Cozy New Year’s Eve

I’ve never been into wild fanfare on New Year’s Eve. I much prefer cozy gatherings with family or close friends, and doing this at home (ours or a friend’s) instead of going out.

But my favorite way to spend New Year’s Eve was one that lasted for about a decade:

From when my kids were very little, we always celebrated New Year’s Eve in the same special way. We colored big bright signs to welcome in the new year. The kids colored (early on with our help) little bags that they would use later in a festive scavenger hunt that we set up for them. We all had a fun dinner filled with kid favorites like pizza or chicken nuggets, and something a little more elegant for the parents, like filet. We served plenty of snacks and homemade dessert, like chocolate chip cookies or brownies. Then the kids went on a scavenger hunt around the house for candy and little toys that we had hidden. They collected these in their decorated bags. All of this was followed by watching the early kids’ New Year’s countdown shows and a “campout” on air mattresses in the family room. 

Closing out one year and welcoming another with my most precious people filled my soul in a way that is hard to put into words. It still does, and for this I am deeply grateful. 

𝑾𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓!  𝓢𝔂𝓭𝓷𝓮𝓲