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our easy, affordable new year family traditions

home / Activities / holidays / new year's / our easy, affordable new year family traditions
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My husband and I have never really been fans of New Year’s Eve.

We’re the furthest thing from night owls, so staying up late is not easy–or that much fun for us.

New Year’s means that the long-awaited holidays are over (boo) and that family has come and gone (wah) and that there’s a lot of cleaning, reorganizing, and refocusing ahead (ack).

With kiddos in the picture, New Year’s has always been hard to explain–since little ones barely understand the year’s cycle, the ball dropping, or the passing of time.ย  And the thought of keeping our kids up until midnight is something that I just cannot even begin to entertain.

So instead of focusing on midnight. Or going out. Or getting fancied-up and crazy, we’ve made New Year’s a fairly (okay, totally) tame, low-key family-oriented event.ย  And we focus on new beginnings, fresh starts, and the exciting adventure ahead instead of mourning the loss of the holidays and the year past.

Here’s the skinny:

  • Easy, Memorable New Year Family Traditions: For us, it’s about setting traditions–easy, affordable, and memorable traditions–ones that we are excited to keep and ones we look forward to seeing each year.ย  Traditions that are easily adaptable and traditions that are flexible enough to adjust to our little family’s needs.

 

new year family traditions, new years shakersNew Year’s Shakers

  • New Year’s Shakers: We make these with supplies we have on hand–beads, ribbon, and some tiny containers we save from the recycle bin.ย  Or we use paper rolls with the ends stapled.ย  Or we use leftover noisemakers from the year’s birthday parties.ย  Either way, we have something that we can make some noise with–so that we can hoot and holler and welcome in the New Year, even if it’s only 9 o’clock.

new year family traditions, new years family interview

New Year’s Family Interview

  • New Year’s Family Interview: We keep them in a blue binder, and every year we use the same basic template. (The New Year’s Family Interview can be downloaded here if you want to get in on the fun!).ย  With a few basic questions, it doesn’t take long, but we all love looking back on how our answers have changed over the year, and I particularly love seeing how their handwriting changes.

new year family traditions, shirley templesWe’re crazy. We do fondue and fancy drinks on New Year’s.

  • Fondue & Fancy Drinks: We bust out the ole fondue pots and dipping sauces and meat, shrimp, veggies, and cheese, along with some sternos and toasting glasses, and we eat fondue and drink sparkling cider or Shirley Temples.ย  It’s fancy.ย  Usually we’re all in sweats, so it’s all good.ย  And the kids (and we!) love it.

new year family traditions, holiday scratch offsI (gulp) forgot the Scratch-Off’s on Christmas.ย  So they’re going to be for New Year’s.

(And huge thanks to Karen for putting my tickets on fancy paper after I left–how awesome is she??!)

  • New Year’s Scratch-Off Tickets: I totally and completely forgot to add the Scratch-off’s we spent so much time making to the kids’ gift piles this year, but I’m not worried. Instead, I’m planning to wrap them up and present them to Maddy, Owen, and Cora after our New Year’s Eve dinner.ย  I’m betting that they’ll be able to focus on them that much more–and I think it’ll be a super addition to our New Year’s traditions!
  • New Year’s Day dinner: Pork and sauerkraut. There hasn’t been a year that we didn’t make the ole Pennsylvania Dutch good luck meal of pork and sauerkraut on New Year’s Day.ย  And I’ll make it every single year.ย  Because what if I don’t? Who wants to test their luck that way? Certainly not I.ย  Everyone knows that pigs move forward to forage for their food, unlike those lazy cows (who stand still) or the chicken (who moves backwards), and you better believe we’re all about moving forward in the new year.

And that’s it for us–any New Year’s traditions that your family celebrates? I’d love to hear them!

Here’s to a happy, healthy 2012 to everyone!

 

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

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Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

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Quick! Thereโ€™s still time to see if your area is registered to participate in this yearโ€™s National Civics Bee! #ad

Click the link in my bio to learn more and to grab a TON of free resources for families and educators. 

This yearโ€™s registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time! 

What better way to get students to engage in civics and contribute to their communities? 

https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

#CivicsBuzz #strongcommunities #middleschool #civicsbee #teachersofIG
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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

Iโ€™m thrilled to have partnered with @mom_select and @civicsbuzz for this exciting campaign! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™

#CivicsBuzz #middleschoolers #teachersofIG #communitypartners
View
Open
Oh HEEEEEYYY, @luvvie โ€” did you see that @littletroublemaker made our hallway bulletin board? ๐Ÿ˜‰โ™ฅ๏ธ

(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

#readingteacher #raiseareader #kidlit #bestbooks #linkinbio
View
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How can people with dyslexia learn to read? ๐Ÿค”

Here are the 3๏ธโƒฃ elements that reading instruction should contain in order to be most effective for students with dyslexiaโ€”

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #readingteacher #teachreading #dyslexiaawareness
View
Open
Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia

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