New Year:  Celebrating It the Right Way

Ever since mankind learned how to party, we have been chasing that perfect New Year’s Eve celebration. I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but that perfect New Year’s Eve party that you’ve been looking for every year is a myth. There is no such thing as a universally perfect New Year’s celebration. It is only as perfect and memorable as you want it to be. So stop chasing the white rabbit down the hole and start thinking about what is important to you as the New Year comes along.

You could be spending your New Year’s at Time Square and watch the ball drop from the One Time Square building as it counts down to the New Year, or you can stay at a rich friend’s house in Beverly Hills and celebrate the New Year there. But it will still not be the perfect celebration that you have always wanted if you are not surrounded by the people you love and care about. Keep in mind that celebrating the New Year is all about new beginnings and new resolutions. It just wouldn’t be complete if you can’t share it with your closest friends and family.

To prepare an awesome and inspiring New Year celebration, you need to make sure that everyone who is important to you is available for the party.

Call them up in advance and invite them to your little gathering. Obviously, moms and dads who are in the military won’t be able to attend the party, but don’t let that ruin the mood. The kids can always Skype with their dad (or mom), who’s serving in other parts of the world, during the party to make the celebration more complete. After all, what’s the use of all the advancements in social media if you can’t take advantage of it during such times, right?

Once the guest list is set, you need to think about the theme of your party. What kind of a New Year celebration do you want? Ask for suggestions from your family members and friends. Do they want a Chinese themed New Year celebration, a Filipino style New Year’s Eve, or the traditional American way of celebrating the New Year’s? Chinese New Year celebrations are loud and usually involve firecrackers to ward off evil spirits and bad luck to make sure that everyone faces the New Year with a clean slate.

The Filipino way of celebrating the New Year, on the other hand, is more family oriented and has a lot to do with food. Families feast on traditional home cooked meals as a way of getting acquainted with the New Year. Then, there will most likely be singing, dancing, and of course, drinking. Children, even the small ones, will be awakened before midnight so they can celebrate with the adults. And long after midnight, some kids will still be up and about playing with other kids. As an American kid who has celebrated New Year’s once in the Philippines, I can tell you that it was one of the most memorable New Year celebrations I’ve ever had.

So wherever you are this coming New Year’s Eve, always remember that all you need to make your celebration more memorable is your family and friends. Whether you’re spending New Year’s Eve with them in Time Square or in the comfort of your own home, it is their presence that makes the moment memorable; not the location, or the food, or the band that’s playing. And even though there are some of us who can’t make it home for the New Year’s, especially the men and women in the military serving abroad, just a short email, video message, or call to your loved ones in the armed forces will certainly make their celebration extremely meaningful and memorable.

Family Time at Christmas

The holidays provide an excellent opportunity for family bonding. With family members, relatives, and some of your closest friends coming over for family gatherings, this coming holiday season is a perfect time to get re-acquainted with loved ones who are either working or going to school away from home. For a typical working class family, where both parents are working, celebrating the season through fun family activities, games, and even outings, can only strengthen your family’s relationship with each other – not to mention establishing family traditions that everyone will most certainly cherish forever.

Believe it or not, activities that encourage the participation of every member of the family are slowly losing its allure to video game consoles, iPads, and other self absorbing electronic gadgets. Don’t get me wrong; fiddling with an iPad or playing with a Sony PSP is fun, but it does not allow the individual to interact with the people around him. In fact, it’s quite sad that some kids in their early teens are slowly becoming a recluse to their own family because of such devices. Isn’t being an adolescent teen hard enough?

These days, it’s hard to get close with your own kids without having to deal with them playing too much video games or planting their faces in front of computers and smart phones, tweeting about mom and dad revoking their Internet privileges. Keep in mind that this scenario frequently happens all year, which is why making a conscious effort to engage in fun family activities this coming holiday season is the best time to re-establish memorable holiday traditions.

Of all the holidays in a year, Christmas is probably one of the most family-oriented. During this period, most traditional families spend quality time picking out their Christmas tree and taking it home for a nice make over. It may not sound as enjoyable as playing Angry Birds on your iPad, but most of us would probably agree that during our childhood years, trimming and decorating the family Christmas tree was undeniably one of the most memorable family activities. Apart from opening Christmas presents, of course.

Setting up the Christmas tree…

Singing Christmas carols with the entire family is another longstanding tradition that has slowly diminished in the recent years. Family caroling can be a fun holiday activity. You can go around the neighborhood singing to your neighbors and showcasing your family’s hidden talents, very much like the Von Trapps in “The Sound of Music”.

On the other hand, if you prefer indoor activities for the family, you can try cooking or baking. The girls can help mom prepare the ingredients for that delicious family recipe, while you and the boys man the grill.

Any home activity that requires the participation of the entire family is perfect. It does not have to be elaborate or prestigious. Just remember that the point of all this is to cherish and enjoy the moment with your loved ones. Even if the activity is as simple as preparing sandwiches for the family picnic, it will be special because you are doing it with the people you care about.