Happy New Year! 2016 has started and I look forward to all that is yet to come in this new year!
First, I would love to take you back to last year...a whole day ago! Every year I try to make a fun filled night with my husband and our three boys and this year would be no different. Sometimes it is hard to find activities all of our boys can do since they are ages 10,7 and 4, but with a little help, this year turned out pretty well.
So while my youngest was at nap and the other two were busy playing with their new Christmas gifts I came up with some ideas. Ok ok...Pinterest may have helped with a few. I wrote each idea down on small pieces of paper, put them into a balloon and blew them up. We just used our own hot air to blow the balloons up but it could be fun if you have access to helium. After each balloon was blown up I wrote a time on it so there was one balloon to pop each hour. Then I taped them to a big mirror we have in our family room. As the night goes on our boys watch the clock intently waiting for the time to tick, closer and closer to the time written on each balloon. When the clock strikes the correct time one boy is allowed to take that balloon down and find a way to pop it, but they have to use their body in some way. This can be pretty funny to watch...Cheap entertainment! After it pops they have to find the piece of paper and tell everyone what activity we will be doing.
Some of the ideas we have done in the past
1. Slurpees - Anyone who knows me knows that slurpees are a part of any and every celebration!
2. Dinner - We started a bad but good tradition a few years ago, on New Years Eve my Husband and I make a list of everyone's favorite fast food and one of us goes running around getting it all. Then we have a big meal of all of our favorites. This comes with the understanding that we are not going to eat out for a long time... ok at least a month or two. The boys love picking and choosing their favorites.
3. Time Capsule - I love to document all the things my kids do through photography but I miss out on their thoughts and ideas. So we started making time capsules out of a cleaned out 2 liter bottle (I got the idea here) to help capture their thoughts and likes from the previous year and looking into the next. My favorite answer this year was from my 7 year old, In 2016 I really want to: Be a super hero! So sweet! Anyway, we also measured each boy with string and had them draw a picture of themselves. I placed each boys questions with their self portrait on the back and string into a bag marked with their names into the bottle. We also write down things that happen throughout the year and place them in a jar. My husband and I read each aloud and the kids loved hearing all the fun stuff that happened. Those were placed in a bag and put into the bottle too.
4. Scavenger Hunt - This year we did a scavenger hunt. (found here) I printed out pictures from the last year, one from each month, and glued them to a piece of construction paper. I put them in order and on the back of each picture I wrote a letter. I hid them around the house...some easy for the little guy and some a bit more challenging for the other two. Each boy was to find 4 pictures. Once they were all found we looked at the the pictures and talked about when they happened and how we had fun. We put them in order by the month and then flipped them over to find the secret message....Happy New Year.
5. Photo Shoot - Since I love to take pictures of my kiddo's I had them pick out their favorite NYE gear and dress up! I got out the camera and took a TON of pictures! Everyone got pretty goofy! I promised these pictures were just for us so they really let their guards down! I love those boys!
6. Dance Party - My husband used to be a DJ back before we had kids so he has a love for music and has a phone full of songs the kids love to dance to. Each boy got to pick out a song to dance to, all by themselves, with their own dance moves, it was amazing! Again...nothing like free entertainment! Then we all danced together.
7. Movie - We usually try to have a down time at some point so they don't poop out before midnight...and I mostly mean my husband and myself. So we try to find a family movie we haven't seen yet to watch. This eats up a good 90 minutes or so.
8. Snack Time - Since we need to pop a balloon every hour, about halfway through the movie we will have a snack break. We will try and stock up on everyone's snacks to offer all sorts of options. Then back to the movie.
9. Get Ready for the New Year - We get the boys fancy glasses and sparkling juice, one year we put gummy bears in their glasses to make them even more special. Mom and Dad have some champagne. We all get dressed up in our party gear and make it just in time for the countdown! Kisses at midnight all around!
10. The Mystery Balloon - This was the first year we had a Mystery Balloon! It drove them CrAzY!! Continually asking me when they could pop that one. It was to play a family game. I saved this for an unexpected time when they were getting bored and we needed something to do. They were so excited to pop that one and they had to work together to pop it!
The boys all have fun and love the excitement of waiting to pop open the next balloon! My husband and I love to spend such a fun night with our guys!
I hope you have a happy and healthy 2016!
