New Year’s Activities for Kids and the Family

December 27th, 2023

New Year’s activities are perfect for taking a little bit of time to reflect on the previous year.

New Year’s activities are also perfect for setting goals and talking about wishes for the New Year. What do you want to do more of? What do you want to avoid? This day, for our family, was always a family day.

On New Year’s Day, our family tradition was to have a family dinner where we place 12 small candles around the table in small holders. We label each one for a month of the year. Then, during dinner, we see which one burned out first, write it down on a list, and subsequently keep listing them till the last one went out.

New Year's Family Activities - Candle Countdown

The last one to go out was supposed to be the best month of the following year. Then, we get our list out from the prior year and talk about the different months. Was the candle list right? Was the first candle to go out the worst month for our family? Was the last candle to go out the best month for our family? Needless to say, laughter always followed. It is a lot of fun.

New Year’s Activities for Kids and the Family

2023 Time Capsule

If you made a time capsule last year, pull it out and talk about the items you placed in it.

2024 Time Capsule

Create your own family time capsule. Have each member of the family put one item into the capsule. Put the capsule someplace safe until next year. Pull it out on New Year’s Day 2023. Take the items out and talk about them.

Make a Memory Jar for 2024

Get a mason jar.
Decorate it.
Put a 2-inch by 2-inch pad of paper next to it.
Make a point of every few days writing down something that made you laugh or smile.
Fold the paper, and place it in the jar.
Then, on New Year’s Day 2025, unfold each paper and read them one by one.
This is one way of focusing on all the good things that happen to and for your family throughout the year.

Family New Year Resolutions

Oftentimes you think of making New Year’s resolutions individually, but think of some things you would like to do as a family. Would you like to have more family outings? Ask each member of your family something that they would like to do, you can give them ideas such as going to a museum, going to the state capital, or visiting a national park. Mark some of the items down on the calendar for tentative dates to do these activities.