How To Trick Your Kids Into Thinking It's Really Midnight (And Bedtime) On New Year's Eve

The holidays with small children are a magical time. There's something wonderful about seeing a big Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas lights, and Hanukkah candles through the eyes of a child. But some holidays are a little easier to get through with kids than others. And when part of the holiday means staying up really, really late, it can have disastrous consequences for young families. Oh yeah, we're talking about New Year's Eve.

Luckily, there are ways to circumvent the evil hour of 12 a.m. for young children. The old-school way to trick kids who can't read clocks yet is, well, to simply tell them it's midnight. Then, you break out the noisemakers, sparklers, and confetti and no one will ever know the difference. For slightly older (or more clever) children, you can just set the clock ahead a few hours so it really can strike the hour of midnight, even if it's only 9 p.m.

However, the absolute best (and easiest) way to trick your little ones into believing that it's midnight is with the use of a nifty countdown courtesy of Netflix.

Netflix first introduced its countdowns in 2014. Using its own original TV show All Hail King Julien, the three-minute short featured a little storyline about it finally being time to welcome the new year. It ended with a 10-second countdown to "midnight," confetti, and a dance party.

This year, parents will have a slew of Netflix countdowns to choose from to get the kiddos to bed on time. According to USA Today, All Hail King Julien, Beat Bugs, Chasing Cameron, Fuller House, Luna Petunia, Project Mc2, Puffin Rock, Skylanders Academy, Trollhunters, and Word Party will all have countdowns to ring in 2017... on your own schedule.