New Years Eve Party Ideas for Kids

Family-friendly ideas to ring in the New Year

Christmas may be over but are you still in the mood to party? Looking to ring in 2013 with some fun for your family? Have relatives coming into town after Christmas and you want to plan something special to celebrate? Why not throw a kid-friendly New Years Eve party? Since I’m usually running on empty by the time New Years Eve rolls around, I’ve put together some fun but EASY ideas for staying home and celebrating in your family room with the kids.  GENERAL TIPS: Make it a party. If you don't have relatives staying with you, invite neighbors and friends with kids about the same age over to help celebrate. This keeps everyone off of the road, you can watch the kids together, and it saves on babysitter money. To keep it casual and easy, have…

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Create a New Family Tradition and Celebrate Dia de los Muertos

Adopt a tradition from another culture focused on remembering the people we love who have passed away.

One of my family’s favorite traditions is celebrating the Mexican Holiday el Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. Have you heard of it? It’s gaining in popularity here in the United States and I think it’s a great tradition to start with your family. So what is it? Dia de los Muertos is celebrated November 1st – 2nd in Mexico, and many other Latin American countries, to remember and honor loved ones who have passed away. I learned all about the Holiday when my family moved to Mexico City when I was in 8th grade and I fell in love with the sentiment behind the Holiday, as well as the festivities and colorful folk art that goes along with it. My father worked for a company that transferred us to Mexico while I was growing up and during my …

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10 Halloween Family Traditions To Try this Year

Make this Halloween the most fun ever for your family

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. What's not to love about candy, costumes, parties, and spooky chills? We have a few family traditions we do every Halloween to help celebrate the season and create some fun anticipation. However, I've heard of a few more traditions from friends that I would love to adopt. You certainly don’t have to do all of these, but pick one and plan some additional fun for your family this Halloween season. 1. Get in the Mood - Watch the Classics. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” Need I say more?Watch it on ABC TV or rent it. If your kids are a little older, try another classic, “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” I love Jack Skellington and we like to light the fireplace and curl up on the …

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Moms Talk

Try a New Family Holiday Tradition

Bring the family closer together this Holiday Season with these smile-inducing traditions.

Family traditions are wonderful, aren’t they? The anticipation. The preparation. Knowing that your family has done this activity in the past and will continue to do so, makes an activity powerful. Hopefully, your family traditions also are a load of fun, because the Holidays are all about spending time together as a family. Although we all love traditions, it doesn’t mean you can’t adapt or update things. Variety is the spice of life! What’s the worst that could happen? You don’t like the new activity and you don’t do it again next year. You may already have a few traditions in place but I want to inspire you to start a new one this year or add to an existing holiday tradition. Chase those bah humbugs away! Here’s a list of ideas for …

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Moms Talk

5 Simple Ideas to Actually Enjoy the Holiday Season

Slow Down and Enjoy the Holiday Season with these Fun Family Activities!

Thanksgiving is over and the Holiday Season is well underway. Are you having fun yet? The Holidays are a great opportunity to have fun with your family. However, the season is short and there is a lot to do – gift buying, baking, wrapping, Holiday parties, decorating, and writing and addressing cards, to name a few. Don’t let the stress of the Holiday Season overwhelm you! After all, the Holidays are all about family. To inspire you, here are some fun ideas to try with your family to relax and actually enjoy the Holiday Season.  Holiday Game Night. Pick a evening, put your favorite Holiday jammies on early, and have fun playing some games. We like to set up the game by our Christmas tree to admire the ornaments while we play. You can give …

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Teaching Your Kids To Be Grateful This Thanksgiving

Ideas to help your kids have an attitude of gratitude.

Sue Kirchner is a family fun coach and weekly contributor to Patch.com. She created ChocolateCakeClub.com and ChocolateCakeMoments.com both sites dedicated to helping busy families have more fun together. Sue and her family fun ideas have been featured on TV, newspapers, magazines, and blogs.  Thanksgiving is all about family and giving thanks, right? Well, maybe eating, too. While we have the family and the eating part down pat, we try a variety of activities to help our kids develop more of an attitude of gratitude. Here are some ideas we've found to create a more grateful family. Model gratitude. As parents, we need to do a good job of modeling how to be grateful. When someone helps you, your kids will hear you say "thank you" and …

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5 Creative Thanksgiving Family Fun Ideas

Inspiration for Thanksgiving family activities and traditions.

Sue Kirchner is a family fun coach and weekly contributor to Patch.com. She created ChocolateCakeClub.com and ChocolateCakeMoments.com both sites dedicated to helping busy families have more fun together. Sue and her family fun ideas have been featured on TV, newspapers, magazines, and blogs.  Looking for some fun activities to do with the family around Thanksgiving? Whether you need a craft to keep the kids amused after Thanksgiving dinner, you want a fun way to teach your kids to be grateful, or you want some inspiration for a new family tradition, here are several ideas to keep the family laughing and creating memories around Thanksgiving. 1. Get Active! Many towns and park districts host a Turkey Trot 1 Mile and 5K race every …

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Sue Kirchner

1:35 pm on Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Jessica, I love that idea!!! I hope you all have a blast on the scavenger hunt. Sue Kirchner   more ›

6 Fun Halloween Family Traditions to Start this Year

Get inspired to have more fun this Halloween by starting some new family traditions.

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. What's not to love about treats, costumes, parties, and spooky chills? We have a few family traditions we do every Halloween to help celebrate the season and create some fun anticipation. However, I've heard of a few more traditions from friends that I would love to adopt. You certainly don’t have to do all of these, but pick one and plan some additional fun for your family this Halloween season. 1. Show Your Spirit. If you haven't decorated the house yet for Halloween - get on it! One of my favorite parts about trick or treating is seeing how everyone spooks out their house. I love the creativity. Whether you prefer fall elegant to grotesque to friendly ghosts and monsters, let's see your…

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Sue Kirchner

2:28 pm on Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thanks Kathy. You bring up a great point that sometimes family traditions change as your kids age. It's great to be flexible and keep finding new ways to have fun together as a family.   more ›

Moms Talk

Celebrating the Last Day of School

Ideas to jump start summer fun by celebrating the last day of school.

My kids are bouncing off the walls. They can't wait for the last day of school. Even though I don't get the summer off, I do look forward to our annual family tradition of celebrating the end of the school year. Since they are so excited, why not join in on the enthusiasm and make it a family tradition to do something fun as a family to mark the beginning of summer break? Parents, if you can, take the afternoon off of work or dedicate a day for pure fun. Here’s some ideas to inspire your celebration: 1. Hit the pool! Let the splashing begin. Head on over to your local pool and start working on that gorgeous tan while splashing around with the kids. 2. Neighborhood Fire Pit, Anyone? Put a fire pit out on the driveway and invite the …

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Debby

8:32 pm on Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Yum--great idea!   more ›

Jaycees 53rd Annual Christmas Tree Sale Continues

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