New Year's Eve
Goal Party (By Dana): I love to set goals, but when I tried to encourage my family to set goals it sounded like work. So, I decided to make it a fun event and maybe they could get what they wanted (have fun) and I could get what I wanted (set goals to work towards). On New Year's Eve, I make a special meal, we set goals individually as well as what we want to do as a family and then acknowledge the ending year's accomplishments. I present each member of the family with a special certificate of sorts that lists their accomplishments for that year and a little picture that seemed to reflect them or their interests (a motorcycle, etc.). Then when I present the certificates, I read the accomplishments while they try to guess who's certificate I was reading. Then the special person comes to the front of the table or room, I gave them a little gift (candy bar, or water bottle,or something small) and we cheer "You are wonderful!". I put those 1 page certificate in a sheet protector and into their goal book that we can use to set goals during PPIs. It has been several years and I love reading over them and seeing their accomplishments like "potty trained", "learned to swim WITH floaties on", "made the team", etc. By recognizing their accomplishments, they can see what milestones they have reached and it helps them to want to set new goals for the upcoming year.
I have changed the format of the certificate a little bit every year. I now include at least 4 things: 1. a picture of them from that last year 2. A list of their accomplishments as an individual 3. A list of things we did, experienced, or accomplished as a family (trips, service, fun activities, memorable moments, etc.) and 4. A small text box that has a very brief snapshot view of what life was like that year: where we were living (our address), then for each family member I list their name, age, year in school and at what school, that year's interests or involvements. It is not grand, but just a simple snapshot of the year in a few words for each individual family member. (This year I will add a 5th which is a family photo.) I then put this paper (which has grown to be a 2 sided document) in a sheet protector and into their notebook for them to review over the years. There are a lot of great things about this party. It allows us to: recognize the strengths and growth of each family member, acknowledge the Lord's hand in our lives as we have been blessed or worked through different challenges, see the blessing of setting and working towards goals, and document and keep up with our family history. I save all these files on my computer by year so I have extra records of them which comes in handy when trying to remember what year certain things happened. It has become so fun that now we have a New Year's Eve party (having a special Cajon Boil meal, setting goals together and enjoying being together) and a New Year's Day party (having a special Chinese meal and acknowledging and celebrating our accomplishments together).
I have changed the format of the certificate a little bit every year. I now include at least 4 things: 1. a picture of them from that last year 2. A list of their accomplishments as an individual 3. A list of things we did, experienced, or accomplished as a family (trips, service, fun activities, memorable moments, etc.) and 4. A small text box that has a very brief snapshot view of what life was like that year: where we were living (our address), then for each family member I list their name, age, year in school and at what school, that year's interests or involvements. It is not grand, but just a simple snapshot of the year in a few words for each individual family member. (This year I will add a 5th which is a family photo.) I then put this paper (which has grown to be a 2 sided document) in a sheet protector and into their notebook for them to review over the years. There are a lot of great things about this party. It allows us to: recognize the strengths and growth of each family member, acknowledge the Lord's hand in our lives as we have been blessed or worked through different challenges, see the blessing of setting and working towards goals, and document and keep up with our family history. I save all these files on my computer by year so I have extra records of them which comes in handy when trying to remember what year certain things happened. It has become so fun that now we have a New Year's Eve party (having a special Cajon Boil meal, setting goals together and enjoying being together) and a New Year's Day party (having a special Chinese meal and acknowledging and celebrating our accomplishments together).
New Year's Eve (By Shawna): For New Years Eve, we have always focused on family time. As parents we have always enjoyed staying home and spending time with our children on this night instead of going out together. Some years we have taken the family to a movie, etc., but most years we either stay at home and have a movie marathon, play games together, etc. The key is that, for our family, our children know that we want to spend the Holiday together. The teenagers have the option to attend a party or dance with their friends once they become 16. Some years they have chosen to go out, but other years they have chosen to stay at home with the family and celebrate. I believe that traditions don't always have to be complicated to be important to our families because some of the simplest are the most cherished by my children.
New Year's Eve (By Jan): For New Year's Eve we blew up 12 balloons and put a note inside with an activity. You number the balloons and tape them to the wall. Each hour a child would pop the balloon and we would do the activity. (I put the ideas inside the balloon so the kids didn't know what to expect. Like: visit neighbors, call grandparents, play games, watch old family videos, exercise, set news year's goal) We did a variety of things from serious to silly. The activity didn't have to the last the whole hour but everyone came together for the next hour. It was twelve hours of undivided attention to the family. It was awesome. They can't wait to do it again.