New Year's Eve

For several years in a row when the kids were little, David worked on New Year's Eve. I tried to come up with some fun traditions for the kids and I to do to make it seem like a special day. By New Year's, most of the treats we made for Christmas had been eaten, so we needed a new treat to make. So one year we decided to make ice cream in plastic bags. The kids liked it so much, we have been doing it ever since.


To make the ice cream, put 1/2 cup whole milk, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a small freezer bag (I usually double bag it to be safe). Then put the smaller bag inside of a larger gallon size freezer bag that is about 1/2 to 3/4 full of ice and rock salt. (Once again, double bagging is a good idea.)


Then...you shake the bag. It takes 8-10 minutes of shaking before it turns into ice cream.





Music makes this a lot more fun. So for our New Year's Eve party, we blast the music and everyone dances around with their ice cream. The kids love it, and I love watching their dance moves progress from year to year. This year we put in the Grease Soundtrack and danced around while David rolled his eyes in the other room (Grease is not his favorite movie by any means). David was on call this year, but gets to take home call now, so we were glad he was home with us.



Sarah had a friend over this year, and it was fun to share our tradition with someone else.



After it's done, the kids add sprinkles and/or chocolate sauce.

Here's Kate, already in her nightgown, showing off her very own ice cream.

After the ice cream, we watched a movie, played games, and watched the ball drop in Times Square at midnight. Everyone but Kate stayed up until midnight this year.

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Our New Year's Day tradition is a Penny Hunt. The saying goes,

Find a penny
pick it up
all the day
you'll have good luck.

So, if one penny brings luck for a day, finding lots of pennies will bring you luck for the whole year. Every New Year's Day I hide pennies around the house for the kids to find. They love the penny hunt. This year I hid 150 pennies--30 for each of the 5 kids to find (our four plus Sarah's friend). Once they find their 30, they can help the other kids find the rest. They had a great time!