Kids and their families ring in the 'noon' year with balloons

Allie Del Villar and her husband Luis Del Villar took their 7-month old boy Magnus to the Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum in Albuquerque Sunday to ring in Magnus’ first new year.

“We thought he would be into the balloons,” she said, adding they were hopeful “he’s in bed way before midnight.”

The event is the first of many the Del Villars hope to celebrate with their son in 2024 and beyond.

Luis said their new year’s resolution is to “experience everything new with him.”

The Del Villars were three of about 1,200 people to come to the museum’s “Noon Year’s Eve” party, an event that allowed people with kids to celebrate the new year 12 hours earlier than most did in the city.

“That’s why we came out,” parent Bernadette Barnes said, adding that there are not many New Year’s events for kids.

Explora Communications and Marketing Manager Amythyst Marciano said the event is “something that we love to offer.”

‘It’s about all of us’

At 11:59:50, the “Noon Year’s” countdown began.

Ten...nine...eight...

Parents and guardians carried their little ones — some wearing cone-shaped Explora hats — in their arms or held their hands as they prepared for the magical moment.

A few seconds later, the clock hit 12 p.m. and 2,024 colorful balloons descended into the crowd standing around a staircase. People blew their New Year’s noise makers, hugged and kissed their kids and other relatives, and sipped cups of water and juice.

Laura Talento, a Chicago resident who came to Albuquerque with her husband and two kids to visit family, said Sunday was a different way to kick off the new year. It’s fun to have something catered toward the kids, she said as her 1-year-old son Evan Talento played an instrument called the “Melody Maker” before the balloon drop.

For parents like Laura and the Del Villars, New Year’s is not an event to just celebrate by themselves or with a spouse anymore.

“It’s about all of us,” Laura said.