by Laura Falin posted in Life & Home

I remember my first New Year's Eve as a new mom. Wait, no I don't. Not really. I remember being in a roomful of people, sitting on the couch...and that was it, I was out. I woke up for about 30 seconds when everyone cheered at midnight, and that's all I remember. My party animal ways have continued...I can't remember a single year where I've made it til midnight since then.
So yeah, New Year's Eve with kids is a different animal. Here are a few tips to get you through the night:

for the love, don't celebrate at actual midnight. Google a countdown clock, and find somewhere in the world where midnight comes at a reasonable hour for you. I've found that if I do a countdown an hour after everyone's normal bedtime, it's a special treat and the kids feel like they've gotten away with something...but they're not completely fried the next morning. lay in some sparkling cider and do a special toast. We do this every year -- we even get out the fancy crystal glasses because what good are they if I just keep them hidden" Go for it.
talk about the cool things that happened over the year. At dinner on New Year's Eve (which is fondue, you remember), we talk about the past year. And I feel like this year, while everyone on social media is droning on about how awful 2016 was, it's even more important. We went on a great vacation. One of the kids started elementary school. Someone learned to read. Someone learned to swim. These are things to be c...