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When your kids are really little, they happily go to bed at their regular bedtimes on New Year’s Eve. Umm, okay, maybe not happily but they’re still oblivious to the idea of staying up until midnight to welcome in the New Year.
At some point though, they will want to stay up. In fact, they might even beg to stay up until midnight. Perhaps you are like me and are at the point where you’d prefer to let the new year arrive while you sleep. However, saying yes to staying up with your kids to celebrate New Year’s Eve can actually be a fun way to spend time together as a family.
I remember the first time my kids both wanted to stay up and celebrate the new year. They were eight and five at the time. My oldest daughter had attempted to stay up the year before but in the end sleep won out. This particular year they had teamed up and were determined to make it.
They campaigned for us to let them stay up and we ultimately said yes. We decided to turn it into a fun family night. We made our favorite appetizers, had a family bowling tournament with the Wii, and just before midnight we turned on the television to watch the ball drop.
Apparently, welcoming the New Year wasn’t quite what our girls were expecting. We got a “That’s it?” once it turned midnight. And then our very tired and somewhat disappointed youngest daughter proceeded to put her head down and cry.
The disappointment wasn’t enough to deter our girls from wanting to stay up and celebrate the New Year in the years that have followed. We have continued to try and make it a fun night for the family and we have a lot of great memories of our little celebrations, even the one that involved tears.
Fun Ways To Celebrate New Year’s Eve With Your Kids
Serve Family Favorite Party Food
Depending on the size of your family, let everyone pick a favorite party food or agree to a few different party foods for that night’s menu. There are lots of fun and healthy options out there like these Fun & Easy Fruit Rockets or these Zucchini Pizza Bites
Play Games
Gather up a few of your family’s favorite games and enjoy a family game night. Games are a great way to pass the hours and usually bring about a lot of laughter.
Reminisce About The Good Times
Spend some time discussing your favorite moments of the year. You could even start a memories journal and write them down each year and then read back through them each year on New Year’s Eve. Take a moment to give thanks as a family for those good memories.
Set A Family Goal
Take a little time to talk about something you would like to do together as a family in the new year. Perhaps it’s a one time event like running a 5k together or taking a family hike once a month. It could be finding a place to serve together in your community or setting a goal to double the number of Operation Christmas Child boxes you donate. Setting a family goal is a great way to encourage unity in your family.
Make Some Noise At Midnight
Gather some leftover party horns, streamers, confetti, and party hats. At the stroke of midnight, dance around the living room, blow your party horns, and see how much noise your family can make. You’re guaranteed to start the new year with laughter and smiles.
Celebrating New Year’s Eve with your kids can become a treasured family tradition that will provide lasting memories.
Do you celebrate New Year’s Eve with your kids?
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Written by KT @ One Organic Mama, Contributing Writer
When my husband and I got married as many families do, we had to decide where and how we would spend all the BIG holidays. As our families live 1-3 hours from where we do – we divided up Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving so we wouldn’t ever have to ‘fight’ about where to spend a holiday and instead focus on being thankful for who we are with and celebrating the holiday.
Despite our best intentions after this dividing up… I came to really miss my family during Thanksgiving time, it had been my favorite holiday and I missed seeing my cousins and family. As Italians, growing up, we also used to ‘celebrate’ St. Joseph’s day with fellowship and delicious food, but as my cousins got older this holiday too fell away… this is how “Italian Thanksgiving” was born.
A few weeks before Thanksgiving, my mom’s family assembles. We bring all of our favorite Italian appetizers, cookies, and together we make pasta, meatballs, and sauce. Some years we get ambitious and assemble ravioli for 40 people (it always takes longer than we think it will)… other years we have worked out how to make regular and gluten free linguine options… but in the end it isn’t really about the pasta – it’s about being together, squished in the kitchen, sharing our love for each other.
Instead of feeling like we ‘lost’ a holiday all together, we created a new one. Now while all of my cousins and my sister and me might divide up for Thanksgiving, we always have the opportunity to be together for our made up holiday. I have never been more thankful.
The BEST Sunday Sauce
This sauce is made many Sundays in the wintertime. It is best simmered on the stove all day filled up with meatballs, sweet Italian sausage, and braciole.
Ingredients:
- Olive Oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2-3 celery stalks, diced
- 5+ cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 can of tomato paste
- 1 tsp of Italian spice mix (I bought a bunch in Italy when I was there… you can omit this if you don’t have it)
- 1tbs+ basil (handfuls if you have it fresh)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1tsp onion powder
- 1 cup of red wine (drinking wine, not cooking wine)
- 8 tomatoes (peeled – score them and put them in boiling water followed by an ice bath)
- 48 oz of tomato puree or strained tomatoes
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions:
- Sautee chopped onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in olive oil. Add salt, pepper and secret spice mix.
- When veggies are almost soft, add tomato paste (a whole small can of it). Fry tomato paste until it starts to stick to the pan. Deglaze pan with wine and sir until the mixture becomes saucy.
- Add tomatoes, puree, and the rest of the spices.
- Cook.
- Cook longer.
- The longer you cook it, the better it is!
- If you’re into meat… add some meatballs, sausage, and/or braciole and cook all day.
- Serve over pasta, polenta, on pizza, or anywhere else you would enjoy marinara sauce!
If I am using it for pizza I typically would add oregano… otherwise I leave it out. That is a pizza only spice!
Do you have any “made up” traditions or holidays that you treasure with your family?
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Written by Contributing Writer, KT @ One Organic Mama
This is my grandma’s recipe. We are so very lucky that my children know and love their GREAT grandma! She is the matriarch of our very Italian family, and she is such a wonderful witness to all of us.
Since I don’t get to see her every Easter anymore, we enjoy Easter with my husband’s family, so I have endeavored to prepare it on my own. It is never perfect like hers is – but it always reminds me of being at her house for Easter! I thought it was too good not to share – everyone should wake up Easter morning to this bread. It is perfect with cold butter on it (sounds gross but it is so good). The kiddos love to be involved and they are great kneaders!
Stay with me here.
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Grandma’s Easter Bread
We use organic, fair trade, and or local ingredients when possible.
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3 1/4 cups of flour (I usually switch to whole wheat in recipes – but this should be WHITE flour – go wild, it’s Easter, if you’re GF here are some substitution tips)
1/4 cup of sugar (or sugar alt. like stevia or honey)
1 tsp salt
1 package of yeast
2/3 cup of milk
2 Tbs of butter, melted
2 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 tsp aniseed
4-5 raw eggs in shells (you can color them if you would like)
Confectioner’s sugar (or make your own)
Round sprinkles
I found some organic sprinkles and food dye that is dyed with veggies instead of those nasty artificial food dyes
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These are Grandma’s words with my notes in italics:
Measure the flour onto a piece of wax paper (I used a bowl). Combine one cup of flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add milk to butter, then gradually add to the dry ingredients. Beat at low speed in electric mixer, (add in aniseed) scraping seeds down from sides of bowl occasionally, 2 minutes.
Add first two eggs and then 1/2 a cup of flour (switch to dough hook). Beat at medium speed, scraping sides of bowl occasionally, 2 minutes, or until thick and elastic. With wooden spoon, gradually stir in just enough flour to make a soft dough that cleans sides of bowl.
Turn out onto lightly floured board (my Grandma has a cutting board that fits over her counter that my Grandpa made, it’s awesome, since I don’t have that, I used a silicone baking liner, nothing sticks to it!), shape into a ball and knead for 5 to 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Put in a greased bowl, turn to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place free from drafts 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough, turn out onto a lightly floured board. Divide in half and roll each piece into a 24’ rope. Twist ropes loosely together and shape into a ring. Arrange unshelled (dyed) eggs in empty spaces in twist.
Cover and let rise in a warm place for 40 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Bake in a moderate oven (350) for 30 to 35 minutes.
Remove to rack, cover with towel. Before eating frost and sprinkle with candies.
(I make the frosting with confectioner’s sugar and milk).
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It won’t be as good as the bread my parents will get straight from my grandma this year – but it will do! Hope your family enjoys it too!!
Do you have any special Easter recipes that your family makes every year? What about a Grandma who taught you something- what did she teach you?
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