Wednesday, December 30, 2009

New Year's Eve?

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas! We did - such a great time together with family, I'll share a few pix soon!

Meanwhile, I am curious about what you do to celebrate New Year's, if anything? I'm wondering what we would like to make our tradition and am not sure where to start - would love to hear your ideas!

Thanks!

53 comments:

Ginger said...

I have never been one to stay up late, so I doubt I will even see midnight. But, I make my son's favorite appetizer, pigs-in-a-blanket, and we watch a movie or two. He will be up until midnight for sure.

Sarah @ Ordinary Days said...

Growing up it was always banging pots and pans at midnight.
Now my husband, kids and I go to my in-laws for a nice dinner then play booard games and watch the New Year's shows on TV until midnight.

I remember being so excited and picking just the right pan and big spoon to bang at midnight. Maybe I should start that tradition back up with my boys this year. Thanks for helping me remember!

Annemarie said...

Hello,

I discovered your blog just recently, it sure looks good!

What I would like to do (but have never done so far) on Newyears eve is to have a photoalbum from the past year ready, so we can look through the pictures together and remeber all the good things we did that year. The reason I haven't done it yet, is that I am not organized enough to get it ready by the end of the year...

Annemarie (the Netherlands)

Mary Ann said...

Well, being the party animals that we are,(LOL!!!) we plan to stay home. It's sad but I don't know if we'll last until midnight.

We'll probably play games and eat some snacks and then try to sleep while the rednecks in our neighborhood shoot off fireworks from before midnight to dawn. haha

Melissa said...

I heard a mother say recently she lets each of her kids pick out their favorite appetizers and for dinner New Year's Eve they just eat appetizers and play games together as a family. I thought it sounded like a sweet family tradition!

asnipofgoodness said...

We always have the traditional New Years feast....pork,collards, and black eyed peas. I think it stands for health, wealth, and happiness. We always stay home, and bring in the new year quietly. Happy 2010 Monica!

Sheila said...

Every year I make a bunch of 'party food' for our New Year's Eve dinner. 'Party food' is pretty much anything small. :) I make mini-muffins, triple decker sandwiches cut into cubes and speared with a toothpick, little smokies in BBQ sauce, a fruit tray with dip, crackers with cheese on top - whatever I can think of. The only things that I usually buy especially for this are the little smokies and the ginger ale (which we drink out of wine glasses). My girls have always loved all these mini items, and it makes what may be everyday foods kind of special.

pippasmum said...

My husband is English and we celebrate what our family calls "English New Year." We are not night owls and don't like to stay up until midnight so we celebrate the New Year at 8 p.m. - when the New Year arrives for our extended family. We are still trying to shape the traditions - I like the idea of allowing the children to pick appetizers and playing games...

melissa said...

While growing up, I remember getting together with other close families. That was nice.

The last number of years we've gone to a friends' house, where we've had "junk food night" with appetizers and yep, junk food while talking and playing games.

Our friends are traveling this time around, so this year, we're having another couple over (maybe two?) and will do appetizers, talking, games. The little boys will be in bed!

Debbie Densmore said...

We have family over and celebrate together. We've all banged the pots and pans (at midnight) and my Mom who is 72 still enjoys the tradition! We've done it as children and now we're doing it with our grandchildren! Yea! Bang away and make some noise to keep our tradition going! We have party hats & blow horns for inside! It's all fun!

Anonymous said...

We do what we call "New Years in Manhattan". My children are young still, so midnight isn't an option. However, we switch several clocks forward by three hours (we live on the west coast) and celebrate at 9pm. The kids don't know the difference. We put on feathery masquerade masks, light fire crackers, serve sparkling cidar, sing the New Years song and sit around a bon fire. It's nice when I can find something inspiring to read about starting anew, too. Oswald Chambers has provided that for me in recent years.

barbara said...

We invite lots of families to join us on New Year's Eve. We eat, play games, talk and laugh a lot! At midnight, instead of watching 'the ball' or whatever it is they show on the tv, we gather in a circle, hold hands and pray in the New Year. We've had families stay as late as 4am . . .

We have 1 specific family that comes every year - they spend the night, and on New Year's Day we go sledding and play a chinese gift exchange game.

Elise said...

I like Ginger and Melissa's ideas. We really don't have a set tradition. Sometimes we go to my Mom's and sometimes stay home. I do like the idea of doing appetizers and plan to do that this year. Before my in-laws moved{in the earlier years} we would go over there and eat and watch the peach or ball drop.
Elise

Wendi said...

We rarely stay up until midnight. Sometimes we will go out for an early dinner. I am a cozy at home kind of gal so we usually stay home and watch movies, play games and have a variety of small snacks to sample. i know, boring!

We have been invited to a party this year. Chuck's cousin has an around the world party on new years. This year the theme is Turkey and everyone will bring a dish to represent that country. I thought that was a neat idea.

Unknown said...

My husband will be ringing in the new year at the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta this year. My three step-kids will be visiting their mom. So it will just be my 4 year old daughter and me. We are planning on going to Enchanted Eve (a local New Years celebration). But we will probably be home before 9pm. We will stay at my parents house that night and be asleep when the New Year rolls in :)

Brie said...

Growing up, my mom always made appetizers & non-alcoholic pina coladas that we'd enjoy while playing games and watching movies. We also were each allowed one friend to sleep over. At midnight we'd toast with a glass of sparkling cider.

Debbie Fisher (debbiedee) said...

All of our family lives in NE except one first cousin and she is a nurse in CA. We go to my cousin's (her brother) for dinner (lunch to some) and the guys watch football and they ladies stamp, create or just visit. My cousin works Christmas and then gets a few more days off so we get together on New Year's instead.

I saw this really cool time capsule idea that you might like:
Page 1: THIS TIME CAPSULE WAS PREPARED BY:
DATE:
MY AGE:
ADDRESS:
THESE ARE MY FAVORITES:
MUSIC:
MOVIES OR TV:
COLORS:
BOOKS:
GAMES:
SPORTS:
HOBBIES:
FOODS: CLASSES:
In December, 2009 this is what was happening:

In the Newspaper Headlines:
The U.S. President was:
My School was:
My Teacher was:
My Friends are:
A Postage Stamp cost: Technology:

Page 2: I DREW A PICTURE OF MY FAMILY:

THIS IS WHERE WE LIVE:

WHEN I GROW UP I WANT TO BE:

Page 3:
MY HEIGHT:
THIS IS WHAT I LOOK LIKE:

Page 4:
I’VE TRACED MY HAND AND FOOT:

Dawn said...

Our family celebrates with eating appetizers for dinner, playing games, and ringing in the New Year at 9 PM. At 9 we break out the silly string and go to town spraying each other and hooting and hollering. Oh, and I buy the kids silly hats to wear, as well as noisemakers. It's a fun night! :-)

Anonymous said...

In Norway this is the one time of the year when fireworks are allowed and absolutely everyone lets off at least a few. The pops and bangs start at about 5pm and go through the night with the main show at midnight of course! We let our fireworks off at about 8pm before putting the children to bed. We wake the oldest ones at midnight to see the rest and we have an old school handbell which we use to ring in the New Year. My ds 10 has just asked me if I am going to make the dessert "we always have" on NYE...which he then informed me was Creme Caramel...so I guess we have a tradition I didn't realise we had and I had better get cooking! Gill.

Barb said...

We stay up later than usual. We make dinner/supper that the kids have chosen. A lot of the time they ask for crab legs. We serve kids' wine (sparkling grape juice) or pop. We usually play board games or cards. This year it will probably be the Wii that we got for christmas. The kids get to stay up as late as they want or until they fall asleep.

Anonymous said...

I just married in September so we are doing something special this year. We will be going on a riverboat dinner cruise. I am not sure if this will be a tradition but I am looking forward to it. When we have kids I am sure we will stay in to ring in the New Year.
Still establishing new traditions.

Anna said...

Growing up with three younger sisters, we were rarely allowed to stay up till midnight. But once we got old enough (my parents went to bed but we stayed up), we made a tradition of playing games, then watching the ball drop and eating powdered donuts and drinking sparkling grape juice. I have no idea how this got started, but it's really fun - and being at home for New Year's Eve is nice because you can go to bed immediately after midnight! I always feel sorry for all the people in Times Square who still have to get home...

I'm newly married and away from my family though, so time to start some new traditions!

angie said...

We don't have an established tradition for NYE, but would like to start one, too. This year, we are going to the movies and dinner early in the evening. We will probably play some board games later that night.
I like the ideas of looking back at the year through pics or making a time capsule to look at in future years.
NY Day is sauerkraut and kielbasi, a German tradition.

Anonymous said...

We invite a couple of other families to hang out with us...they come over around 7 pm and we nibble on appetizers all night, watch a movie, sit by the fire and share our best and worst of the year, play board games, listen to music, dance...Then just after midnight our guests leave in past years carrying the little ones which have fallen asleep {Now they are all finally old enough to stay awake }
Looking forward to celebrating another closing of a year and the start of a new one :)

All the best to you and yours for 2010 ! xx

Jenny's Vegcafe said...

We don't have a tradition because we typically go to bed before midnight.
But, I really like the idea of an appetizers/game night.
We do normally share a bottle of sparkling juice to ring in the new year though.

LynnMarie said...

My husband is a police officer and he usually works on New Years Eve but he works the 3 shift so before he leaves, we have chinese food (one of my favorites), call our now adult son (birthday is the 31st) and watch movies. The best part is we stay in our pj's all day. He gets dressed to go to work, I go to bed.

Unknown said...

We always have appetizers and a game night and also bang pots and pans at midnight! Since having kids they always make decorations for the New Years "party" and we always have a menu of fun & special drinks too. We do let them stay up till midnight, if they can make it! there's something magical for a child to look forward to that and get to stay up really late with everyone else!

Julie Ball said...

We like to do "Italian New Year's." We eat Italian food for dinner and say "Happy New Year!" at 6:00, when the New Year arrives in Italy.

I love some of the other ideas posted here, too! I will be interested to see what you decide to do. Happy New Year to you and the littles!

Michelle said...

We do the same that my family did when I was growing up. We have snacks for dinner (cocktail franks, veggie tray, olive tray, chips, pizza rolls, etc) and everyone who can or wants to watches the ball drop at midnight.

This year, we'll be having my two young nieces (4 and 2) sleeping over, so I'm not quite sure how that will change things. My sister usually puts them to bed at 7:00, so she thinks they will probably fall asleep by 8:00... which might make the morning difficult, since they'll probably be awake at their normal time! We'll just play it by ear, though... I am sure that I can handle one night's worth of sleep deprivation, LOL.

Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

For several years now we've celebrated with a family fun night. We ALWAYS have cheeseburgers and shakes, watch a movie & play games. Sometimes we are up til midnight and other times my family is all tucked in by 11:00. I'm the night owl so I'm up to see in the new year.
This year my kids are almost 13 & 10. I'd like to incorporate planning a couple of family resolutions and sharing some favorite memories from 2009. I like the idea of letting the kids decorate for the night...might try that. We always spend New Year's Day taking down the Christmas decor and putting up the winter stuff. Then we do a family activity like snow-shoeing or sledding.

Unknown said...

We don't do this every year, but our favorite thing to do is go stay at my husbands brothers house outside Seattle. My SIL and I stay at home with the kids, play games and snack on small food (that seems to be a pattern on here) and the guys go out street witnessing to all the people waiting for the fireworks to start at the spaceneedle. We get dollar store party kits for the kids and let them as late as they can and then we all sleep really late the next day. Happy New Year Monica, may the Lord bless your family greatly in 2010!

Anonymous said...

I have a few ideas that we hope to incorporate this New Year:
*Create a document called "Rememberance 2009" -- we write down all the things God has done for us as a family during the year 2009, big or small. This can be typed and saved in the year's photo album.
*Have appetizers for dinner. Fun!
*Tell each other our New Year's Resolutions for accountability -- things like being resolved to read the Bible in a year or memorizing a number of verses.
*Praying together for God to make us more like His Son in the New Year.
*Pick a few verses for the family to focus on during the year -- to memorize together and strive to live out together.
*Perhaps we will read together the prayers in The Valley of Vision called "Year's End" and "New Year."
*I also heard of a family who asks each other for forgiveness for sins they have committed against each other. Now that is a great way to start the year!

Sadie said...

We stay up late watching movies. I buy sparkling cider for the hubby and all the kids and serve it in plastic champagne glasses from the dollar store. We have noise makers and party poppers to set off at midnight. BUT.... their favorite thing of all is our balloon drop!!
Simply tape a lightweight disposable party tablecloth to the ceiling and fill it with balloons - we generally use the small water balloons and just blow them up - Lay a piece of yarn across the middle (top side) of the tablecloth and tape it in place at either end. When midnight strikes (or whatever other time you choose - 9pm, etc.), just pull down the yarn and release the balloons! Then all of the giggling, balloon tossing, and balloon popping begins!
(I actually used tacks to put the tablecloth up on our ceiling, but we have an exposed wood ceiling and the tablecloth just tore away from the tacks - I wouldn't use tacks unless you're positive that it would be safe with young children underneath)

Dianna said...

We go to the grocery store and buy something we've never had before, like some of the strange fruits or cheeses that they carry. I also make other fun things to nibble on. Then we have a read-a-thon until midnight (or however long we make it).

Anissa said...

We buy wall calendars for the girls and give them as gifts on New Years eve. We will look at the year to come and write in big events, like birthdays and holidays. It helps them understand the idea of a New year.

Our church has a huge family game night on New Years. It is more appropriate for the families with older kids, but it is a lot of fun! They set up lots of tables with a different game at each table. Everyone brings snack foods to share.

Davonne said...

We're going to a New Years Eve party at my church, then we'll probably come home before midnight and watch the New Years thing on TV after we put the girls (4 and 0) to bed.

Julie Ball said...

I found this site that tells you how to say "Happy New Year" in several different languages:

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/calendar/newyear.shtml

You could even pick a different one each year and make a whole theme around it!

Shawn said...

A Hero's New Year's Celebration. The time difference between Mountain time and Afganistan is 11.5 hours, so we can celebrate at 11:30 with lunch and a kiddo's party with patriotic red-white-and blue... my man is a chaplain in the US Army now...can you tell?!

Nancy at EmbroideryIt.com said...

For children your age a Happy "Noon" Year's Eve party is a lot of fun. My children are now older and we play family games until midnight and I always get the kiddos those pull poppers as a treet to make a little noise with.

Mrs. Pear said...

New Year's Eve we always order Chinese food and have the last Buche de Noel of the Christmas Season (1 vanilla, one chocolate). We don't stay up late as the girls are 4.5 years and 15 months, and they get grumpy if they miss bed time and get up at 7 regardless, so regular bed times.

New Year's Day I make waffles with strawberry syrup and whip cream for brunch, we watch the Rose Bowl Parade and the Winter Classic (NHL outdoor hockey game - we may live in California, but we are Canadian) while we take down the tree and put the Christmas decorations away.

Unknown said...

We cook a special meal, then all get dressed up (maybe in a costume, maybe just nice clothes). We then spend time praying and bringing our year to a close. We have communion as a family. We look back over the year and repent of undealt with things and then say what we want to improve on and accomplish during the next year. We then commit the new year to God and ask Him to walk with us through it, no matter what it may bring.
We find, in our family, that this gives us a great start and finish to each new year.

Anonymous said...

wow. Alot of great ideas. When my daughter was single still, we would usually go to friend's houses and eat and play games (Pokeno!) We would come home after the ball dropped. New Year's Day I would serve dinner on our china and we'd play our annual game of Sorry! Whoever won was the champion for that year. The names are all written on the inside cover of the box...soon we will be able to play with our grandchildren :-) My mother always had us write our thank you notes on that day for our Christmas gifts from friends and family.

Sarah said...

When we were little, and at an age where we could actually stay awake until midnight, my parents would save scrap paper, and we would spend the evening practicing our cutting skills by making confetti. Often another family would come over and we'd share snacks and some Welch's sparkling grape juice. Then, when midnight came, we'd watch the ball drop on TV and throw our confetti in the air in the living room. (This is really not as horrible to clean up as it sounds. Child-made confetti is usually in very large pieces and can be swept up with a broom or even a shop vac.) Those are fun memories and I hope to do the same with my own children one day.

Sarah said...

Oh! Also, we always have the traditional Pennsylvania New Years Day meal- pork and sauerkraut! I was an adult before I realized this was a local tradition and not for all the US. My husband is from North Carolina, so he doesn't get too excited about this meal. :) I was just at the grocery store today and there was a big endcap of cans of sauerkraut. Its New Years in Pennsylvania!

Denise said...

Our church always has a Watch-Night Service that starts at 9:00 p.m. We have singing and preaching, then we stop for some food and fellowship. At about 11:30, we go back in the sanctuary and gather around for prayer. Nothing more important than ending 2009 and starting 2010 on your knees in prayer! Maybe this will be the year the Lord will return...

God bless you and your family as we begin another year! I really enjoy reading your blog.

stonemedic76@hotmail.com

Edi said...

No traditional plans for NYE but NY Day we have a "family meeting" at a coffee house w/the kids...everyone is given a paper with our plans/ideas/hopes for the future and we discuss each item. We also ask for the input of our children ...anything they'd like to do/see/learn in the New Year...we then go out for lunch together.

Blissful & Domestic said...

our family gets together for a potluck dinner and games. We have the kids make party hats and noise makers and then at 9 we do a count down with the kids. It works out since nine is about the time most of the littles are exhausted and then they can still see the ball drop since we are in Vegas and New York is 3 hours ahead. This works for us and the kids have a blast.

Anonymous said...

We're always at home, which is where we want to be. I make a seafood pasta earlier in the evening. Around 11 pm we make appetizers and enjoy some wine. We call several close family and friends before midnight. At midnight I get a very special phone call (as I have for the past 11 years) One of my patients calls me to wish me Happy new year. It started years ago when she was in the hospital and I was there with her. We've kept the tradition going every since!

Kim from Philadelphia

Bevy @ Treasured Up and Pondered said...

Before being married it was often over at friends houses for a fun evening of games, food, movies sometimes a sleepover and watching the ball drop on TV...or sometimes it was going to a Prayer Vigal and praying in the New Year.

Now, married with kids... we stay home. Which is totally fine with me. Hubby and I make up our own fun.

ON New Year's Day, it's all about Pork and Saurkraut (you can read my post for today if you'd like) and (back in the day it included) watching Anne of Green Gables... all day long. I doubt that will happen tomorrow, though. We have other busy plans of studying and sewing in mind... great way to start the new year. Have a great one!! Be safe!!

Dayna (Spear) Guenther said...

I make Portsilky (PORT-sill-kyeh), just like my mom did. These are German-Mennonite "New Year's Cookies," which are actually deep fried raisin fritters dipped in sugar. I've always been a chocolate queen: "If it isn't chocolate, it's not worth the trouble." However, portsilky has always been an exception. I love them! Our kids love them too!

We just try to relax together--maybe watch a movie. We aren't ones for staying up until midnight. Sometimes we will go see some fireworks or go to a fellowship at church on New Year's Eve.

Angela said...

With young children who go to bed, we are usually at home, but my Love and I celebrate alone and often call siblings we know are still up to shout a quick greeting. Something I would love to do is to have a little party with close friends. Perhaps even a slumber party for the children. There are parties we could go out to, but it is very sweet to be home too...staying up so late, we can then fall right into bed.

Robin said...

This is the first time in several years that we are not doing the party with "grown ups' -- we are just staying at home with our four kids ages 12, 9, 7 and 6.

I have bought some hats and horns for our fun tonight, and earlier I let each child request a special snack for our party tonight. Right now we have brownies, cookies, chips and rotel and a cheeseball with crackers set out on the table along with the remaining christmas candies that will be tossed into the trash in the morning!

The boys are playing football (yes - in the house), and the girls have on old dance costumes and will be putting a dance show on around 11:00 pm. We have stacks of family board games set out that have been played with throughout the day.

I bought a bottle of the sparkling white grape juice for a midnight "toast" where we will each share our favorite part of the last year and what we are looking forward to in the new year. We are going on a family mission trip in February - all six of us, so I think that will be a highlight we will want to reflect on next year.

Of course, we will sing, dance and blow up the confetti tubes when the ball drops at midnight!

God's blessings to you all in 2010!!

Anonymous said...

Set the clocks forward (to have MIDNIGHT be 30 mins before whatever time we want the kids to go to bed.) Then begin the games. We have "snacky" foods, play games, pray, sometimes share our reflections from the previous year, our hopes for the future year. Thank Father-God for bringing us through; plead with Him to help us be more faithful in sharing Him with others. Then "count down" to the stroke of "our" midnight! Run outside banging pots & pans & yell "Blessed New Year!" Play with the kids, winding down, 30 more minutes & then to bed they go; usually - we go. I'm so blessed to have a daughter & her family (husband, 4 children) in the same town, so we can be a part of this!