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New Year's Eve: Netflix offers fake midnight countdown for parents keen to get kids to bed

An animated three-minute countdown 'special' can be streamed early

Jamie Merrill
Wednesday 31 December 2014 01:13 GMT
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King Julien will countdown to the New Year on Netflix
King Julien will countdown to the New Year on Netflix

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It’s a challenge surpassed only by Christmas Eve, but parents trying to get their youngsters to bed at a respectable hour tonight could find the tussle a bit easier thanks to a fake New Year countdown.

Netflix is offering an unconventional solution to over-tired children with an on-demand New Year’s show starring King Julien, the star of DreamWorks Animation’s All Hail King Julien.

The animated ring-tailed lemur is hosting a three-minute child-friendly countdown “special” on the entertainment streaming website, which harried parents can play earlier in the evening to trick their offspring into believing that midnight has come and gone.

The initiative from the US entertainment website is particularly well timed as it follows research from the Post Office which shows nearly two-thirds of families are planning to celebrate the New Year in the comfort of their own home.

According to the survey by Post Office Home Insurance nearly 31 million people are expected to have a night in tonight, rather than venturing outside to celebrate.

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