Countdown to Noon
Little ones have a hard time staying up until midnight, but why should they miss out on all the fun? I threw a 45-minute party to countdown to noon. I created a fun dance party playlist with a winter/new year twist. And for the pièce de résistance: I made my own glitter ball. Yup. Note: this undertaking is not for the faint-of-crafty-heart. There will be glitter everywhere. For days.
To make your own glitter ball you need a beach ball (or paper lantern). Water down some good old school glue, and with a sponge brush, coat a small area of the ball. Holding the ball over a box, sprinkle liberally with glitter. Repeat until ball is covered to desired glitter level (or until you are just done with glitter... trust me). Let dry.
The glitter ball was the star of the show. I dug out a spool of ribbon from the craft stash and tied one end through the loop on the plug. I looped the string over a hook on the ceiling like a pulley. As it became noon, I got everyone's attention and we practiced counting down from ten and jumping up as we screamed "happy new year!" Then we did it again, except this time, I lowered the ball as we counted down. I don't know who was more excited: the kids or the adults.
And that was basically it. Making the glitter ball was a ~45 minute process, but if you are lucky enough to already have a shiny ball at your disposal, the program planning is really just making a playlist and gathering your materials. I had 40 people show up, which for a first-run program at my library is a great turnout.
Here's the playlist I put together:
I set out egg shakers, bells, rainboshakers, and ribbons for kids to explore and play with at their own pace.
To make your own glitter ball you need a beach ball (or paper lantern). Water down some good old school glue, and with a sponge brush, coat a small area of the ball. Holding the ball over a box, sprinkle liberally with glitter. Repeat until ball is covered to desired glitter level (or until you are just done with glitter... trust me). Let dry.
The glitter ball was the star of the show. I dug out a spool of ribbon from the craft stash and tied one end through the loop on the plug. I looped the string over a hook on the ceiling like a pulley. As it became noon, I got everyone's attention and we practiced counting down from ten and jumping up as we screamed "happy new year!" Then we did it again, except this time, I lowered the ball as we counted down. I don't know who was more excited: the kids or the adults.
And that was basically it. Making the glitter ball was a ~45 minute process, but if you are lucky enough to already have a shiny ball at your disposal, the program planning is really just making a playlist and gathering your materials. I had 40 people show up, which for a first-run program at my library is a great turnout.
Here's the playlist I put together:
