MEXICO — Children from ages seven to 14 are invited to an overnight New Year’s party at the River Valley Recreation Center on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, to New Year’s morning, Jan. 1.

The kids will be treated to pizza, snacks, fruit and cheese platters and a big breakfast on New Year’s morning, said party organizer Heather White.

“We get (nonalcoholic) sparkling cider in champagne flutes and (the kids) all get to do their midnight toast,” said White, who is holding the Youth New Year’s Party at the recreation center with the help of volunteers Ashley Merrill, Katy Waite, Gracie Farnum and Layla Merrill, and possibly a few more helpers.

The kids will have plenty of options for activities and games like cornhole, a whipped cream challenge, roller-skating and face painting, White said.

White is an experienced child care provider and the owner of Munchkin Manor Infant Center on Back Kingdom Road in Mexico and the Munchkin Manor Early Learning Center on Congress Street in Rumford.

She held her first New Year’s kids’ party about nine years ago, she estimates, when she and a friend held it in her home, with her own children and some of the neighborhood children. Then the next year some of her day care business’ families expressed interest in sending their children to her youth New Year’s party.

Since her home wasn’t large enough to accommodate more children, she began having the kids’ party at her day care center in Mexico and later at the center in Rumford, which had 20 children for the New Year’s party last year.

“Then I was like, oh, gosh, that’s a lot of bodies on the floor (sleeping) and not a lot of space, so we reached out to the Recreation Center this year to see if we could partner with them,” White said.

Having the New Year’s kids’ party at the Recreation Center will also allow White and her helpers to offer more openings for children from ages seven to 14, whom the party will accommodate this year.

The party’s timing with the kids’ drop-off time is from 5-6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, will make things easier for families who want to go out for the evening, White said. “We feed them snacks, we feed them dinner, and we take care of them through the whole night,” she notes, adding that she and her helpers will be awake throughout the night.

Another helpful detail for parents is that the children’s event pick-up time isn’t until 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day, so parents can enjoy some time to relax in the morning before picking up their kids.

The cost for the party event and the sleepover is $125 including a $75 deposit. For more information about the event and how to contact White see the River Valley Recreation Center and Heather White’s Facebook pages.