New Years Eve

Three years ago, we started a tradition of doing New Years Eve bags with the girls, to count down the hours to midnight. It has become a quickly-loved tradition in our home, and now that Christmas has passed, the girls are already anticipating what New Years Eve has in store for us this year. Some of you have asked for details, so I wanted to share what our bags are going to look like this year, in case any of you are interested in doing something similar with your families. :)

Now, first, let me let you in on a little secret. Some time after lunch, we set the clocks forward an hour, so my sweet children actually ring in the final hour of 2008, not the first of 2009. :) It just is too much for their little selves right now. Someday, I am sure we will change that...whenever they figure out what we do!

Also, we start early, but the 4:00 bag is just a prep activity for later. So, here goes...

I get inexpensive, colorul gift bags at the Dollar Tree or party store. Each one is labeled with a time. 4:00, 5:00....up to 12:00. They are all lined up on the dining room table. Each sack contains items for an activity for that hour. Simple!


4:00 pm- Make cookies (sometimes we have dipped marshmallows or pretzel rods in chocolate and sprinkles), just something they can actively help make. They cannot eat these now. They are for later. So, the sprinkles, cookie cutters, maybe a roller pin would go in the bag.


5:00 pm- Dinner. Again, always something interactive. Make your own mini-pizza, fonue dinner, etc. This year, a taco bar!


6:00 pm- Twister Hopscotch. I usually dont do more than one pre-bought game or boxed activity, but the name of the game this year is low-maintenance. I saw this game at Target and thought it looked like fun. Had I known that the spirograph I had been saving in the closet would have been such a hit, I would have saved it to be a bag on it's own! I have also done spin art or a new puzzle before in a bag.


7:00 pm- Fire and Cocoa. We always build in a hour of quieter time in the middle so we don't exhaust ourselves too soon. In the bag will be new mugs (Yea! for after-season Target clearance!), marshmallows to roast in the fire, and a new book to read. Sometimes it is a few picture books. This year it is a collection of Paddington bear stories to read by the fire. Sometimes I have done new fuzzy socks in this bag.


8:00 pm- Wii music!!! I have had this hidden away for a new fun family time post-baby, and since we hadnt used it yet, I decided to save it for NYE. We play our Wii sparingly, so it is a big treat. Rod and I are so excited to try out Wii music, and think the girls will love it too!


9:00 pm- "Year in Pictures". We always take the 9:00 hour to reflect on the year past. Last year, I did a montage of photos from the year set to music and plan on making that a yearly activity. After we watch it (with lots of giggles and some tears- at least tears for me!), we read the papers from our memory jar which is kept in our living room. When a special memory is made through the year, we write it on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. Last year was the year both of our oldest girls made professions of faith, so that was very special to pull out and read. This year, I know Lily wrote early on "I want a baby"...which is not a memory, and she has probably forgotten she wrote that. But I am so excited to pull that one out and read it! :) This year, we are going to add something on. We are going to present each girls with a character trait and corresponding memory verses that we would like them to focus on this year. One will be receiving "gentleness", one is getting "being positive" and the other is getting "obeying". :) This will be on cute paper, or course, so they can be posted in their rooms. Thier papers are whats in the bag, along with the DVD of the slideshow.


10:00 pm- MOVIE TIME. Time to get in their pj's and bring down pillows and blankets. They are ready to get sleepy and so this is the best thing to do. So far, we have added a new musical to our movie collection each year- like The Music Man or Rogers and Hammersteins Cinderella (The Brandi version- I LOVE that!). Not sure yet what our movie is for this year....Gotta decide soon!)


11:00 pm- Cute paper plates, napkins and cups...time for milk and cookies- the ones we made at 4 pm!


12:00- confetti, balloons, noisemakers, etc. We actually open this about 5 minutes until the hour so they are ready at midnight to start making noise.


Well, that's it! I will post pics later this week of all the fun times for you to see!