Celebrate New Year's Eve early in the day:
Why wait till midnight? Countdown to noon with the kids and enjoy New Year's fanfare at:
• Brandywine Zoo, Wilmington, DE
• Bucks County Children's Museum, New Hope
• Garden State Discovery Museum, Cherry Hill, NJ
• The Little Treehouse, Phila.
• O'Doodles Toy Store, Phila.
• Please Touch Museum, Phila.
• South County branch of the Camden County, NJ library, Winslow Township, NJ
• Trout Fishing in America family concert at World Café Live at The Queen, Wilmington, DE
New Year's Eve crafts for kids:
Kids can learn how to make their own New Year's noisemakers for free at Lakeshore Learning stores in King of Prussia, PA and Cherry Hill, NJ. At the Delaware Children’s Museum in Wilmington, DE, kids can make party eyeglasses & glittery crowns.
Where to watch Philly fireworks:
Fireworks light up the sky above the Delaware River near Penn’s Landing at 6pm & midnight. Watch them from the BlueCross RiverRink or the Independence Seaport Museum on the PA side of the river, or at the Battleship New Jersey in Camden, NJ. (Adventure Aquarium also hosts a party for ages 21+ only.) Before the 6pm fireworks, Franklin Square hosts a countdown and, in keeping with the park’s name, the dropping of a “square” instead of a ball.
More fireworks displays:
Fireworks are set off at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA and Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA at 6pm. Both places feature party festivities leading up to the displays. In the Lehigh Valley, an 8pm fireworks display at The Crayola Factory in Easton, PA coincides with a Crayola crayon drop. At midnight, a giant marshmallow-inspired PEEPS Chick drops in Bethlehem, PA, followed by fireworks.
New Year's Eve family parties:
During the day, Betsy's Birthday Bash at the Betsy Ross House in Phila. celebrates the 260th birthday of the flagmaker with birthday cake and New Year's noisemakers. Also in Philadelphia, the National Constitution Center hosts programs that explain the history behind popular New Year's traditions like "Auld Lang Syne" and the Times Square ball drop.
Sahara Sam’s Oasis Indoor Water Park in West Berlin, NJ rings in 2012 with a midnight countdown and a foam party. The festivities start at 7pm at this ticketed family event.
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Stephanie Halinski is calendar editor of MetroKids.
