Creating family traditions is a great way to cultivate memories and relationships with your little ones. Check out these New Year’s traditions to start this year.

The Balloon Countdown

Countdown the hours until midnight with balloons that get popped each hour. For extra fun, write the activity you’ll do that hour on a piece of paper and roll it up and tuck it in the balloon before filling.

6pm Activity: Fondue

Make the kids responsible for coming up with the finger foods (crackers, fruit, bread, chips, etc) to go with the fondue. We suggest making one cheese and one chocolate fondue, for both sweet and salty flavors.

7pm Activity: Interviews

Take each child individually and interview them. Ask each of them the same questions, but change up the question each year to keep them guessing.

Here are a few ideas:
What is your name?
Age?
Grade and teacher?
What is your favorite animal?
Tell me the best thing about 2017?
What is something you can’t live without?
Do you want to get married one day? Who do you think you’ll marry?
What do you think it will be like to be married?
What is one thing you hope to do in 2018?

8pm Activity: Games

8 o’clock is the game hour. Some of our favorites are:

Ticket to Ride

Forbidden Island

Rory Story Cubes

Pandemic (this one’s on our wish list!)

9pm Activity: Scavenger Hunt

If you live in an apartment complex or can’t hide things outside due to weather keep everything inside. Your kids will still have a blast!

After the hunt is over, have more snacks!

10pm Activity: Movie/Campout

This is when some of our guys start to get tired, so 10pm is when we let everyone watch a movie and do a campout in the living room. If they fall out, we let them sleep. Whoever doesn’t fall out gets to finish the celebrations.

11pm Activity: Resolution Board

The movie will probably go a little past 11pm, so pop the 11 o’clock balloon whenever the movie is over. To create your Resolution Board cut words and photos out from old magazines and glue them to your board. Then talk about your board, the new year, hopes, dreams, goals, and encourage one another.

This board can then be framed and hung in the house as a reminder throughout the year.

 

Midnight Activity: Toast 

The big moment has arrived! We blow horns, toast each other with grape juice, sing a song or two, and hit the sack!

Source: Arabah Joy