New Year is the perfect time to start afresh, but for many of us, new year’s resolutions often fall by the wayside. I love the idea of looking back at the end of the year on something tangible, and these fun new year traditions to start with your family are perfect for making treasured memories.

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I am the worst culprit for forgetting about my new year’s resolutions by about mid-January, so I have made a plan to start new year traditions instead. The best thing is that all of these ideas take just a few minutes out of our day, yet will leave lasting memories that we will all enjoy.

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Easy New Year Traditions For Your Family

Start a Positive Memory Jar

It is so easy to forget all the small things that brighten our day – we enjoy them in the moment, but forget about them as the days pass by. Create a memory jar for the new year (like this one from Make and Do Crew) and use it to remember all the things, big and small, that made you smile.

To create your memory jar, sit down together as a family each week and write down a positive thing that happened for each person. Collect all your weekly notes in a box or glass jar to keep them safe, and enjoy watching the collection of happy memories grow!

At the end of the year, gather as a family and look back on all the fun, positive things that happened over the last 12 months.

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Take More Photos

I know I’m guilty of taking tons of snaps of my daughter, but very few of the whole family or of the two of us together. My goal for the year ahead is to take a better variety of photos – and to actually be in them, rather than behind the camera. In order to accomplish this, we’re planning a daily silly selfie!

Designate a time of day to take your photos, and get snapping! Your kids won’t care if your hair’s messy or if you have no make up on – they will love the casual fun of a daily selfie, and the joy it will bring them in the future as they look back on the two of you together will be priceless.

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Set a Family Goal For the Year

Instead of making individual resolutions for the new year, what about creating a family goal instead? This could be to save for a special holiday, get outside more, try new activities, be healthier in both the food you eat and the exercise you undertake, have a monthly family night together, be kinder to each other, or have more device-free time.

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Create a Savings Goal

Get the kids involved with a savings plan for the year. You could try our 52 Week Savings Challenge which will net you a tidy sum by the end of the year, or you could tweak it for kids to do a smaller amount – for example, start with 50 cents per week and work your way up in small increments.

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Interview the Kids

Start each new year with a quick Q&A session. Compile a list of 10 (or more) questions, keep the answers safe, and ask the same ones each year to see how the answers change. Younger children can still take part with questions like ‘what’s your favourite colour, food or bedtime story’.

Your questions could include the following:

• What are your goals for the year ahead?
• What was your favourite memory from the past year?
• What makes you laugh?
• What was your favourite book to read/movie to watch in the past year?
• What three words best describe you?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• Who do you most admire?
• What do you do best?
• What activity do you most enjoy?
• What would you change if you could?
• What do you love to learn about?

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Have Family Meetings

A friend once suggested this to me and I forgot all about it, but I actually really like the idea. Her family have a monthly family meeting over ice cream where they hash out any differences of opinion, plan a family holiday or outing, and so on. If nothing else, it’s a great way to plan time together as a family.

All you need to do is designate a particular day and time each week/month to hold your family meeting, then use the opportunity to discuss whatever is most pressing for your family. I quite like the addition of ice cream…

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Have your say! Do you have any family new year traditions you would recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’ve love to hear from you!