
Holiday Lights provides unique festive entertainment for all ages. Enjoy Connecticut's Tallest Christmas Tree, spectacular light shows around the park set to your favorite holiday music, take a festive train ride around the lake, decorate cookies, and write a letter to Santa. READ MORE

New Year's Eve at Spare Time

Bristol
Ring in the New Year at Spare Time Entertainment. The New Year's Eve Party packages include bowling and shoe rental for up to six people per lane, one 16" pizza, and one soft drink pitcher. Music, games, lights, prizes, and more!  READ MORE

Nomads Noon Year's Eve Family Celebration

South Windsor
Join Nomads for their Annual Noon Year’s Eve Family Celebration! Bring in the “Noon Year” together! This indoor family-friendly event is designed with all ages in mind. READ MORE
Tell the kids it's time to party like it's 2022! Countdown to Noon photo courtesy of Stepping Stones Museum
Tell the kids it's time to party like it's 2022! Countdown to Noon photo courtesy of Stepping Stones Museum

New Year's Eve Celebrations for Kids - Fairfield, Litchfield, and Western CT

Countdown To Noon at Stepping Stones

Norwalk
It will be a rockin’ Noon Year’s Eve at Stepping Stones as Star Factory’s DJ Lou will be in the house to help us say goodbye to 2022 and ring in 2023!  Party in the Multimedia Gallery to dance, sing and have a blast as you watch New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the world on our huge, immersive screen. Be there before noon as we’ll Countdown to Noon with great fanfare just like the grownups get to do 12 hours later. READ MORE

New Year’s Eve Morning Hike to Little Pond

Litchfield
Let’s ring in 2023 together on an early morning hike to the White Memorial's beloved Boardwalk. Wear your finest party hat! Sparklers and a glass of cheer will be supplied at the end of the walk! READ MORE

Countdown to Noon at KidsPlay

Torrington
Welcome in 2023 with fun, crafts, and noisemakers. Celebrate the coming of the new year with KidsPlay's anticipated Balloon Drop! Watch as hundreds of balloons rain down from the ceiling. All of the excitement of New Year's Eve without the late night. READ MORE

"The Polar Express" 4D at the Maritime Aquarium

Norwalk
Enjoy  "The Polar Express"  in the Maritime's 4D Theater. This is a condensed version of the Warner Bros. film where you view the movie in 3D, and experience special sensory in-theater effects like snow, wind, the aroma of hot cocoa, and more. READ MORE

Holiday Express Train Show

Fairfield
Young and old alike delight in the large and small scale model trains winding around spectacular winter villages and beautiful holiday scenery. Members of the Fairfield-based Housatonic Model Railroad Club, the Connecticut G-Scalers Club, and the Central Connecticut G-Gaugers Club will be on hand to answer questions and point out details of the collectibles, classic trains, modular dioramas, and antique trains in this eye-popping holiday display. READ MORE

Kent Gingerbread Festival

Kent - FREE
Kent is home to one of the largest gingerbread festivals in Connecticut. Follow the Gingerbread Walk through town to see dozens of gingerbread creations throughout participating downtown shops. READ MORE
Be enchanted by the Holiday Lights Spectacular at Olde Mistick Village. Photo courtesy of Riley's Outdoor Decor
Be enchanted by the Holiday Lights Spectacular at Olde Mistick Village. Photo courtesy of Riley's Outdoor Decor

New Year's Eve Celebrations for Kids - Eastern Connecticut

Holiday Magic at Mystic Seaport

Mystic
Continue the celebration during Holiday Magic at Mystic Seaport Museum. There are lots of great activities the whole family will enjoy. Design your own puppet and then put on a show in our Puppet Theater or relax and enjoy holiday story time in our Children’s Museum.  New this year, join us for a family-friendly show by Justin Mazz Magic that guarantees comedy, mystery, and amazement for the young and young at heart! READ MORE

Merry and Bright at Kids Quest Mohegan Sun

Uncasville
Join us throughout December for some play that’s merry and bright. We plan to sleigh the season with glittery gift-making, jolly visitors, and red-nosed reindeer games galore! We’ll be making holiday-themed crafts, playing Christmas character charades, and conducting a holiday scavenger hunt. Santa will host a story time on Dec. 17 & 18 at 1:00 and 7:00 pm. READ MORE

Holiday Lights Spectacular at Olde Mistick Village

Mystic - FREE
Olde Mistick Village has created an old fashioned Holiday Light Spectacular for you and your family. In fact, this event will be the largest holiday lights display in southern New England!  READ MORE

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