Children celebrated the new year early on Tuesday with fun, games and the Suffolk Public Library’s very own ‘Noon Year’ balloon drop for youngsters.

Parents brought their children to the North Suffolk Library and Morgan Memorial Library branches on Tuesday for Noon Year’s Eve — a party that lets children join in the New Year’s Eve fun well before their bedtime.

The party culminated at both Suffolk Public Library branches with a balloon drop at the stroke of noon. Children at the Noon Year’s Eve party in North Suffolk crowded together in the children’s area cheering, laughing and leaping as the balloons fell.

The children went home with smiles on their tiny faces, holding brightly colored balloons in their tiny hands.

“I felt that went really well,” Mary DuBose, youth and family services library coordinator, said about the balloon drop at the North Suffolk Library. “I wasn’t expecting the kids to be that crowded together, but they were so excited, and seeing how excited they were was really great.”

DuBose coordinated the Noon Year’s Eve parties this year with fellow Youth and Family Services Library Coordinator Jane Gagne, who was at the Morgan Memorial Library party on Tuesday.

According to DuBose, there were about 150 people that attended Noon Year’s at the North Suffolk Library’s. Children danced and enjoyed pretzels, popcorn and other snacks, and parents got photos with their little ones to celebrate 2020.

There were also plenty of arts and crafts to get everyone Noon Year-ready.

“The kids seemed like they had a lot of fun with it,” DuBose said about the crafts, including noisemakers and party hats they colored themselves. “I saw quite a few of the adults even wearing some of the party hats that the kids had made, which was really cute.”

DuBose said that Noon Year’s Eve is a great opportunity for parents to include their children in New Year’s Eve, without having them stay up until midnight and mess with their bedtimes.

“They want them to feel a part of it, and having something that they can do with their kids earlier in the day, so that way the kids feel included and that way they feel like they got to do something,” she said. “They get excited and get to be a part of a big party and stuff. It’s really, really fun for them, and really great.”

Suffolk resident Marquetta Murray found out about the event on Facebook, and brought her children to enjoy the fun at the North Suffolk Library on Tuesday.

“I think it’s nice. It’s a nice turnout, and it’s something good for the community. It’s a safe place,” Murray said as her daughter Kamiya, 4, made a noisemaker.

Janet Stamp brought her grandchildren Jaxson Stamp, 6, and Railyn Stamp, 8, to the Noon Year’s Eve party in North Suffolk. She said that whenever her grandchildren come and visit from North Carolina, they end up having fun at the Suffolk Public Library.

“Every time they visit, we find library activities that are just amazing,” she said. “We have a lot of fun. They’re very generous with their activities and the things they give to the kids.”