Once your kids wave goodbye to Christmas it can leave them (and you!) in a little bit of funk. It's always sad to see Christmas go, but there is always New Year's Eve! The midnight hour may not be very kid-friendly, but you can still give them a reason to look forward to the holiday. Prepare the hot chocolate, crank up the holiday tunes, and give these ideas a try.
Make a Time Capsule – This is a really neat idea if you are even the slightest bit sentimental. You can sit down with your kids and fill out a fun survey with questions such as: What is your favorite food right now? Who is your best friend? What is your favorite thing you did this year? Put a current picture of your children along with their surveys in a box and pull it out every year. Answer the same questions each year. Years down the road it will be fun to see how much has changed, and to reflect on various stages of your kids' lives.
Brainstorm – Going along with getting together as a family, the simplest thing you can do is talk about the year that is fast approaching. Make some of your kids' favorite snacks and hang out together with a big poster board to write any and every thing you want to do in the next year. This can range from small things like seeing a certain movie, to bigger dreams like a hopeful vacation. Since you are all having to leave Christmas behind, this can give you some much-needed targets to look forward to.
Join with Friends – Remember all those friends that you used to spend New Year's Eve with before you had kids? If you are all in the same parenting boat there's no reason why you still can't get together to celebrate the new year! If you're up for company (and a little chaos!), invite them all over with their kids and have a spontaneous New Year's Eve celebration. Tell your friends to bring pajamas for the kids and set up movies, popcorn, and sleeping bags for the little ones so that everyone can stay as late as possible.
If your kids are young and you aren't really sure how to involve them in the thrill of New Year's, it doesn't have to be complicated. Mark the holiday by spending time together, and you'll hopefully make it a little bit easier for them to move on from Christmas.
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