10 New Year's Activities and Traditions

Good Thursday morning!

Austin's Over-the-Pond Adventure - The Boy has landed. If you are wondering why I said he would arrive in London at 9:30 a.m. (Central Time), it is because I strictly went with the information Austin gave me.

"Austin, when will your plane land?"

"I don't know. I think it's a 14-hour... no, a 12-hour... maybe a 9-hour flight."

I picked the middle "answer."

Austin is a really smart guy, but some things are unimportant to him, and those things are not worth remembering.

For the record, Austin AND I were both happy it was Answer No. 3.

At this very moment in time, he is either sleeping in his room at the Hilton London Metropole OR taking one of SIX walking tours in and around his area. (The Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall or Parliament Square.)

At 7:00 this evening, dinner will be served in the Palace Suite. (I don't know about you, but that sounds pretty cool to me.)

At 8:00 this evening, the Southerners will have a rehearsal in the Windsor Suite in the East Wing. (Uber-cool.)

And that will be The Boy's Thursday.

But in my mind, he's in Jacksonville... 82 minutes away... eating at the Cafe and playing X-Box with his buds.

Denial is my best friend.

The Gallery Pics are of Austin at the airport yesterday.

We're going to get straight to business today. Hold on. Here we go.

Wednesday Wisdom (on Thursday)

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine (Austin LOVES to read.)

10 New Year's Activities and Traditions

These ideas came straight from a link on The Dating Divas website.

1. New Year's Day Pancakes - Put the pancake batter in a plastic mustard or ketchup dispenser. (You see these at hot dog stands and you can buy them at Wal-Mart or Target.) It makes it much easier to shape the batter... 2-0-1-2. (I'm going to do this one, I think.)

2. Resolutions - Have each member of the family write their resolutions on slips of paper. I decorated a can a few years ago, and we put our resolutions in the can until next year when we pull them out to see how we did. I also display a list so we remember what we wrote.

3. Make a Fortune Tree - I make a trip to the Dollar Store and find some funny things to fit into a small bag that will hang on the Christmas Tree. I make up a little New Year's Day fortune to go with the items in the bag. Let everyone choose a bag and then read the fortunes.

I get things like bubble gum, umbrellas, Hawaiian punch mix, etc. Then I write a fortune...

"In the coming year, you will be bubbling over with great ideas and wisdom." (Bubble gum)

"You will find there might be some storms you will have to wade through, but you will come out shining." (Umbrella)

4. Scrapbook - Have everyone make a scrapbook page with their top memories from last year. This is a fun time to reflect on all of the things that happened over the year. We let them use photos or drawings, ticket stubs, art, etc. to make an individual page. These pages are saved in a New Year's Binder so we can look at them every year.

5. Cookie and Confetti Your Neighbors - When I was a teenager, we would shred newspaper by hand and throw handfuls of it into our neighbors' homes as soon as they opened the door. Now I am a little bit nicer. We keep the confetti outside and give our neighbors a plate of treats to celebrate the New Year.

6. Fondue and Finger Food - Celebrate the New Year with the same snack each and every year. The family will look forward to their annual Fondue and Finger Food tradition.

7. Midnight Snacks - Put some cookies and favorite candy into a paper bag and the kids get to eat them while everyone watches the ball drop in New York. We use these with our kids, but it would be fun at a grown-up party, too.

8. New Year's Video - This idea was inspired by Family Fun. Ask your kiddos some questions on video each and every year (the same questions).

I am lucky because...
If I had three wishes, I would wish for...
I'm a little afraid of...
I love it when Dad...
I love it when Mom...
It is so fun when we get to go...
I am a big helper when I...
I am really good at...
What is your favorite game, color, food, etc.?

9. New Year's Eve Meal - We go to a buffet every New Year's. Be sure to incorporate black-eyed peas in whatever meal plans you make!

10. Go Somewhere NEW - You can go to a new restaurant, museum, movie, etc. Anywhere you have never visited before.

Blog Linkage

1. Go to Nesting Place under My Blog List and scroll down to a post entitled "Friendship" dated December 27. There is a link in this post from "in-courage.me." Click on that link and read the post entitled "On Friendship." It is excellent.

2. Go to eighteen25 under My Blog List and scroll down to the post entitled "Christmas Card Books" dated December 28. This is such a cute, quick idea. I really liked it, so I assumed you would, too!

I'll be back tomorrow with Weekend Happenings and more of Austin's Over-the-Pond Adventure... and the Date. I know. I know. I told you I would have EVERYTHING on today's post, but it was just TOO, TOO much.

Take care, and I'll talk to you in the morning.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda