If there’s a time on earth when magic comes alive, this is it. As soon as the bell tolls the last week of December, you can feel the magic take over. Running through your veins. Twinkling in a fairy light here. Sparkling in a firecracker there. You can feel the magic soak you.
Now just imagine if you feel this way, how overjoyed and enamoured do you think your kids feel? For them, the time around New Year’s is twice as surreal, if not more so! Which means they truly deserve a celebration that fuels the joy they feel. After all, New Year’s parties are not just about adults. And yes, you can have a fun New Year’s party with your kids as parents too! If you plan New Year’s activities for kids and yourself that is!
Actually, you know what? Hold that thought. Let us talk about New Year’s a little bit first. More specifically…
Why Do We Celebrate It? What’s the Party for Exactly?
Well, to be frank it is just like any other New Year’s party. Think Diwali (yep, that is the Hindu New Year). Or the Parsi Navroz. Or Baisakhi in Punjab. Or Bihu in Assam.
You see, January marks the beginning of a new year in the Gregorian Calendar. Which actually has been followed by the Roman Catholics since the 1500s. And since Christianity is the most followed religion in this whole wide world of ours, it took precedence and became the globally accepted year format. Also because it does account for the earth’s revolutions in an accurate manner so it only makes sense.
Anyway, just like all other New Years, this one too is about reflecting first and then starting anew. And that is why it is so widely celebrated.
How to Celebrate New Year’s with Your Family?
- Countdowns, countdowns!
- Host a partayyyyy
- Pop goes the balloon drop!
- Make resolutions together
- New year family greeting card
- Slumber partayyyy
Okay, maybe you could make an exception one time and delay your kids’ bedtime? If your kid is 10 or older, you could have a fun family countdown to midnight together!
If they are younger, you can still countdown right before their bedtime. Like they say, it’s probably 12 o’clock somewhere in the world. So get your glasses of sparkling apple juice and raise a family toast at the ball drops on your TV!
Another perfectly fine answer to ‘how to celebrate New Year’s with family’! You know your kids love a party as much as you do. It is the only time they get to have cake and frolic around like there is no tomorrow!
A New Year’s party could quickly turn into a family favourite tradition. Again, you will need your sparkling apple juice and plastic champagne flutes so these tiny ones can sip in style without the risk of breaking anything. Oh, also party decor. And finger food! Balloons and streamers too. Add party hats to the list as well. Now you have got yourself a partayyyy.
Okay, ball dropping might be too far-fetched a thing to happen inside the walls of your home. But a balloon drop is not! And neither is a pinata drop if you want to give it a candy-licious spin your kids are bound to love. We vote for the latter despite the title of this sub-head. Starting the New Year with a delicious treat is a temptation that is too hard to resist. Even for us!
As a family! What is more typical New Year’s than making a resolution anyway. So what you guys can do is gather round at your breakfast table the next morning. Take out your pen and paper and scribble down your resolutions.
If your kids cannot think of any, we have got some great New Year resolution ideas for kids! Like brushing teeth two times a day. Washing hands after every loo visit. Finishing greens on their plates! Our list of New Year resolution ideas for kids could go on and on.
Anyhoo, once each of you is done with your list, you guys can discuss it as a family and have some fun!
First, start by gathering around a tab and going through all the photos you guys have clicked as a family in the last one year. Shortlist five of them and then put them to vote. Now the picture that wins could go into your New Year family greeting card! Why this is a great idea is because when you sort through all the pictures together, you get to relive some truly beautiful memories as a family. Which can be one of the best ways to bond, if you ask us. Plus, sending out a card is so personal and sweet. It will definitely teach your kids the value of adding that personal, meaningful touch.
A spin on the New Year’s partayyy! Okay, yes we get it. We have to stop calling it a partayyy. Anyway. If your kids are young and they would rather stay curled up in bed, listening to a special New Year’s story from you, then that is exactly what you should do!
Add a couple of snacks, sweets and fizzy drinks to the mix and encourage your kids to just talk. To confide in you. Share their tiny cute secrets with you. Maybe you guys could even fill out a slam book together!
Sure, it is not your typical New Year’s activity but who says you have to do the conventional stuff as a family. You could always start your own new tradition. You only need to spend good time together. As a family. Only thing of importance is that!
Making New Year’s eve (and day) memorable for your kids through these activities will surely help them remember this time of the year fondly. So much so that you will see them get excited this time of the year, coming up with their own ideas to celebrate New Year’s differently this time around as a family. Which can be so heart-warming.
Not to toot our own horn, but that is the kind of sweet sentiment we try instilling in our preschool kids too. At EuroKids, we want emotionally fulfilling experiences to be a part of a child’s life too. And that is why, we make it a point to celebrate every festival in school, letting kids participate in exciting, engaging and nurturing activities. Visit us for more!
