The New Year is a wonderful time to celebrate fresh beginnings, big feelings, and lots of excitement—especially for little ones! While midnight countdowns and fireworks may be too much for tiny ears, music is a perfect way to help children understand and enjoy this special time of year in a fun, age-appropriate way.
Whether you’re celebrating at home, in the classroom, or during a music class, New Year’s songs for kids can help reinforce important concepts like counting, routines, reflection, and looking ahead with joy.
Here are some favorite New Year–themed songs and musical ideas that are perfect for young children.
🎶 1. “Happy New Year” by Simple Songs for Kids
This joyful “Happy New Year” song from Simple Songs for Kids is a great way to introduce the idea of welcoming a brand-new year.
Try this:
If you have a class or group of kids, pretend you are a marching band and break out the instruments to play along!
🎶 2. “Auld Lang Syne” – Traditional
While the traditional lyrics are a bit complex for younger kids, children can still experience this classic New Year song through:
- Active listening
- Movement with scarves
- Gentle humming along
It’s a beautiful way to introduce tradition and musical mood without overwhelming little listeners.
🎶 3. “Happy New Year” by Freebird Music Studios
This original New Year’s song for kids is written by yours truly! This is a simple, repetitive song (repetition is so great for language development in young children!) about the brand new year and all the things that we can look forward to what the new year brings!
I’ve also put together some fun and simple actions that can be used for this song. Actions are a great way to help reinforce language learning and encourage motor skills. These actions also have the benefit of being (mostly) based on sign language.
🎶 4. “Ring the Bells” – Traditional/Unknown
This simple song is sung to the tune of “Row Row Row Your Boat” and it would be super fun to integrate using shakers or bells to sing along with this familiar tune!
Lyrics:
Ring ring ring the bells,
Ring them loud and clear.
Let’s tell everyone around
That the New Year is here!
🎶 5. “Let’s Celebrate” – Traditional/Unknown
This is another simple song that is sung to the familiar tune “Frere Jaques”. Singing the same melody with different lyrics helps kids learn because the familiar tune provides a strong memory hook, making it easier to grasp new words, patterns, and concepts, boosting literacy, math skills, and cognitive flexibility through repetition, which is comforting and builds brain pathways for complex information!
Lyrics:
Happy New Year, Happy New Year.
Let’s celebrate, let’s celebrate.
Good-bye to the old year;
Hello to the new year.
Hurray, hurray! Hurray, hurray!
Make It Musical, Make It Magical ✨
You don’t need big parties or fireworks to make the New Year special for kids. A few songs, some movement, and shared musical moments are more than enough to create lasting memories.
So grab a shaker, sing a familiar tune, and celebrate a brand-new year filled with music, growth, and fun!
Happy New Year to you and your family from Freebird Music Studios! Wishing you all a year full of peace, love, joy and of course, music!
Freebird Music Studios 
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