GUIDE
Our preschoolers can't stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve. How do we still give them a real countdown?
By the seenow! teamLast updated:
Count down to a midnight that is really happening somewhere, just earlier. On December 31, midnight UTC is 7 p.m. Eastern and 4 p.m. Pacific, and East Coast midnight is 9 p.m. in California. Pick the one that lands before bedtime and call the relatives who live there.
WHY
Why this happens
For a three- or four-year-old, midnight is not a party. It is several hours past bedtime, and the child who is kept up for it usually spends the last hour melting down on the couch. Many parents end up choosing between a tired, teary countdown and skipping the countdown entirely.
The good news is that the countdown itself is what kids remember: everyone shouting the numbers together, the noise, the hugs. Preschoolers do not check the clock. What makes a countdown feel real to them is that the grown-ups treat it as real, and that something actually happens at zero.
Time zones give you a way to do that honestly. The U.S. Naval Observatory lists nine time zones in the United States, from Atlantic time four hours behind UTC to Chamorro time ten hours ahead. Somewhere a new year starts every hour of the evening. If you have family in another zone, or even friends abroad, an earlier midnight is not a trick. It is their actual New Year, and you are joining it.
| Midnight in... | Eastern clock | Central clock | Pacific clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chamorro time (UTC+10) | 9:00 a.m. Dec 31 | 8:00 a.m. Dec 31 | 6:00 a.m. Dec 31 |
| UTC (0) | 7:00 p.m. Dec 31 | 6:00 p.m. Dec 31 | 4:00 p.m. Dec 31 |
| Atlantic time (UTC-4) | 11:00 p.m. Dec 31 | 10:00 p.m. Dec 31 | 8:00 p.m. Dec 31 |
| Eastern time (UTC-5) | 12:00 a.m. Jan 1 | 11:00 p.m. Dec 31 | 9:00 p.m. Dec 31 |
| Central time (UTC-6) | 1:00 a.m. Jan 1 | 12:00 a.m. Jan 1 | 10:00 p.m. Dec 31 |
| Pacific time (UTC-8) | 3:00 a.m. Jan 1 | 2:00 a.m. Jan 1 | 12:00 a.m. Jan 1 |
Source: U.S. Naval Observatory: Time Zones and Daylight Time in the United States
The table shows why this works best for families in the middle and west of the country. In Pacific time, the East Coast's midnight comes at 9 p.m., and midnight UTC comes at 4 p.m., before dinner. On the East Coast the choices are fewer, but a 7 p.m. countdown with midnight UTC still fits most bedtimes.
HOW TO
What you can do starting today
Choose your midnight from where your family livesNo app needed
Look at where your relatives or friends are and find the midnight that falls an hour or so before your kids' bedtime. A family in Denver with grandparents in Ohio can count down at 10 p.m. Mountain time, when it is midnight in Ohio. A family in Seattle can use New York's midnight at 9 p.m. If no one you know lives in an earlier zone, midnight UTC, the time used as the base for every zone, is a fine stand-in: 7 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Central, 5 p.m. Mountain, 4 p.m. Pacific.
Source: U.S. Naval Observatory: Time Zones and Daylight Time in the United States
Call the people whose midnight it isNo app needed
A countdown with the actual people who are crossing into the new year makes it real. Arrange a short video call with the grandparents, an aunt or an old friend a few minutes before their midnight, and count the last ten seconds together. Keep it short. The point is the shared "Happy New Year!", not a long chat, and your relatives have their own evening going on.
Make zero loud and visibleNo app needed
Something has to happen at zero. Balloons released from a sheet taped to a doorway, pots and spoons, a "ball" made from a flashlight lowered down a string, or confetti made from paper scraps all work. Let each child have a job, such as holding the noisemaker or flipping the lights. Tell them honestly what you are doing: "It's midnight in Grandma's town, so we're celebrating with her."
Plan the day around the evening, not the other way aroundNo app needed
New Year's Eve 2026 falls on a Thursday, and New Year's Day, Friday, January 1, 2027, is a federal holiday. If you and your kids both get the day off, there is no need to push bedtime to make the night special. Put the effort into the hour before your chosen midnight: a special dinner, pajamas, a short list of "best things this year" from each child. Then the countdown, then bed on time.
Source: U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Federal Holidays
WITH SEENOW!
Doing it with seenow!
seenow! is a family app where everyone in a private group takes a short video, about 2 seconds a day, and sees each other's clips. It does not replace the live countdown call, but it is a simple way to share the evening with relatives in other zones.
- Take a 2-second clip with the seenow! camera right at your zero, the confetti or the shouting. Relatives who celebrate later, or who have already gone to bed, see it when they open the app.
- If the grandparents on each side live in different zones, you can keep a separate group for each side of the family and post the evening in both.
- That day's clips from everyone unlock once you post your own, so on January 1 each household can see how the others celebrated, whatever time their midnight came. The weekly recap video then keeps the evening with the rest of the week.
What seenow! can’t do
- seenow! does not make video calls, so use a regular call for the shared countdown.
- It does not show time zones or countdown timers. Use the table above or your phone's world clock to find your midnight.
Core features are free.
POINT
Things to watch for in this situation
Check the other household's plans first
Midnight is a busy minute for the people actually having it. Ask ahead whether a 30-second call at their midnight works, or whether they would rather you call a few minutes before. Some relatives will be out or asleep themselves.
Older siblings may want the real one
If you have a school-age child who wants to see your own midnight, you can do both: the early countdown with the little ones, then a quieter one later for whoever is still awake. Say it plainly so nobody feels tricked.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it dishonest to celebrate before our own midnight?
Not if you tell the kids what you are doing. It is genuinely midnight in another place, and joining relatives there for their New Year is a real celebration. A simple "we're celebrating with Grandma's town" is the whole explanation a preschooler needs.
Does daylight saving time change the times in the table?
No. Daylight saving time ends in early November, so on December 31 all of the zones are on standard time, and the offsets the U.S. Naval Observatory lists for standard time apply.
We live on the East Coast. What are our options?
Midnight UTC comes at 7 p.m. Eastern, and midnight in Atlantic time comes at 11 p.m. For most preschoolers the 7 p.m. countdown is the one that fits. If you have relatives in Europe or farther east, their midnight comes even earlier in the day.