I’d imagine that this year, more than ever, the New Year’s Eve celebrations will be at home and they will likely involve children, so organizing some family-friendly activities will make this December 31st the most memorable day of the 2020 calendar year.
I often consult with JT, my 8 year old son, when I have a writing assignment that involves kids because I like to get insider information that I might not be taking into consideration on my own accord. He has big thoughts for a second grader and even bigger opinions so he is often happy to share whatever might be on his mind. I find it to be incredibly useful when he decides to open up and share with me.
When I asked JT what he’d like to do to celebrate the New Year, I thought I’d have to prompt him with some of the suggestions I had in mind:
- Schedule a Noon Year’s Eve celebration (so he wasn’t up until midnight)
- Pop balloons at the top of the hour each hour until midnight (though I knew my overly sensitive boy was going to hate that)
- Have a dance party with him playing DJT (his official DJ name) as we turn out the lights and use glow sticks to light the room (though we already have impromptu dance parties ANY day of the week in our home)
- It turns out that he already had a fantastic idea in mind – creating a time capsule
10 year old Maria started freaking out with excitement when JT suggested the time capsule. It’s something the childhood version of myself had always wanted to do but never got to fulfill. Sometimes it takes having kids to really start living life to its fullest!
“So what do we put inside the time capsule?” I asked JT as he dug through the junk drawer in our kitchen collecting objects to insert into the box full of memories.
“Batteries?” he suggested, triumphantly holding up a pair of AAA’s.
Clearly, he didn’t understand the concept of a time capsule so I took a moment to explain to him what sort of items we should consider adding:
- COVID-19 and quarantine memorabilia such as a face mask or empty mini bottle of hand sanitizer
- Sentimental items like a photograph or handwritten note to our future self
He nodded in agreement and inserted a $5 bill into the box, reconsidered and swapped it out for a $1 bill instead. Maybe he was starting to get it…?
I spent the next few days looking around the house for just the right box. JT wanted to bury it outside somewhere. He knew that our yard wouldn’t work because of the artificial turf. JT suggested we dig up a spot at a park with some real grass. I gently let him down and steered him in the direction of placing the box in the attic. I knew we’d forget all about it, as if it had been buried in the yard.
JT agreed and we started to place our personal treasures in the box:
- A letter from us to our future selves
- Printed photograph of the two of us
- LEGO creation
- An almost empty roll of toilet paper
- Comic strip from Grandpa (who mails them to JT weekly)
- Deck of playing cards from my previous casino employer
- List of our favorite songs of 2020
- NERF dart
- Mini rubix cube. Because…why not?
We had a great time gathering all the items to place in the box (when I wasn’t secretly removing flammable or perishable items that JT was certain needed to be included). He really thought this was some sort of exercise in doomsday prep and had good intentions of including items one might need in case of emergency. In the zombie apocalypse, I want him on my team! It’s all fun and games until then. Happy New Year and Happy National Champagne Day! Bring on 2021! Cheers!
Check out my full list of 10 Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve with Kids over on the Zulily blog.
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