New Years Family Traditions To Start This Year

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Want to change things up and start some fun New Years family traditions this year?

Growing up we didn’t do many things on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. We watched the parade and sometimes we were allowed to stay up late and watch the ball drop on t.v.

That is one of the reasons that I wanted to start some new family traditions for New Year’s. I wanted these New Year traditions to be something that the kids can enjoy and have fun with. Then, as they got older and had their own children, maybe they can carry on the traditions and make their own memories with their children.

Fun Family New Year’s Traditions

What is great about these New Year’s family traditions is that they are not expensive. You don’t have to break the bank to make these traditions come to life and you will be making memories with the kids. The New Year’s luck that many of these are said to bring wouldn’t hurt either!

New Years Family Traditions

Enjoy a Waffle Board

For breakfast, we love waffles and since we enjoy them so much, we have started putting together a waffle board. For New Year’s, after a night of celebration and fun, we like to bring out a waffle board for breakfast because it’s easy and delicious.

We do make our special homemade waffle recipe and we serve them with a variety of different fresh fruits and toppings. Everyone can create their own waffle breakfast or create their own waffle bowls.

Waffle bowl or board topping ideas:

  • strawberries and other berry fruits.
  • chocolate chips.
  • small sweets like M&Ms.
  • whipped cream.
  • Nutella
  • crumbled sausage or bacon
  • scrambled eggs
  • flavored syrups
  • ice cream

The possibilities are endless. We love enjoying our waffle board with fresh fruit but you can get as creative and crazy as you want. Let the kids go wild and have fun with it!

Play Games

There’s nothing better than getting together with the family and playing some fun games. It’s something we love doing with the kids and it’s a New Year’s tradition we try to always do.

Free Printable New Year’s Party Games

Wear Matching Pajamas

Matching family pajamas has become a popular family thing to do for Christmas, but it works for New Year’s too! Everyone can wear the matching pajamas on New Year’s Eve as they are enjoying the festivities and then hang out in them on New Year’s Day.

Did you know that in Italy, and some other countries, wearing red underwear or a certain color of clothing on New Year’s is said to bring you luck for the year to come?

Have A Slumber Party

For New Year’s, a fun tradition to start with younger children is to have a slumber party. You can camp out in the living room or special area that has been set up. This would be a fun time to wear those matching pajamas!

As the kids get older and the tradition continues, they can look back with fond memories of all the fun they had. It may not seem like a lot, but you will be surprised at just how many things you can look back.

Make A New Year’s Resolution Tree

I saw this idea somewhere but I can’t remember where. The idea is to make your own New Year’s resolution tree. Think of it as a Christmas tree, just with pieces of paper with your resolutions instead of ornaments.

Another idea is to get actual ornaments and write your resolution and name. Since New Year’s is right after Christmas, you could always turn the Christmas tree into a large New Year’s resolution tree.

Jump off a Chair

Safely of course! In Denmark, there is a tradition that says jumping off a chair and jumping into the new year will bring you some extra luck.

You can line up some chairs that aren’t very high and allow each person to jump off the chair. You will want to help the little ones and everyone needs to be safe so no one gets hurt!

Create a Family Time Capsule

When I was in school, there was one year that our class made a time capsule. Each person added something they enjoyed or something that was popular that year. I think we even had to write our goals and what we wanted to do after we graduated. At some point we were to open that time capsule but to be honest, I don’t remember when that was!

Creating a time capsule can work for New Year’s too. All you need is an air-tight container and some of your favorite things or something that has meaning to you for that year. You can also include your goals, what you’d like to accomplish, or any resolutions that you may have made. To make the time capsule more special, decorate the container! The kids will love using their creativity to help do this.

Some items that can be included:

  • list of resolutions
  • list of things you want to accompolish in the new year
  • something that has meant something to you
  • family photos
  • news or articles on something important that has happened or has special meaning for you

There’s no need to bury the time capsule if you don’t want to. You can simply tuck it away in the closet or place it up on a shelf. Once the year has ended, grab the time capsule and see what was placed inside. If resolutions were made or goals wanted to be met, you can see how far your progress has come and if you accomplished those goals.

Break Plates

Another New Years’ family tradition that started in Denmark is breaking plates (or china) on New Year’s. Traditionally, they were tossed at friends and neighbors but that’s not something we would want to do!

You don’t have to use your good china either! You can take a few of your old plates, cups, or dishes and have each person smash one on the front porch. Breaking the dishes is said to give you good luck. It’s actually kind of fun too. When you break the plates, think of all those bad things that have happened in the last year that you want to let go of.

New Years Family Traditions

Do you have any New Year’s traditions that you do with your family? We would love to hear them!

New Years Family Traditions To Start This Year

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