New Year’s Day Activities for families
New Year’s Day provides a much-needed day of rest at the end of the holiday season. Your kids have the day off of school, and you hopefully have the day off of work. This means that New Year’s Day is a perfect opportunity to spend some time with your family.
While many shops and stores may be closed on New Year’s Day, there are still plenty of best things-to-do and fun activities that you and your entire family can enjoy together.
New Years Day Activities for families
Catch a Movie
As the holidays approach and you find yourself rushing from store to store trying to finish your Christmas shopping, it is easy to miss new movies due to sheer lack of time. If there is a family movie playing in your area and your children have expressed an interest in seeing it, hit the movie theater for a relatively low-cost activity. Grabbing dinner before or after the movie is one excellent way to socialize with your family and burn off a little holiday stress.
Go to a Museum
While you should be careful to double-check whether the museum is open New Year’s Day, a science museum is an interesting and educational destination for a family outing. Many museums are open on the holiday, and with people recovering from New Year’s Eve celebrations, you may find that you and your family have a lot of freedom in how you explore the museum due to low attendance.
Making A Time Capsule
New Year’s Day marks the first day of a brand-new year. You can celebrate the new year and remember the old one by building a time capsule with your children. Take a shoe box or lunch box and have your family put items representing their current interests into the box. They can also write down predictions for the year and family and place those in the box. Seal the time capsule and put it in a safe location, then open it next New Year’s Day to see how things have changed.
Get Outside For The Best New Year’s Eve Activities
It is easy to hide from the cold and bundle up in the house, but there is a lot of fun to be had outside. Take your kids to a park, playground or nature trail, a nearby town and enjoy a little bit of the winter weather. This activity naturally depends heavily on how agreeable your winter weather can be, but most families should be able to spend at least a few minutes playing in the snow in a fun way or taking a walk. If the weather is nice during winter in your area, all the better. Afterward, enjoy baking cookies together and eating them with a cup of hot chocolate.
Go Outside And Play
Ahh physical activity how we miss thee. With our Xbox and High Definition televisions, many of us have forgotten about good old fashion play away from the living room. Many parks are closed for the new yearís eve festivities, but there are plenty of places you can take your family to throw a football, have fun in the snow (if it is around), go ice skating, etc. Our society has become so hectic and electronic that reconnecting with the outside world is an excellent way to have some incredible holiday moments.
Learn Something New As A Family This Time Of Year
There is probably something most of your family has always wanted to learn. New Year’s is a great holiday to begin learning fun things like how to play the piano, paint, learn about nature, etc. Learning about interesting things engages the mind and gives a family a great chance to be there in the moment with one another. Make this an annual tradition.
Do A Craft Together With The Whole Family
Crafts are an excellent way to spend creative bonding time with older kids. There are many different projects you can do that center on the New Year’s theme. Perhaps every can make a collage of images of where they want to go in the New Year or create a scrapbook of memories . No matter what you do, it’s hard to go wrong with working on a family craft. Explore your local super craft store, such as Michaels or Jo-ann Fabrics, for materials and plenty of ideas.
A Party As A Family-Friendly Event Is A Good Way To Bond
Everyone thinks about a fun-filled night and partying on New Year’s Eve, but you can show them what they are missing by throwing a party on New Year’s Day. Most family members with young children never get to experience that New Year’s Eve party atmosphere together.
The great thing about a New Year’s Day party is that there is no traditional theme you have to stick with. If you want to have a luau with festive party favors then go ahead and knock yourself out. If you want a dance party with party hats on the dance floor you can do that too. The younger kids can get involved with the decorating and hors díoeuvres preparation. A party is a great way to have extra fun and get everyone involved, including little kids.
Talk About The Good Things
At the end of the day, when the parties, crafts, etc. are done it is time for the most important family activity of all: communication. It sounds corny, goofy, etc., but families don’t seem to connect with one another today. There is no better way to really be in this moment with your family then to practice deep listening with them. Talk about anything that comes to mind.
You might discover some surprises like what bothered your daughter for most of the year (and then promptly go over and kick that boy’s rear…I kid, I kid). This can also be a great chance for families to talk about their individual visions for next year and how they can support one another.
New Year’s day has often been used as a day to plan for the coming year. New year’s resolutions are little more than futuristic visions of salvation. There are few people who start working on their health or begin writing that novel on January 1st. For families this holiday can be a great opportunity to teach your children to live in the present. It can be a time to show them goals are more about living a vision (which is always unfolding in the present) than having a dream (future salvation).
Happy New Year!
