New Year’s Eve is the perfect time to take stock of your life and focus on how you can make the most of 2013. A new year means a fresh start. Out with bad habits and in with better ones.
For busy parents, evaluating the year gone by is a chance to reprioritize; for many that means figuring out ways to spend more time with their children.
Of course, there’s no time like the present to get a jumpstart on that resolution. To illustrate your newfound commitment, consider spending the last days of 2012 bonding with your kids. Remember, it’s not so much what you do together, as long as you are together… and you are healthy, happy and safe.
For those of you looking for structured activities to keep the family unit strong, the following projects may be helpful:
Time Capsule: Spend New Year’s Eve reminiscing about your favorite moments of 2012. Find photos of those special memories or have your children draw pictures of their most memorable events of the year. Then, get an old shoe box and decorate it with glitter, stickers, stamps, sequins, buttons or more photos. This will be your family capsule. In addition to the artwork and pictures, have your kids fill the capsule with little mementos or short notes making predictions about the coming year. Finally, seal the box with masking tape and place it in a safe spot. Then, on January 31, 2013, open the box and take a walk down memory lane discussing how things have changed in a year’s time.
Inspiration Board: Making the resolution to be a better parent looks great on paper, but following through can be an entirely different story. Creating an inspiration board is a beneficial way to keep your eye on the prize. This project can be made with help from the entire family. Simply pick-up a bulletin board from a discount retailer or make one from canvas and patterned fabric. Place three or four strips of double-sided tape on the front of your canvas. Then, add the fabric to the canvas, being careful to keep it pulled tight. Next, glue the edges of the fabric to the side of the canvas, as if you were wrapping a present. When the glue dries, staple pieces of grosgrain ribbon in a diagonal grid across the board, and then sew buttons where the ribbons intersect. Finally, fill the board with inspiration quotes, photos or magazine articles that inspire you to keep your resolution.