New Year’s Eve in Dallas for families and kids

If the kiddos can’t stay awake till midnight for a New Year’s Eve ball drop consider a New Year’s countdown to noon or an array of wonderful family options this New Year’s holiday.

Included on this list are:

Sci-Tech Discovery Center
Dallas Zoo Lights Presented by Reliant
Trains at NorthPark
Prairie Lights – Grand Prairie
Sundance Square in Fort Worth
Day 1 Dallas at Fair Park
Holiday at the Arboretum
Lone Star Christmas at the Gaylord Texan
Reunion Tower NYE

Enjoy the Castlebuilder exhibit at the Sci-Tech Discovery Center in Frisco also going on with Countdown to Noon.

The Sci-Tech Discovery Center in Frisco has their countdown to noon going on December 31, New Year’s Eve. little scientists and parents are welcome to attend the special “Countdown to Noon,” which includes hands-on science activities, planetarium shows, face painting, a balloon drop at noon and much more. The event will be jammed packed with interactive science activities as Sci-Tech and its guests prepare to celebrate 2017 early on December 31 for the little scientists and their families.

Activities include:

StarLab Planetarium shows
Demo: How to make Liquid Nitrogen ice cream (and samples!)
Explosive stage shows educating guests about fireworks’ chemical reactions, sonic boom and combustion
Interactive science activities
Face painting and balloon twisting
A ball and balloon drop at noon

Admission: $5/member and $10/non-member in advance or $6/member and $12/non-member on event day at the door

Purchase tickets here. Event is for Saturday, December 31, 2016 Doors open at 9:30 a.m.; activities take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Sci-Tech Discovery Center is located at 8004 North Dallas Parkway, Frisco, TX 75034

The Dallas Zoo will have their Dallas Zoo Lights Presented by Reliant on December 31 from 5 pm to 9 pm. The special event will continue until January 2, 2018.

Built along a path that covers 25 acres within the Zoo (in ZooNorth; Wilds of Africa is closed during Dallas Zoo Lights).
Features more than 400 light-wrapped trees, along with overhead and hanging light displays, and more than 430 lighted 2-D decorations.
Dallas is 1 of only 2 locations in the U.S. to showcase fantastic 3-D lighted scupltures hand-built in France.
One-of-a-kind tree in our Lacerte Family Children’s Zoo covered in sound-reactive holiday lights.

The Trains at NorthPark will still be running until January 7th so feel free to head over and see this wonderful exhibit that is great for the whole family. Read more about it on the blog.

The Trains at NorthPark Center is a Holiday Tradition (credit: NorthPark Center)

Other holiday events are still going on until December 31 like Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie. With 4 million lights it’s a drive through experience that will be fun for the kids to ring in the New Year. They are located at 5610 Lake Ridge Pkwy, Grand Prairie, TX 75052

If you are venturing out to Fort Worth head down to Sundance Square for midnight. The weather should be perfect to be outstide. The New Year’s Eve Party at Sundance Square begins at 10:30 PM with drinks, food, and music from The Hunter Sullivan Band. This is a free event. No pets, coolers, outside food or beverages, or chairs allowed.

One of the biggest family friendly New Year’s events in Dallas will be Day One Dallas. Featuring many activities for families Subway is the sponsor at this event at Fair Park.

Day 1 Dallas will offer activities that kids of all ages will love, including:

• 360 degree, immersive firework show set to popular kid’s music
• A Lego area with Big Bricks, 3D, Mosaics & Robotics PLUS creations from the DFW Lego Users Group
• Circus training by the Circus Freaks
• Inflatable bounce houses and an exciting zip line
• Performances by magician/mentalist Grant Price
• Live outdoor music performances by local acts
• Cardboard construction area
• Arts and crafts stations

Day 1 Dallas supports Vogel Alcove, a non profit that provides services to Dallas’ homeless children. Most of the activities fro Day 1 Dallas will take place indoors, so families can play whatever the weather brings! Check out more at day1dallas.com

Also remember Holiday at the Arboretum along with the 12 Days of Christmas is still going on at the Dallas Arboretum until January 7th. With 12 elaborate 25-foot-tall Victorian gazebos displayed in the 66-acre-garden, they are filled with the charming costumed characters, whimsical animals and winter scenes made famous by the beloved Christmas carol. Each gazebo is encased in glass and extravagantly decorated on all sides to provide a dramatic, three-dimensional experience that adds to the “music box” quality. Daytime admission and parking rates apply.

Lone Star Christmas is still going on until January 1 at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine. Featuring two million twinkling lights as well as ICE! (separate admission) there is an array of activities you can enjoy at this resort where everything is bigger in Texas.

Reunion Tower NYE – The AT&T Streaming Lights at Reunion Tower NYE 2017. You’ll be able to see the festivities in person, over the air, on television or via social media. Reunion Tower and Hunt Realty are collaborating with AT&T to bring a Texas-sized
New Year’s Eve event to Dallas, AT&T Streaming Lights at Reunion Tower. For the second year, the only 360-degree, panoramic fireworks spectacular in the Central time zone will light up the Dallas sky starting at 11:59 p.m. CDT on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017.Attend a watch party or scout out the best vantage points on the west side of the Trinity River, along the levees and Trinity Overlook Park.