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New Year's Eve Weekend 2023 in NYC: Fireworks, Balloon Drops, Noon Year's Eve

A Central Park fireworks show lights up the sky on New Year's Eve. Photo courtesy of Central Park
A Central Park fireworks show lights up the sky on New Year's Eve. Photo courtesy of Central Park
12/29/23 - By Drew Kristofik

Looking for the best things to do in New York City this New Year's Eve weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for this New Year's holiday weekend.

It's time to ring in 2024, and you don't have to stay up until midnight on Sunday to get in on the fun. Count down to the New Year with Grammy-nominated music artist Fyütch at the NYPL, celebrate Kwanzaa at the Brooklyn Children's Museum, take a first day hike to start the year on the right foot, or watch the Coney Island Polar Bear Club members take their annual frigid dip in the Atlantic.

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Learn all about Kwanzaa through music, song, dance, and more at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum
Learn all about Kwanzaa through music, song, dance, and more at the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Photo courtesy of the museum

Top Things To Do in NYC New Year's Eve Weekend with Kids

Kids Week: Knot Tying and Friendship Bracelets

Astoria, Queens – FREE
Friday, December 29
The Urban Park Rangers show kids how to tie a few key knots, and the kids learn to make and take home a handmade paracord bracelet that is as fashionable as it is functional.    READ MORE

New Year's Resolutions!

Soundview, the Bronx – FREE
Friday, December 29
As 2023 comes to a close, teens are invited to the Soundview Library to reflect on how 2023 treated us: the good and the bad! Take home a little notebook of your own where you'll write your resolutions for the new year and list your goals and hopes for 2024. READ MORE

Light Up Magic Wands

Dongan Hills, Staten Island – FREE
Friday, December 29
Make magic wands that light up! All materials are provided, but supplies are limited, so arrive early! Light refreshments are served.    READ MORE

Kids Week Manhattan: Tree Identification for Kids

Inwood – FREE
Friday, December 29
The Urban Park Rangers lead kids on a hike and share different ways to identify trees during the winter—when most of them don't have leaves. READ MORE

Holiday Family Performances

East Harlem
Friday and Saturday, December 29-30
The Museum of the City of New York celebrates the last weekend of 2023 with song. Multi-instrumentalist Gabrielle Garo performs on Friday, and singer-songwriter Alicia Waller performs on Saturday. READ MORE

Noon Year's Eve

Harlem–FREE
Saturday, December 30
Gather in the Bloomingdale Library children’s room for a 2024-themed scavenger hunt and fun prizes. Just before noon, count down from 10 for the new year—just in case you can’t make it to midnight on New Year's Eve. READ MORE

New Year's Countdown Party

Midtown West–FREE
Saturday, December 30
Grammy-nominated music artist Fyütch pops into the library to perform high-energy songs about social justice and environmental health with affirming chants and dances. READ MORE

Hibernation Hike

Kingsbridge, Bronx–FREE
Saturday, December 30
Hundreds of animal species spend their winters in New York City parks. Learn how animals such as birds, squirrels, chipmunks, reptiles, and others survive the cold and the snow in this educational wildlife-viewing adventure.  READ MORE

Celebrate Kwanzaa

Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Through Saturday, December 30
Brooklyn Children’s Museum's 17th annual Kwanzaa celebration invites families to explore the seven principles of Kwanzaa through interactive workshops, dynamic live performances, and engaging art projects that honor heritage, community, and culture. READ MORE

New Year's Eve Extravaganza at the Children's Museum of Manhattan

Upper West Side
Through Sunday, December 31
New Year’s Eve is all day long at CMOM! Ring in 2024 in style by wearing wacky hats of your own design and making some noise with your own New Year’s noise makers!   READ MORE

Noon Year’s Eve Dance Party

Snug Harbor, Staten Island
Sunday, December 31
The Staten Island Children’s Museum hosts its very own special Noon Year’s Eve dance party, complete with party favors and a special countdown! Get your groove on to celebrate the coming new year.    READ MORE

Prehistoric New York

Inwood–FREE
Sunday, December 31
Spend New Year's Eve afternoon going back in time, instead of forward! The Urban Park Rangers lead families on a hike through Inwood Hill Park, discussing the lay of the land in prehistoric times. Learn more about which prehistoric species may have been found in this area during different periods. READ MORE

Central Park New Year's Eve Fireworks

Central Park
Sunday, December 31
Central Park's 15-minute-long New Year's Eve fireworks take flight at the stroke of midnight. The show, put on in conjunction with the NYRR Midnight Run, is visible to the general public south of 72nd Street. READ MORE

Prospect Park's New Year's Eve Fireworks

Prospect Park, Brooklyn–FREE
Sunday, December 31
Brooklyn's most spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks celebration returns to Prospect Park's iconic Grand Army Plaza. Quintessential Playlist provides a live concert before the fireworks. READ MORE

New Year's Eve Ball Drop

City Island, Bronx–FREE
Sunday, December 31
The City Island Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Harlem Yacht Club, presents a New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, welcoming 2024 and overlooking the water!    READ MORE

Noon Year's Eve Slime Drop

Soho
Sunday and Monday, December 31-January 1, 2024
Sloomoo Institute—Soho's museum of slime—invites visitors to celebrate the new year with slime drops at noon on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. While you're there, walk over 350 gallons of slime in Lake Sloomoo, craft a custom slime of your own, ane enjoy the rest of the interactive fun. READ MORE

First Day Hike

Charleston, Staten Island–FREE
Monday, January 1, 2024
Start the year off on the right foot with a 2-mile hike on Clay Pit Ponds trails. Register in advance online.  READ MORE

120th Annual Coney Island Polar Bear Club Plunge

Coney Island, Brooklyn – FREE
Monday, January 1, 2024
The Coney Island Polar Bear Club hosts its annual New Year's Day swim in the frigid Atlantic. A $25 suggested donation benefits local Coney Island organizations, including the NY Aquarium and the Alliance for Coney Island. READ MORE

Celebrate the Holidays at PaleyLand: Three Kings Day

Midtown West
Through Sunday, January 7, 2024
Celebrate the end of the holiday season with Three Kings Day festivities at The Paley Museum. Limited gifts to the first children who arrive; souvenir photos with the Three Wise Men; screenings include Dora Saves Three Kings Day; 5 floors of winter wonderland and photo ops; art & crafts activities; free cocoa, and more!  READ MORE

MulchFest 2024

Multiple Locations–FREE
Through Sunday, January 7, 2024
Bring your holiday tree to Mulchfest to be recycled into mulch to nourish plantings in the parks all year long! You can watch your tree devolve and evolve in person! READ MORE

Trolls x CAMP

Flatiron
Through Saturday, April 27, 2024
Step into the joyful, rainbow-colored world of Trolls for a one-of-a-kind musical adventure at Trolls x CAMP. Play and explore in Bergen Town, Vacay Island, and Pop Village —all your favorite locations from the Trolls movies brought to life! It all culminates with a wild, interactive car chase and a live Trollpop concert . READ MORE

Places featured in this article:

Charybdis Playground in Astoria Park
Inwood Hill Park - Payson Center
Museum of the City of New York
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL)
Van Cortlandt Park Nature Center
Prospect Park (at Grand Army Plaza)