New Years’ Ideas
New Years’ is a great family occasion! Every family can do it their own way!
1. Noise!
I grew up with the tradition of joyfully welcoming in the New Year, with hugs and greetings to each other. “Happy New Year!” the whole family would shout, at the top of their lungs out the front door, banging pots and pans and pie tins. That five minutes of noise was not enough for any neighbor to ever complain about, for the joy it brought.
2. Building Graham Cracker Houses
Our family decided that a fun way to fill the time waiting for the clock to strike twelve to usher in the New Year. They would pair up, and build “candy houses” out of graham crackers and stiff frosting! Starting with a flat cardboard square covered in aluminum foil, we fashioned their houses (or cars or tanks or etc), with Daddy Mark as the chief engineer. Candy saved from Halloween served as decoration on top or beside the structure. As the children grew older, we included a friend or two and later, cousins who had joined us for the holiday, and divided up into teams to work together. My job was to keep butter dishes filled with frosting, clear away the wrappers (and extra candy), and take pictures of everyone’s creation. The finished masterpieces adorned the sideboard, one of which became desert for each of the next nights and were then thrown away. Or, one was gifted to a friend! (I liked that idea best!)
3. Special Foods
My parents lived back East for a year, so I grew up with the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of eating pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day to ensure a prosperous new year. When I married, however, our family didn’t care for pork, so we came up with an original tradition. We introduced her family to sauerkraut, by making Reuben Sandwiches, which contain corned beef, swiss cheese, salsa, and sauerkraut. It was a fun, new dinner to look forward to once a year.
My Favorite Idea:
4. A Family Dance
Our family loves to dance together! All ages can dance and there are so many varieties of dances to try: line dances, partner dances, an easy swing, even a square dance! My sister came up with a flash drive full of fun dance music for her family to dance to. One year, my daughter enlisted a friend to teach our family a Regency Style dance, straight from Pride and Prejudice era dancing.
Waiting for the New Year is a great time to Dance. Our Stake often sponsors a Family Dance from 7 to 9 on New Year’s Eve. Every family is invited to bring a snack to share, and balloons are simple and fun decorations. A DJ provides all different types of dancing for young and old.
But even if there is not an organized dance, we can still dance! We move some couches back and turn on some music. The kids love to see Mark and I dance together (and do a twirl or steal a kiss to show how much we love each other)! A little one can dance being held in a bigger one’s arms. Teenagers can teach the family a new step or a current line dance they know. Anything goes in a fun “Mosh Pit!” Laughter usually abounds!
5. A List
One night near New Years at the dinner table, we like to make a list of all the great things that happened during the past year. This is an exercise in talking over happy times and realizing the Lord’s blessings to our family. Another time, we will help our young children get out their journals and draw pictures of the fun times, then tell about them as she write down the words. It is a fun record of happy memories, cemented in their minds.
What does your family do on New Years’ Eve or New Years’ Day?
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