2007 is about to be history. 2008 is eagerly waiting to pounce upon us, forcing us to face another year of our lives whether we're ready or not! With the big holidays behind us, I'm sure there are many of us who would like to take a rest. In fact, a long nap sounds heavenly to me! For those that maybe missed a visit during the holidays due to the fact that we all have increasingly busy schedules, maybe you could consider making a tradition out of New Year's Eve festivities!

Here are some ideas.

1. Plan a party. Nothing is more fun for young children than being able to "stay up late" with the adults and "watch television." Plan special drinks and snacks for the kids. When I was younger, my parents put a candy cane in my Sprite so I felt like I was drinking an "adult drink." Tasting it now, I'm absolutely disgusted. However, I loved it at the time! Get some party hats, some noise makers and let your kids enjoy ringing in the New Year together.

2. Make some resolutions together. This can be done solely between the children, just between the adults or all together. They can be general resolutions or adoption family related. For example, maybe the adults all want to lose five (or, if you're me, more!) pounds before bathing suit season. You can challenge one another to stay on task! Maybe the kids want to set a reading goal for the year. Perhaps you can also mail books back and forth to help your kids reach those goals. As a family, maybe you want to set a new goal for contact or visitation. Discussing, in this relaxed manner, what would work best for everyone can help everyone get on the same page for the year.

3. If you can't get together for a party, send something to party with separately! For example, you could send a noise maker with a note to blow it, very loudly, at midnight. Other examples include a party hat, confetti (warn the family that they'll have some clean up to do!) or other fun party things. Being the 28th, it might get there on time if you mail it immediately. If not, just keep it in mind for next year and mail it the day before Christmas!

4. Don't forget to call! Obviously, this is for older children and families who don't have newborns who would be sleeping! Plan ahead of time whether it would be appropriate to give or receive a call at midnight. Plan who will call whom so the lines don't get crossed; it's always disappointing to get a busy signal at midnight! Set up a way to cancel the call if need be. For example, if your older child falls asleep before midnight, plan a way to know that your call won't be coming. Have your child's parents e-mail you if something like that happens. (And don't forget to check your e-mail. Or consider text messages. Or an earlier call from them to warn you!)

In short, you can share the celebration of another year of open adoption family-hood together in many different ways. If you've celebrated a new year together, please tell us about it. Quite frankly, I'd love to take the entire family to New York City and watch the ball drop but I think we have many, many years before all the kids are old enough to attend something as crazy as that event! (And many, many years before we, as parents, are senile enough to attempt such a thing!)

Here's hoping that your families will start the New Year off on a great note!

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For more on Creating Traditions, read these posts.

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