6 Ideas for your Quarantine Family New Year’s Celebration
From all of us at Kenosha Achievement Center, happy New Year! Unfortunately, this year, our end-of-the-year celebrations will probably look a little different than what we are used to. We will all miss the traditions and activities that help make this time of the year so festive. There’s still ways, however, to keep family celebrations sparkling while maintaining safety precautions due to COVID-19. Check out the quarantine family New Year’s ideas below for some activities we have in mind.
1. Dance the night away.
It’s a great night to turn up the tunes. Switch off who chooses their favorite song to play and get ready to show off your best dance moves. All the dancing is sure to boogie up some fun and help burn some energy too. Jazz it up by playing freeze dance or memory moves.
For freeze dance, just designate someone to repeatedly pause the music. Whoever is still moving when the music pauses loses that round. In memory moves, one person begins with a dance move of their choice. The next person must complete that dance move and add on one of their own. Take turns with each family member adding a dance move to the end of the routine. The first person to mess up or forget a move loses that round.
Please note, if you burn TOO much energy, you and your family might not stay awake until midnight to reign in the new year after all.
2. Act, draw, shout and guess all of your favorite things.
Start by teaming up to write all of your favorite things on small pieces of paper. The more items that are written down, the longer game time will last! Once written, fold them up and toss each one into a bucket, bowl or hat. Decide as a family if you want to act or draw the items out (play charades or Pictionary). Whoever guesses the item correctly by shouting it out first gets a point. Then, whoever has the most points after every idea has been pulled wins the game.
3. Spark fun with different sensory activities.
Use items found at home to create a sensory bin, bag or bottle. Items like beans, rice, paper, glue, small toys and more can be entertaining while also providing an opportunity to practice fine motor skills. Children of all ages, and even some adults, will have fun dumping, scooping and twirling the various items around. KAC has put together a quick, easy tutorial to help make a Calming Sensory Bottle — try it out!
4. Cook, bake and learn together.
What’s for dinner? Involve your child and family in the process of cooking or baking the day’s snacks and meals. Even the simplest of recipes can offer the biggest learning opportunities. Plus, it will be valuable time spent together.
5. Get creative.
Another fun, and sometimes messy, activity that helps families learn and spend time together is making crafts. Gather all the markers, crayons, glue, glitter and any other craft supplies found at home. Use these supplies to explore your child’s creativity and see what you can create together. If it’s not too cold, try going on an outdoor scavenger hunt and later make a nature collage with the items found.
Check out KAC’s DIY weighted stuffed tutorial for a craft that will turn one of your child’s stuffed animals into a cuddly tool for self-soothing.
6. Practice mindfulness and gratitude.
A worldwide New Year’s tradition is to set resolutions about what can be achieved in the upcoming months. These times are unpredictable, and our losses are unforgettable. Take a moment to appreciate where you are while expressing your gratitude as a family. Talk about the small things you might accomplish together and the difficult things you will get through together. For help getting started, try browsing YouTube for some guided mindfulness and even some meditation games.
We hope these quarantine family New Year’s ideas help make your celebration that much more special. Here’s to wishing you and your family great happiness, health and hope in the new year. How will you celebrate New Year’s with your family? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments below.
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