Here comes December 31. Happy New Year! This is a time to ring out the old and ring in the new. It’s a time to celebrate the past year and look forward to the coming one. Consider trying something new this year. Give one of these suggestions a go and get ready to ring in the fun.
1. Have a progressive party.
“It’s a great reason to bust out the china, silver, and crystal,” says Kristy Drinkwater of Troy, Alabama. Go to one house for appetizers, another for salad. And then go to a third for the main course, leaving a final stop for dessert and watching the ball drop.
2. Kidnap your mate.
Jennifer Holt of Franklin, Tennessee, and a friend once packed bags and nabbed their husbands for the weekend. “The boys thought we were going to dinner. But we drove them out of town for an evening at a bed and breakfast,” she says. For a smaller-scale surprise, spring a baby sitter and a suitable outfit on him. And then take him out to his favorite restaurant or to a movie.
3. Have a quiet night at home.
Last year, after a busy holiday season as newlyweds, Bill and Amy Cato of Fairview, Tennessee, agreed that a “just the two of us” night would be perfect. “We spent the evening enjoying each other’s company. It was a time of reminiscing about our year together,” Amy says.
4. Host a pajama party.
Invite a few friends and their kids. Kids come dressed for bed. Decorate with streamers, balloons, inexpensive hats and noisemakers. And then make a cake with candles to blow out at midnight (or the hour you deem “midnight”). Order pizza and offer caffeine-free drinks, show kid-friendly movies, and play favorite board games.
5. Get out of town.
Stephanie and Blake Morgan sometimes escape from their Murfreesboro, Tennessee home. They leave to unwind and tune out the world. One year, Stephanie says, they “stayed in a little cabin with no TV or phone on top of a small mountain in Vermont. It was just us, a warm fire, and the board game we had bought in the general store in town.”
6. Look back.
Ellie Hammond of Greenville, South Carolina, says, “Record family memories. Buy a blank journal and let family members have their own page to write down or draw three memories from the year. This can include one thing for which they’re thankful.”
7. Look ahead.
The Cato’s spend time together “setting spiritual, physical, and financial goals for the next year,” Amy says. A fun way to record those goals is on the new calendar you got for Christmas.
8. Celebrate a different time zone.
If you’re in Kansas City, Missouri, for example, you can have a New York City party. Serve hot dogs and cheesecake, and decorate with glittering lights. Then play a soundtrack from favorite Broadway musicals in the background.
9. Get moving.
Snap out of the holiday-heavy feeling by taking your mate and friends ice-skating, snowball fighting, or snow tubing. Top off the evening with hot cider or cocoa by a roaring fire.
10. Host a New Year’s Day brunch.
If you’re not into late-night celebrations, do your celebrating on January 1. Invite people who’ve been a blessing in your lives throughout the past year as a way to say thanks.
Above all… have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
This article is courtesy of HomeLife magazine. You can find more information at Lifeway.com.