NYE / NYD traditions

[ProudCoralBear]

Do you have any? There are always loads of threads about Christmas traditions and I’d like to start some new year ones with young children and I’m interested in what others do?

We have young children. Since the eldest was 2 we've gone to a light trail on NYE. They're usually pretty quiet as I think most people do them in the run up to Christmas.
We always have a fry up for breakfast and lamb for dinner on NYD. And have a day of rest before the return to the routine!

I am Scottish. NYD = steak pie

Same as @Cottonheadedninhymuggins Scottish so always steak pie on NYD. Although I'm vegetarian so it's now my take on a steak pie!

Scottish.

Steak pie in Hogmanay to soak up the booze.
roast beef on NYD

family party, board games, booze, watch the firework at the Bells. Kids get to stay up as late as they want.

We always have a buffet on NYE. Always make some kind of pasties or sausage rolls. We let the New Year in with charred wood, some coins, and bread (heat, money, food). Always a party as we have a quieter Christmas Day! NYD we cook a proper fancy dinner in the evening - often salmon with a champagne sauce. That's a nice relaxed day, and we all get lovely long baths in the afternoon. Boardgames, general silliness and fun!

These all sound lovely

I usually have a nice home made or shop bought pizza for dinner. Shop-bought for NYD 2025. One of the first things I do in the morning is play Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens - I've been doing that for about twenty years.

I'm always home on NYE, except for pub between about 7.30 and 10pm.

Scottish too, so steak pie on New Year’s Day, then people visit us. Hogmanay we have a buffet with a few friends, see in the bells and then head off for a bit of first footing to various neighbours. But during the day on Hogmanay is the great “clean your house”.

I like the idea of the day spent cleaning

Normally go down the allotment on NYD. This year it's meant to snow though, so probably give it a miss!

We stay home NYE as we have DD7 and we are home bodies anyway. We always tend to make Chinese food as it's our favourite and watch a film.

I have to have the house cleaned ready to go in to the New Year and I like to buy myself some lovely flowers for the house on NYE. Lovely waking up to a fresh year, with a fresh house :)

The most special tradition my little one thought up a few years ago is that we go out on NYE and pick each other a book in secret and them give them to each other in the evening. Such a cute thing for us to do so will keep this up.

I'm Scottish too so it's steak pie on New Year's day. I also usually visit my Gran.

New years eve I usually clean the house and put all the xmas decs away ready to bring in the new year.

I think the picking a secret book is my favourite so far! We have a new local bookshop that I’ve been meaning to try so if they’re open this may become our new tradition.

We have a buffet on NYE.

Do not make the mistake of promising to take them ice skating on New Year’s Day if there is any likelihood that you will have a hangover.

Steak pie is actually a law in Scotland 😂. Clean your house on Hogmanay and don’t take last years dirt into the new year. Don’t clean or do laundry on ne’erday as you’ll clean away your luck or wash away a life, it should be clean from Hogmanay.

On the first bell at midnight open the back door and let the old year out, then close it. On the last bell open the front door and let the new year in!

We usually go walking on New Year’s Day.

Here's a Corsican tradition for New Year's Eve. Put cold water in a soup plate. Add a few drops of olive oil and push them around with your finger. If the drops come together and form one blob you will be alright. If they don't, it will be all hell and damnation upon your immortal soul. You are afflicted by the evil eye.

So that's a cheerful and fun family activity.

Dont think New Year is for kids really. Its very late and there's not much for them. We were lucky enough to be good friends with about 5 local families who were DD1s friends parents so from the ages of about 8-14 we had a multi family NYE which was great and fun for both adults and kids. We rotated houses. Worked really well and covered those awkward years when they want to do "something" but are too young to.

In (a lot of) Germany it's tradition to watch a British show called Dinner for One on NYE, usually with a sugar coated jam filled donut. So that's what we'll be doing! My family and I often take a walk up the hill behind our house to look at any fireworks in the city, this is before the kids bedtime so not a huge spectacle but it's nice nonetheless. Looking forward to it getting later and later and maybe one day being up there at midnight.

On NYD we head to the coast for a cliffside walk <3 always super quiet as people are usually sleeping off the night before.

Will say even if not German Dinner for One is a hit with young kids, it's slapstick comedy and they laugh a lot. Though much of the nuances of the jokes and plot go over their heads. And of course everyone looks forward to the doughnuts

@MrsAmaretto my mum used to do the same. I'm half Scottish so i always have a big clean before new year eve. Not done first footing for a long time 🫤

Another German here watching Dinner for One.

Also a tradition, tell your new year fortune by melting (traditionally tin, but you can use) candle wax and puring it into a bowl of cold water - you use the shape formed to predict what will happen in the new year.

Another one I introduced to my children was a version of the filled donut, but Russian roulette style. One donut is filled with mustard (I used a piping bag for this), the rest are filled with jam or, for colour reasons, custard. You take it in turns to eat a donut. The person who bites into the mustard-filled one has a year of good fortune ahead of them.

That's quite similar to my Corsican olive oil thing. The wax candle melting in cold water to tell your fortune.

NYE: Sit under the table and eat 12 grapes.
NYD: Granny cooks a roast with crackers and New Year's Day presents
NYE: We make resolutions and share them

We play games, have a dinner and then later baked Camembert, fizz at midnight and watch the fireworks and then probably more cheese and some port before bed

These are lovely to hear about
We write a wishlist things we'd like to do or achieve and places we'd like to go in the next year
I normally write a sloppy card for hubbie and my 13yo reflecting on this year and hopes for the new year.

Don't do a lot on nye. I normally work (I'm a nanny).

Seeing my parents tomorrow for lunch but more cos they were at my brother's for Christmas so didn't see them.