1. Fireworks over the city
Bursts of several kinds over a row of rooftops with lit windows.
Free printable · Color online
New Year’s coloring pages
Six pages for New Year’s Eve and the first quiet days of January: two skies of fireworks over a city skyline, the year 2027 in big patterned numerals, a clock two minutes before midnight, two glasses raised in a toast, and a bunch of balloons.
Print them for the table on the night, or color them on screen while you wait for midnight.
Each page prints on one sheet of US letter paper. Under every page are buttons to print just that one, to color it on screen, or to save it as a picture.
2. Fireworks in bold lines
Larger bursts with fewer rays, for markers.
3. 2027 in patterned numerals
The new year in block numerals banded with stars, dots and zigzags, with fireworks above and streamers below.
4. Clock before midnight
A clock face at two minutes to twelve, ringed with scallops and beads.
5. A toast
Two tall glasses touching, full of bubbles, under a sky of stars.
6. Balloons
Six balloons with patterned skins, strings gathered into a bow.
Midnight traditions
In the United States the best-known countdown is in Times Square, New York, where a lit ball has been lowered down a flagpole at midnight since the celebration that welcomed 1908. The idea was borrowed from “time balls,” which ports once dropped at a set hour each day so that ships’ navigators could set their clocks.
The song most people sing a line or two of at midnight is “Auld Lang Syne.” The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote the words down in 1788, partly from an older folk song, and the title means roughly “old long since,” or “for old times’ sake.” Fireworks at the turn of the year are older than either custom.
The history of the Times Square ball is told by the Times Square Alliance.
Color ideas for these pages
Fireworks look brightest against a dark sky. Color the page background first in deep blue or black, then use your lightest, warmest pencils for the bursts: yellow at the center of each one, shading to orange, pink or green at the tips.
For the numerals, gold and silver are the obvious choice: yellow ochre with a darker brown at the edges reads as gold, and pale gray with white highlights reads as silver. The bubbles in the glasses are best left white.
Which page to start with
This set has 6 pages: 2 bold and easy and 4 medium. The quickest to finish is “Clock before midnight,” with 137 areas to color, and the longest is “Balloons,” with 446. Bold and easy pages have heavy lines and large shapes that suit markers and tired eyes; detailed pages have fine lines for sharp pencils or gel pens.
How printing, saving and coloring on screen work is explained on the coloring pages home. If you like filling shapes by number, Linseed Loft Color by Number is a free paint by number game with 74 pictures.