Ring In The New Year With New Family Memories

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Some of my most treasured memories center around a happy holiday table-the people who were there, the family jokes and news bulletins on the most important events, and the good food that helped conversations flow and the time fly; and here we we find ourselves about to ring in a New Year. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas weekend!

Christmas was quite and peaceful this year. Since I’ve lacked writing lately to relax and enjoy the time off with my family, I couldn’t resist writing to all of you today as we are doing absolutely nothing. The stores are beyond insane with the after Christmas sales and I personally don’t have the patience for the undecidable crowds.

These days we all live with busy hurried lives. But it’s still possible to provide the necessary islands of peaceful, enjoyable family living that are traditionally associated with the dinner table. We can still make the most important meals, the family meals, memorable – not just once in a while, but most of the while.

Ringing In The New Year!

The days of those classy New Years Eve parties where we dressed up and rang in the New Year with champagne toasts are a total thing of the past.  We are parents now and our carefree party days are few and far between. While most would say we could probably leave our child(ren) with a family member for New Years Eve, it doesn’t seem to feel right. When they were younger, it was much easier but now as they get older, they want to be included in the entertainment and festivities of the special occasion. We’re not ones to travel much on the holidays. We prefer to stay home, where it’s cozy, and avoid the messy traffic. Over the years, we’ve developed some simple, yet fun traditions for celebrating the new year with our kids. It can be a lot of fun to invent your own New Years Eve traditions to do each year as a family. From homemade noise makers to tasty party food, you will be creating wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

This year, we’re trying something new. After one last visit from family and friends, we’re creating a Happy New Year tree! We’re taking down all the Christmas ornaments, but leaving the lights on to twinkle through the night; adding some curly ribbon of various colors and topping it off with a beautiful, sparkly star.  With all that said, 2011 has been a pretty great year for our family. We’ve seen goals accomplished and new dreams hatched. Our children have grown in size and in spirit. We have fulfilling jobs and health and food on our table. 2011 has been great to us.

Here’s to a new year full of creating new family memories!