Roughly 100 children and parents gathered at the Soldotna Public Library to mark the coming of 2025 at the Ninth Annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party on Tuesday.

As noon loomed, Kim McMilin led the gathered children through a story time program with songs and a reading of Natasha Wing’s “The Night Before New Year’s” — a spin on “Twas the Night Before Christmas” that replaced the anticipated arrival of Santa Claus with that of the new year.

The group also covered New Year’s resolutions, described by a young girl as “when you’re going to try to do something, like a goal.”

With noon only minutes away, each attendee crafted their own confetti popper by taping a balloon to a small cardboard tube and then filling it with colorful scraps of paper. A countdown from 10 portended the fall of dozens of balloons and the sudden appearance of confetti in the air.

For more information, find “Soldotna Public Library” on Facebook.

Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.

Children play with confetti and balloons during the Ninth Annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)