These New Year’s Eve Noisemakers are great for involving kids in the New Year’s celebration. They also provide sensory input and are a good way to use empty water bottles. 
This New Year’s Eve, let the whole family get in on the festivities with activities such as this easy to make New Year’s Eve Sensory Bottle and these fun Minute to Win It games for all ages.
New Year’s Eve Noisemakers:
Supplies needed:
- water bottles, empty and dry
- glitter paint in gold and silver
- gold and silver glitter
- festive duct tape or washi tape
- jingle bells (about 2 for each noisemaker)
- pony beads (for additional noise if desired)
- foam star stickers
- curling ribbon (we used black, silver, and gold)
- scissors
Directions:
- Take the lids off from the water bottles and make sure bottles are completely dry on the inside.
- Squirt about 2 Tablespoons of paint into each bottle (the exact amount depends on the size of the bottle) and replace the lid. Shake the bottle while turning to coat the inside of the bottle with paint.
- Remove the lids and liberally pour glitter into the bottles. Seal tightly and shake the bottles until all of the glitter has stuck to the paint.
- Take the lids off again and place the bottles on their side until completely dry inside.
- Once the paint is dry, add a few bells bells and some beads to each bottle to make as much noise as desired.
- Close each bottle.
- To avoid having the lid removed and the excess glitter, beads, and bells being poured out, use decorative tape to cover the lid completely.
- Decorate the bottle with foam star stickers.
- Cut curling ribbon so that it’s about 8 inches long. Tie the curling ribbon around the neck of the bottle, making a knot to keep it attached. Use scissors to curl the ends of the ribbon.
Sensory Opportunities:
Essentially, these are just fancy sensory sound bottles. Homemade New Year’s Eve Noisemakers engage the visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory systems.
Meeting your child’s sensory needs can help them better regulate their emotions and behaviour. And as a parent or educator, I’m sure you know that sometimes that comes in extra handy around the holidays!
Check out these other New Year’s activities for kids:
Directions:
The items for this portable sensory activity were all purchased at the Dollar Store, so it is very inexpensive to create.
Directions:
Snowballs & Jingle Bells Sensory Bag:
Important note: As with all sensory activities, adult supervision should be used at all times even if you’ve sealed the edges shut. Note that the glitter gravel can have sharp edges and can sometimes cut through the bag.
Sensory and Learning Opportunities:
Playing with playdough also lays foundation for concepts of engineering by allowing children to build and design something that solves a problem. In this case, the problem is how to create a manger scene or tell a story using the materials in front of them.
