Netflix Features a New Year’s Eve Countdown Collection for Kids, but There’s a Catch

The Gist:

• If you're looking to ring in the new year with your little ones, Netflix features a countdown on 12/31.
• The New Year's Countdown Collection for kids is not available on an ad-supported plan due to licensing restrictions, according to Netflix.
• Fortunately, Netflix hosts a few New Year's Eve kid countdowns that aren't specific to any year.

When you were younger, long before you had kids, New Year's Eve might have been the night of the year for you to go out and let loose. These days, things are a bit different. You have kids, there's been a pandemic, there are other illnesses going around — it's a whole thing. Luckily, you can still party like it's 1999 even though you have kids who want to party with you. Enter the Netflix New Year's Eve countdowns.

There used to be a ton of kids's shows on Netflix that had countdowns your kids could do any time of the day on New Year's Eve. This made it possible for you to enjoy a countdown with your little ones and then reserve the evening for a few hours spent reminiscing about the *before* time and chugging champagne. But after 2019, the streaming platform scaled back on its countdowns, and now parents are confused about where the heck they are. Fortunately, we've got some answers!

In the past, Netflix rolled out New Year's Eve countdowns for kids and family shows like Fuller House, Boss Baby: Back in Business, and Pinky Malinky.

Right now, Netflix lists just two shows that have countdowns you can check out, Skylanders Academy New Year's Eve Countdown and Starbeam: Beaming in the New Year. However, that could change closer to Dec. 31.

It's also worth mentioning that Netflix does have a New Year's Eve Countdown Collection available for kids, though it is unavailable on an ad-supported plan due to licensing restrictions, per the streamer.

There isn't a clear reason why Netflix stopped listing countdowns for New Year's Eve for kids, and even though there are a few options left, it seems that they have seriously scaled back their offerings. Parents took to Twitter back in 2020 to ask where they were after the myriad of options in 2019.

If you're really in a crunch, there are a few countdown videos on YouTube that should do the trick. They just won't be hosted by your kids' favorite characters.

Another way to ring in the new year a little earlier than midnight is with a Noon Year's Eve celebration. It's exactly what it sounds like. You wait until 30 seconds before 12 p.m. on New Year's Eve and do a standard countdown with your kids. Feel free to dress up for the occasion and even treat the event like a full-blown New Year's Eve party.

But it all ends in time for you to enjoy a midday nap before the adult celebration in the evening. It's honestly a win-win situation. Sure, you might be completely exhausted by New Year's Day. However, it will kind of be worth it since your kids will get their own celebration without staying up well past their bedtime.

Everyone loves a good Christmas movie. Add in some romance and it's even better. But what about New Year's Eve movies? They often take a backseat to holiday movies about celebrating with loved ones and falling for an unexpected soulmate. Although there aren't many New Year's Eve movies on the streaming platform, they do exist elsewhere.

Like New Year's Eve, which has a collection of intertwining stories and a star-studded cast. Or About Fate, which follows a couple who meet and fall in love on New Year's Eve (despite having other people as their holiday dates).

But before you do any of that, if you want to ensure an evening of satisfied kids, you'll want to do a countdown with them first. Even if Netflix might have let you down this year.