New Years Celebrations: It is Midnight Somewhere!

The New Year series's final post is for families that want to be festive and celebrate while still valuing sleep. The consequences of having a late-night celebration may not be worth the impact for the next day. If staying up late isn't right for your family, celebrate with a country that sees the new year in a different time zone. You can set your clocks to countdown and celebrate in style consistent with your chosen location.  

To be extra festive, make decorations in the themes of that country you have chosen. Your family can even explore the culture deeper through books found at your local library and/or Youtube videos. And don't forget the food! Ordering preparing some traditional New Years' foods from your chosen destination.  

There are so many great options for different countries and cultures you could explore, but this website may help you narrow down your choices.  Just pick what time you want to celebrate with your family, and it will give you the names of a few countries and cities that will be ringing in the New Year at that time! 

Some of my favorite location ideas- 

Brazil

Midnight in Brazil is 8:00 PM in Colorado! Celebrate like you're in Rio De Janeiro or Beuno Aries! In Brazil, it is customary to wear white on New Year's Eve. It is also expected to coordinate the underwear color for the day with your New Years' wish! In case you are curious, I found this list online.

• White – peace and harmony

• Silver – innovation

• Blue – serenity and friendship

• Green – good health and hope

• Red – passion

• Yellow/gold – money and happiness

• Pink – romance and love

• Purple – spiritual connection

• Orange – creativity

• Black – independence

If you want to show off your New Years' wish, modify this tradition to fit your family by switching out the colored underwear for a colored t-shirt.  

If you want to eat in true Brazilian fashion for the new year, you will want to cook up a pot of lentils and find a pomegranate. And don't forget to find the nearest table or chair and get off the ground when the clock strikes midnight. 

Greece

Midnight in Greece is 3:00 PM in Colorado! Traditional Greek new years activities include marathon card games (because the new year brings good luck), smashing pomegranates (symbol of prosperity), and eating the traditional Vasilopita, a New Year's Cake) at midnight. This cake has unique coins and charms hidden inside. Whoever receives the pieces with the coin will have good fortune throughout the next year! A quick search didn't turn up any local bakeries in Boulder to buy a cake. However, there are several recipes online, and it looks like a relatively simple recipe.  

And don't forget the food! In Greece, they mark this occasion by filling their tables with food grown locally. You could do the same and source the food for your New Years' celebration from the local farmers in your area. Or you could support a local restaurant with an authentic Greek meal.  

This blog post wraps up my 2020 ideas for celebrating New Years' during a Pandemic. What ever you do, make sure that you are having fun and enjoying a connected evening with your family. Elaborate celebrations are memorable and fun, but simple, joyous, and connected moments are the foundation in relationships. When planning your New Year's, make sure you find the right fit for your current energy level and capacity, and recruit help. For kids, the process of so much more important than a 'Pinterest perfect' product. Enjoy making Memories.  

Family New Years Ideas: Reflection and Goals

Part three in my series on New Year's activities for families will be for those families looking to participate in what is considered more 'traditional' reflection and goal setting activities. There is value in reflecting on the highs and lows of the last year while setting some intentions for what you want in the New Year. Because this is a fairly typical way to celebrate the New Year, there are plenty of resources out there to help you structure this for your family. I'm going to share with you some of my favorite resources and ideas, ranging from light and casual check-in all the way to a highly structured, detailed, but still fun plan.  

The New Years’ Tree

Those families looking for a light and casual option for reflection (who also celebrate Christmas and have a tree) consider upgrading your Christmas tree to a New Years' tree. This is quickly done by taking off any unique/valuable/ fragile Christmas ornaments and allowing the family to create their own New Years' ornaments that represent the best parts of 2020 and their dreams for 2021. Personally, I would even leave room for a few ornaments that represent the parts that were tricky as well. Those moments are going to be just as pivotal in our lives as positive ones. I can't be the only one that saw all the Facebook ads with toilet paper and dumpster fire 2020 ornaments, can I?  

The best part about this is that you can easily do this with only the supplies on hand in most families. With a minimalist approach, you could genuinely do this project using printer paper and a pencil. I would recommend trimming the paper into quarters. Paper can easily be propped up on a tree. If you are a family the does not celebrate Christmas, you could tape these sheets onto a wall in whatever shape feels significant to your family. If you are a family with supplies on hand, bring them all out and see what kind of masterpieces can be created. Some families might even like to collect special supplies to make keepsakes ornaments to keep for each year. An open heart and mind are really all that is required! The added bonus is that you have an excuse to keep your tree up longer. 

Personal story: Two years ago, my youngest got so upset when it was time to take down the tree that we ended up keeping a small tree up and hand a New Year tree AND a Valentine tree.  

New Years Interviews

Another simple, thought-provoking exercise would be to do a New Years' interview with your children. I've created a printable with my favorite interview questions to inspire reflection and goal setting. One enjoyable and easy way to turn this into a keepsake is to record the interview on your phone. Then you can review the videos each year after you create the new one. I'm excited to keep these snapshots of my children even when they have grown into full-sized people.  

My Big Life Journal New Years’ Kit

My final idea is equally as simple as my first but with more structured and a small financial commitment. I highly recommend the products from My Big Life Journal. I had considered making my own New Years' downloadable to share this year, but it is hard to justify it when someone else is already doing it so well! Perhaps next year, I will create something simple to share, but I genuinely believe you can't go wrong with any of their items. In this case, I want to specifically draw your attention to a few specific products- their New Years' 2021 kits! There are two available; one for ages 4-10 and one for 11+

There are 3 easy ideas for reflection and goal setting for your family during New Years'. If your own reflection leaves you wondering if your family is as healthy and happy as they could be, check out our family therapy page to learn more about the services we offer. 

FREE Emotional Support for Children and Families of the Cal-Wood and Left Hand Canyon Fires

TLDR: I’m going to share the journey of how this came to be, but if someone you love need help now, here are the important details:

How it will work. Since we are only a two-person operation, we have decided to take on a limited number of children for six free sessions. The focus of these sessions will be to cover three things that are essential during a crisis.

1) Allow impacted children an opportunity to express their experiences using play and art therapy techniques.

2) Learn, practice, and build some grounding and self-regulating techniques to help support the children both in and outside the session.

3) Share information, tools, and resources with the families to help transition the work in session to the home. These resources included providing parents with psychoeducational information about what to expect after a child has experienced a natural disaster.

If you are interested in receiving this support for your child, email us at Hello@bloomngrowtherapy.com.

This year!

Do we need to say more? These are unusual times that started with a once in a lifetime pandemic, civil and political conflict, and natural disasters worldwide. There are so many valid reasons for everyone's mental health to be suffering right now. While all of these have a profound impact, Colorado's recent wildfires touch the deepest places in my heart and my community.

I've been struggling lately with the feeling of powerlessness, which I know to make for restless nights. During one of these restless nights, I thought about my own child's reflections and worried about the fires. He worried about the people that were losing their homes. He wants to know if any children live in the mountains. Will they lose all their toys and special treasures? He worried about the animals that make their home in the forest, and the firefighters who are already tired from fighting the numerous fires that occurred before these current ones.

He shared his thoughts with me this weekend while helping him navigate our backyard zip line for the one-millionth time, which allows him to processes his thoughts and manages his big feelings. At one point, we could see the flames from our yard, and he looked up at me with tears in his eyes. He asked if the special hiking trails we always visit on my birthday and mother's day would be okay? I don't have the answer he needs from me. But we could make cards for the firefighters and pull together care packages with much-needed supplies. We fill our bird feeders for all the birds who will need to leave their mountain homes. We also went through our games and toys to choose a few to donate to children who may need them right now.

We can do these things to help a 5-year-old feel like he has some ability to control and contribute to a situation that is far outside of his control.

My child, who is 100% safe, is this profoundly hurting and impacted by these fires. There are so many children struggling in much more significant ways. How are those children who have been evacuated doing? How are those children who have or are at risk of losing their homes doing? Who is going to be able to be the person listening to them talking about their worries while they are doing something for the millionth time?

I shared my story and idea with Robin, my practice partner on our Tuesday morning business hike, and she had her own words to share about her preschooler processing his stress about the fires. The decision was easy—the call to show up for our communities' youngest members and their families is what feels essential.

If you are interested in receiving this support for your child, email us at Hello@bloomngrowtherapy.com.