Hi Rachel, and welcome!
Planets can be hard to spot at times, Many of us use a computer program called Stellarium to locate objects, and the planets are pretty easy to locate using it. Generally, planets are a bit brighter than the surrounding stars, and they don't appear to 'twinkle' as stars do when they're close to the horizon.
The best thing is to get to know your consellations, either through books or programs like Stellarium and with a bit of practice you'll be able to spot anything out of place.
The inner planets like Mercury and Venus are only seen around sunrise and sunset, depending on the position of the planet, but I don't think either are around at the moment. Also,
beware: these two are often close to the sun, always make sure the sun has fully set before going looking at these, because if you accidentally hit the sun when youre searching for them, it could result in instant permanent blindness.
Jupiter is pretty easy to spot at the moment, it's pretty bright, rising in the east at about midnight. You should be able to spot several moons and some banding on the surface. Also Saturn can still be seen low in the west, but it sets at about 10pm. Nothing beats looking at Saturn for the first time through a scope, something most of will always remember
Davin