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New Year's Eve Weekend 2024 in DC: Noon Year's Eve, Fireworks, and More

Experience Tingle Bells at ARTECHOUSE. Photo courtesy of ARTECHOUSE
Experience Tingle Bells at ARTECHOUSE. Photo courtesy of ARTECHOUSE
12/25/24 - By Jennifer Swope

Looking for the best things to do in DC this weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for this holiday weekend.

With the holidays falling mid-week this year, there is an extended amount of family time to fill. Our list below combines things you can do the weekend before New Year's Eve as well as some New Year's Eve events your family might enjoy. 

There are many holiday performances running, with extended dates, throughout the week. Two shows that are great for kids, and not particularly holiday-themed, are Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood at Imagination Stage and Disney's Frozen at Olney Theatre Center.

If you want to say goodbye to 2024 with a bang, you won't want to miss Baltimore's New Year Eve's Drone and Firework Show or family-friendly (read: early) fireworks displays in Annapolis and Alexandria.

Lastly, the Anacostia Community Museum is holding a weeklong Kwanzaa celebration with events each day beginning at noon. Each event represents one of the principles of Kwanzaa. Details are below.

Don’t miss our complete lists of things to do on New Year's Eve with kids and what to do with kids over the holiday break.

More Things To Do near DC this Week with Kids:

OUR LATEST VIDEOS

It's a beautiful day to check out Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit. Photo courtesy of the National Children's Museum
It's a beautiful day to check out Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit. Photo courtesy of the National Children's Museum

Things To Do in DC this New Year's Weekend with Kids

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit (at National Children's Museum)

Washington, DC - Daily (except Tuesdays), through January 5, 2025
Step into Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood where Daniel and his friends help young children navigate their world, and parents guide their journey. Play, sing, explore, and pretend in some favorite and familiar places from the Neighborhood. Try a fun activity, share a memory, and create grr-ific new ones on this beautiful day. READ MORE

Tingle Bells at ARTECHOUSE

Washington, DC - Daily, through January 5, 2025
Come for a holiday celebration where tradition meets innovation, and the warmth of the holidays is reimagined through cutting-edge digital artistry. Let Tingle Bells be a space for reflection, relaxation, and the rediscovery of joy. Step into a world of serenity and sensory wonder this holiday season with ARTECHOUSE’s Tingle Bells: An ASMR-Inspired Holiday Special, an immersive digital exhibition designed to soothe the senses and warm the spirit. READ MORE

Disney's Frozen at the Olney Theatre Center

Olney, MD - Wednesdays - Sundays, through January 5, 2025 (also on December 31)
Disney has asked a select few regional theaters to take a shot at their own productions of this animated classic, and it’s no surprise that Olney Theatre Center got the call. This musical delivers everything families love about the adventures of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf, along with a unique production that won’t be experienced anywhere else.  READ MORE

Kwanzaa Opening Celebration with Mama Ayo (at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Thursday, December 26, 2024
Free
Storyteller and griot Mama Ayo opens the week-long celebration with a traditional candle-lighting ceremony, pouring of the libation paying homage to ancestors, and sharing on the history of Kwanzaa. Topics include the first principle of Kwanzaa, Umoja (unity), and the importance of unity in families and communities. READ MORE

Celebrating Kwanzaa with the Culture Queen (at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Friday, December 27, 2024
Free
On the second day of Kwanzaa, the Culture Queen is conducting a family workshop that incorporates Kujichagulia. Her presentation discusses the importance of self-determination and a belief in self to conquer one’s dreams and visions for their lives. It is stoked in affirmations, song, dance, and hands-on activities for the whole family.  READ MORE

Holly-Days at Maryland Zoo

Baltimore, MD - Friday - Tuesday, December 27-31, 2024
Celebrate the magic of the season with Holly-Days at the Zoo. This festive event includes holiday crafts, photo ops, special appearances, and more.  READ MORE

Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood at Imagination Stage

Bethesda, MD - Saturdays & Sundays, through February 8, 2025 (also on December 27, 30, & 31)
A Cajun Red Riding Hood updates the classic tale, sending the plucky heroine—now a red-robed little duck—and her ‘fraidy cat friend Te Jean on a perilous journey through the bayou. Along the way the pair tangle with a Big Bad Gator. Petite is no sitting duck, though, and leads her nemesis on a merry Mardi Gras chase through New Orleans. A chorus of swamp dwellers sings backup to the Zydeco-driven score in this foot-stomping musical. READ MORE

Honoring Our Village with Verbal Gymnastics (Kwanzaa at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Saturday, December 28, 2024
Free
Celebrate Ujima (collective work and responsibility) in a workshop that honors those who have inspired our lives. We are here because of the work of many before us. Who do you consider your heroes? Come share your story of those who have poured into your life. Verbal Gymnastics theatre company will honor your story and play it back with a group of talented actors and musicians. READ MORE

Creating Family Memory Boxes (Kwanzaa at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Sunday, December 29, 2024
Free
Artist Tamara Thomas is conducting an arts and crafts workshop on the fourth day of Kwanzaa where families can create their own family memory box. Participants are encouraged to bring family and/or photos or trinkets.  READ MORE

Family JAMboree at the Capital City Go-Go

Washington, DC - Sunday, December 29, 2024
Basketball, photo booths, face painting, moon bounces, caricature artists, and so much more are all in one place at Entertainment and Sports Arena. Family JAMboree is fun for the whole fam, on a budget.  READ MORE

Holiday Movies on the Potomac

National Harbor, MD - Sunday, December 29, 2024
Free
Enjoy a free family-friendly holiday movie every Sunday afternoon on the big screen outdoors at National Harbor. Show times vary and can be found online. READ MORE

One Loudoun Menorah Lighting

Ashburn, VA - Sunday, December 29, 2024
Free
Celebrate the Hanukkah season at One Loudoun with the lighting of the Menorah. READ MORE

African Dance Workshop with Khepera Wellness (Kwanzaa at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Monday, December 30, 2024
Free
Khepera Wellness conducts an African Dance Workshop celebrating Nia (purpose). In African cultures there is a purpose behind every dance form from rites of passage, to communing with the spirit world, to celebrations of life. African dance is an outward expression connecting one’s body, mind, spirit, and soul. The drums are a call to worship and each movement is a response to that call that reflects communal values and tribal heritage. READ MORE

Family New Year's Party at metrobar

Washington, DC - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Free
This outdoor bar is hosting a free family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration with children's activities and games beginning at 4pm. When the ball drops at 7pm, families can toast the new year with champagne for the grown-ups and cider for the kids. A three-walled heated tent, firepits, patio heaters, and deck heat lamps provide plenty of warmth. READ MORE

Noon Yards Eve

Washington, DC - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Free
This family-friendly celebration at Yards Park includes train rides, an inflatable slide and bounce houses, glitter tattoos, games, musical performances, and more. When the clock strikes noon, guests can enjoy a signature moment to ring in 2025. READ MORE

Creating Family Kwanzaa Bags (Kwanzaa at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Free
Join the artist Rain as she leads families into an arts and crafts workshop celebrating the sixth principle of Kwanzaa, Kuumba (creativity). Participants are encouraged to allow their creativity to flow as they create and decorate their family Kwanzaa bags. These bags can be used for a variety of purposes including carrying handmade Kwanzaa gifts or the fruits of the harvest. READ MORE

Annapolis New Year's Eve Fireworks

Annapolis, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Free
The City of Annapolis hosts a family-friendly New Year's Eve event in Susan Campbell Park, with a small fireworks display at 7pm. A larger fireworks display takes place at midnight over Annapolis Harbor. READ MORE

Krumpe's Donut Drop (at Meritus Park)

Hagerstown, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Free
Kick off the new year at Meritus Park with a Krumpe's Donut Drop, fireworks, and live music. Kids can enjoy games, crafts, and activities. Attendees can enjoy coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts. Fireworks begin at 6:59pm. READ MORE

Merriweather Symphony of Lights Midnight at 7

Columbia, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Ring in the New Year early with festive lights and fireworks at Merriweather Symphony of Lights. Families can walk through the beautiful Symphony of Lights holiday display, then enjoy fireworks, entertainment, and food trucks at 7pm. READ MORE

Midnight Noon at the Maryland Science Center

Baltimore, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
The Maryland Science Center's annual Midnight Noon celebration includes fun New Year’s festivities, music by Rainbow Rock Band, and a noontime ball drop. Families can also enjoy all of the museum's hands-on science exhibits. READ MORE

New Year's Eve Drone & Firework Show in Baltimore

Baltimore, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Free
Baltimore's Inner Harbor lights up this New Year's Eve with a simultaneous fireworks and drone show at midnight. Pre-firework entertainment takes place along the Inner Harbor from 8-11:45pm.  READ MORE

Noon Year's Eve at the B&O

Baltimore, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
This daytime New Year's Eve celebration at the B&O Railroad Museum includes festive dancing and music, New Year’s resolution-writing and party hat-making stations, and games. Then kids can count down to noon and welcome the new year early with a ball drop, confetti, and streamers. READ MORE

Noon Time New Year at Port Discovery

Baltimore, MD - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Little ones can celebrate the new year at noon with a play session at Port Discovery Children's Museum. Families can go on a New Year Around the World scavenger hunt, make confetti cannons and noisemakers, and do so much more on all levels of the museum. Don't forget to draw a resolution on the Wish Tree. READ MORE

New Year's Eve Party (at KidCreate Studio)

Ashburn, VA - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Drop off your young artist at KidCreate Studio for a New Year's Eve party. This class uses special neon materials to create a cool rainbow that glows under black light. Then the black lights come on and the glow party gets started. Young artists should wear neon colors (white works, too) so they can glow just like their artwork. Pack a nut-free snack and drink for your child. READ MORE

Parent's Time Off! New Year's Eve Party (at KidCreate Studio)

Ashburn, VA - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Drop off your young artist at KidCreate Studio for three hours, where they'll create noisemakers, party poppers, and New Year’s Eve hats. Pack a nut-free snack and drink for your child. READ MORE

First Night Alexandria New Year's Event

Alexandria, VA - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
First Night Alexandria is back with a variety of performances and events for all ages. The Countdown to 2025 features a variety of activities, activations, dance parties, live music, and more. The festivities kick off at 2pm and conclude at midnight as thousands welcome in the New Year.  READ MORE

New Year's Eve Around the World (at Children's Science Center)

Fairfax, VA - Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Ring in 2025 at the Children's Science Center with kid-engineered noisemakers and confetti throwers. Choose from three time slots at 10am, 1pm, and 3:30pm. Each slot is two hours long and includes a new year's countdown. READ MORE

Mime & Spiritual Dance Workshop with Crazee Praize (Kwanzaa at Anacostia Community Museum)

Washington, DC - Wednesday, January 1, 2025
Free
Kick off the new year with the seventh and last principle of Kwanzaa, Imani (Faith). Crazee Praize gives a powerful performance and conducts a workshop on miming and liturgical dance. Landle and Antoinette Jones discuss how the art form has charged their faith time after time and invite participants to share what gifts and talents have helped them to continue to be inspired and remain hopeful despite the many challenges of life and chaos in the world. READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Entertainment & Sports Arena
Susan Campbell Park
Old Town, Del Ray, West End