Fresh Takes on New Year's Traditions

Close your eyes and think of the words "New Year." Perhaps you envisioned party hats, loud celebrations, champagne, the ball dropping in Times Square, a midnight kiss, the Rose Bowl Parade and a day of football and feasting. Some New Year's traditions are here to stay, and some, including the midnight kiss should be kept. Others can be updated and refreshed to keep New Year's feeling like it should: new. For your family's New Year's traditions, this might be the year to put the phrase "out with the old and in with the new" into action.

Eat Your Way to a Healthy New Year: Fresh Menu Party

Making and breaking New Year's Resolutions is a tradition that probably dates back as far as the New Year's celebration itself, back in Babylonia. One of the most popular and conventional New Year's traditions is to commit to a healthier lifestyle. For most people that means adding exercise and eating more nutritious meals. Plan a Fresh Menu Party for friends and family on New Year's Day.

Invite guests to bring along the ingredients or prepared ingredients to make their favorite healthy meals. Request that the guests also bring recipe cards for other guests, with nutrition information. Each guest can show or explain how to make his or her favorite nutritious meal, arming other guests with fresh ideas for healthy meal-planning. A healthy feast follows.

Winter Fitness off the Futon

New Year's traditions centered on the TV are a thing of the past. Forget the six hours of pre-game football coverage following a night of lip-synced concerts the night before, all enjoyed from the couch. Plan a more active New Year's tradition with family or friends. Consider meeting at the local ice skating rink or roller skating rink for an informal party. Spend the night at a local ski resort and go night skiing or snow tubing. Call ahead for group rates or to book locations for extra-large parties.

On a budget, plan a Wii party for friends, inviting guests to bring along their own Wii games for everyone to enjoy. The Wii party still involves the TV, but in a more active way than simply tuning into traditional New Year's programming.

Pretend It's Summer: Indoor Water Parks

While a trip to Disney may be a kid's dream, visions of Mickey and Minnie dancing in their heads will soon fade when you tell them your planned destination: an indoor water park. There is something deliciously indulgent about the concept of splashing around in heated water while the ground is covered in ice and snow. An annual outing to a water park during the winter or to a ski resort for those who live in warm climates may be the turnabout your family needs to put a fresh twist on New Year's traditions.

A budget-friendly way to pretend it's summer on New Year's is to start a tradition of an indoor picnic complete with corn on the cob, burgers, cold salads and ice cream sundaes.

Night at the Museum

The classic New Year's tradition of imbibing to excess can be a less-than-attractive proposition as people age or as their lifestyles change and they become family-oriented. Rather than finding a way to wait until the kids are in bed to celebrate New Year's, have a celebration that is an adventure for the whole family. Local art, science and children's museums host sleep-overs for children and their parents. The sleep overs involve a combination of educational and creative activities along with live entertainment or movies.

"Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot"

While most people can sing this line from the traditional New Year's song, how many actually spend time remembering those who have passed? Families and friends who have lost someone in the previous year can honor that person by creating a family scrapbook. Family members can share funny stories, photos and discuss what they liked best about the person. Watching the loved one's favorite movies or listening to their favorite music is also a way to remember that person.

Quality over Quantity

Drinking alcohol may be part of the classic New Year's tradition that you want to keep. One way to enjoy your favorite alcoholic beverages without going overboard and starting the New Year with a headache (a.k.a the hangover) is to focus on quality rather than quantity. Set up a wine tasting or a wine-and-cheese tasting for your vine-loving friends. For the beer drinkers, have a beer tasting party where guests each bring a bottle of international beer or a beer from their favorite microbrewery. Provide information cards about each beverage, with small tasting cups. Provide palette-cleansing foods, including crackers or popcorn as recommended by the Beer Advocate.

Adult Pajama Party

In the past decade, New Year's revelry has given way to more family-friendly community celebrations with kid entertainment and alcohol bans. For a more adult New Year's Eve tradition, host a pajama party for your friends, if you are not part of the tame First Night crowd. Invite single friends and indicate the attire on the invitation. For mixed parties, be sure to include information about proper attire (from conservative pajamas to lingerie). Serve breakfast at midnight, including water-rich fresh fruits like cantaloupe, watermelon and grapes. Make a breakfast casserole, cinnamon rolls or pastry and serve flavored decaffeinated coffee or herbal teas.

Sources

http://wilstar.com/holidays/newyear.htm
United States New Year, http://www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm
How to Host a Beer-Tasting Party - BeerAdvocate, http://beeradvocate.com/articles/436
Sparkpeople Recipe Calculator, http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp
Nutrition Data, http://www.nutritiondata.com
Tournament of Roses, http://www.tournamentofroses.com