Tell Arla Big Milk about your fresh start this January – chance to win £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

The New Year brings about thoughts of new beginnings, and Arla Big Milk would love to know what your intentions are for a fresh start for your family, to help them grow big this January.

What are your plans and aims for the new year? Are you determined to be a better planner of healthier, wholesome meals, to make sure your DC gets enough of the good stuff? Perhaps you’d like your family to practice better sleep hygiene or spend more time together? Maybe you’re looking forward to watching your children grow big and reach milestones like weaning, taking their first steps or learning to read by themselves?

Whatever your aims, share the great ideas you have for a new and fresh start for your family in 2017 with Arla Big Milk below. All who post a comment will be entered into a prize draw where one Mumsnetter will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks, and good luck with the prize draw.

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&C’s Apply.

This is my year of living better, I'm trying to think of more rather than less. More family time, more healthy food, more meal planning, more thought about impulse buys etc etc

I've been eating a healthier diet for about a year now myself but when the kids were not joining me in eating lots of veg, I would just let them eat other things instead. This year I've decided that it really is essential that we ALL eat healthily - We've made a good start by making a big batch of home-made granola (the kids chose the different berries, nuts and seeds that they liked best to go into it) and as it has no added refined sugar it is a far better option for breakfast than the sugary cereals they were having before. Of course it's great with Arla milk too!

Making sure we make more time for board games at dinner time instead of tv on in the background. Getting myself and the children to bed earlier every night. Declutter the house of toys & clothes that the children have outgrown. Cook a larger variety of foods, to get the children used to more unusual things, instead of sticking to tried and tested menus every week.

I have just started a new job on 01/01/2017 how is that for a fresh start to the new year!

Currently awaiting intolerence and allergy testing so pointless to start any dieting untill that is sorted,

My top aim is to keep my blog updated and gain a bigger following as I'm struggling to increase traffic atm.

I also aim to craft more as I have a HUGE pile of cardmaking stuff that is just sat sadly waiting in the corner.

I am trying to win as many birthdya and Christmas presents as possible.

Increase after school activities and lessen screen time, this is a HUGE problem in my house.

LOVING the "17" idea above!

To have more quality time with the dcs, especially reading the books I used to love at that age.

And getting fit/encouraging them to get fit - bit of a tendency towards being couch potatoes!

Ambitiously, I've bought a book on life coaching your children -not read it yet so don't know how realistic that

...is!

I am going to not take things for granted, and try new healthy ingredients when cooking. My daughter is going to try to be more positive. Each week, she is writing on a bit of paper something good that has happened that week, and puts the paper in a jar. We plan to read the bits of paper next new year, but I guess we could look every now and then when she needs a boost! 😃

we are trying to find some relaxing time, time to read a book or just enjoy doing a bit of sketching/painting. Its not as easy as it sounds as we are always on the go work/children/clubs etc, so it will take a bit of practice

Aims for the new year include promoting independence for my eldest son who will be starting senior school in September, so more responsibility for him, more reading for my youngest & a good work/life balance for me.

I have my usual get fit and eating healthy! I haven't really started though so it's not working out so well! But my main goal is to be more organised! I'm sick of being so chaotic all of the time! So I'm trying very hard to have everything in order so that my days go smoother! Organised equals calm! Xo

I'm desperately trying to change my confidence around taking my little twins out and about more. Today we conquered soft play!
I also really want to be more prepared with their meals and a whole lot more adventurous, there's only so much pasta and mashed potato the little mites can take!!

I plan to organise my self better and do things to make life easier for my self by doing little things. I have been unsubscribing from spammy / marketing emails as they arrive in my inbox. I am following fly lady. I try to plan my outfit before I go to bed. Prepare lunch for the next day. Planning the next day before I go to helps me to feel like I have more time

Less sugar! My diet has been awful recently. Then generally take better care of the house. I've been bad with both as massively pregnant but due soon.

To do a lot more fresh cooking at home!

To bake with the children more rather than buying pre-made cakes and biscuits as they enjoy the making and the eating.

To re-introduce drinking milk or water before juice policy at the table, which has worked previously and then I became lax about it.

To finish any projects once started both for kids and me :-)

To finally decorate and organise the house so I can feel less stressed about it and so the children always have access to their things. Moving into a house that needed lots of work when heavily pregnant was not a good plan, but now youngest is nearly three we will make progress.

I also want to get fitter and started running in 2016, I'd like to make that a regular thing this year and take my son to do the Junior Parkrun as well.

As a family we've said that we would like to make better use of our weekends. We've started planning some weekends away, walks that we would like to do and places that we want to visit. DH who loves cooking has also started making a list of new recipes to try

I have 2 giant freezers which I use to batch freeze home cooked food. I need a freezer chart of some sort so I can quickly choose meals and reheat them during the week. I'm going to draw up a freezer planner so there are no mystery meals lurking inside.

We started healthy more vegan based eating which we have been keeping up with so far.

the usual... lose weight. still not happening.

I'm trying to drink more water, cut back on sugar and less tv for my daughter

Moving house in a few weeks so literally big changes! And I'm determined I'll be more organised and eat more healthily, get more fit as a result (closer to gym, bigger kitchen, good walks nearby etc). Also trying not to be a shouty mum anymore. I hate the way I sound!

We have decided to batch cook toddler meals for our 15 month old and create a meal planner, so we can spend the daily cooking time on more family time in the evenings.

We are also starting a new exercise regime together as a couple to plan for our biggest change in 2017 - TTC number 2! :)

Spending more quality time with my 11yr old boy! Getting older so wants to be out with his mates so making the time we have special, full of laughs and fun!