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.

I'm going to tweak my baking this year. I have discovered that you can reduce sugar in cake and biscuit recipes by one third without affecting the finished product.

I've decided to savour the everyday moments by deciding what 'typical' stuff my daughter does, photographing it and at the end of each month, uploading those for an end of year photobook. This way, i can remind her of what little milestones she enjoyed (like riding a bus for the first time) not just saving the special photo moments for birthdays and holidays.

I want to worry less and try to enjoy the moment

Get weekend homework done Friday after school where possible, whilst DCs still in school mode, to avoid it wrecking weekend!

Me - lose weight, see ME consultant
Kids - less screen time, push forward with getting ds2 a diagnosis
Everyone - meal plan better

I decided to spend more time with my children. I've always worked long hours and sometimes at weekends to so have changed my job to work from home which lets me pick my hours and spend more time with family. We're also going to hopefully make a move out of the city into the country to give the children a better quality of life

I'm trying to make a fresh start by stopping worrying about trivial matters so much.

Drink more water. Eat more fruit. Walk more.

Simple starts to losing weight.

Lose weight and finally do some of the DIY tasks that have been needing done for years.

Sort out some things in the house (including big sort out and tidy) - eg bathroom needs painting, we need a new sofa bed and mattress before DD1's foreign exchange student comes, etc

Dryish Jan.

I want to lose about a stone and go back to doing some pilates or yoga

Start geocaching at weekends with the DC

For me it's eating better.

For the DSs it's less screen time particularly near bed time and to get my eldest to eat breakfast in the morning.

I would like to do more cooking from scratch and eat less processed junk. My son has just taken his first steps so looking forward to him walking some more.

As a family, I would like to spend less time in coffee shops and more time walking in the fresh air.

My aim is to get my 10 year old to start tackling his nerves as they seem to be getting worse and he is becoming more & more stressed about things as he gets older (no idea why?) and it's beginning to affect lots of areas in his life now.
I'd just like to get fitter in general and aim to do the Moonwalk this year.

Be more active and eat less!

We have got rid of all the mirrors in our house bar one tiny shaving mirror - you've got to improve who you are then, not what you look like (doing this as son has severe eczema and dont want him judging himself by body image)

We have got rid of wifi, so have to actively get up and turn on the old PC to have any screentime which has resulted n spending less time apart and more time together as a family

We have started a 'good things' jar of small things that happen so we can look at it if things aren't going so well to remind us, it's not all bad.

less tech time and more activity time! instead of coming in and sitting in front of the tv ive taken the kids out each evening for half hour to an hour just having a walk

I have vowed to remember how grateful I am just to be alive and well. As a family, we have gone through some tough losses in the past and as recently as yesterday another old family friend died.

As well as this, I have promised myself to make more of an effort to keep things in perspective, be more positive and make the most of new opportunities. Most things we face in life challenge us, but problems pass, have a solution, or simply turn you to a different path.

This year we aim to meal plan better therfore eating healthier meals and saving money.
For the kids, the start of potty training and the youngest has just begun weaning and will soon be on the move.
Mostly though, to make lots of lovely family memories which is more important than ever.

I am resolving to make decisions based on "Will this make our family happier?"
So less stressing about the small stuff, and prioritising quality family time.

I've made small commitments to getting fitter, going to the gym and running more.

eat healthily which means less takeaways and more home cooked food (done this for 2 weeks and have already lost some weight!) plus save more money - only look at things we really need

I am going to cut my working hours on the weekend and do one family active activity the weekend... so far we have found snow and made a snowman (a one hour drive), gone for a walked played pooh sticks on the river before having a picnic albeit a warm one from food flasks and walked along the beach and gone rockpooling in wellies and thermals. It's quality time together, outside and helps me and my dh lose those extra xmas pounds. Win win win !!!!

I've decided that I'm going to be more positive in following through consequences with my dd to helpfully make life more peaceful longer term for us both.

I've also been actively trying not to shout and to model the behaviour I expect.

Finally, I love filling out days with fun days out and doing stuff but I've realised that downtime is really important and my aim is to spend at least one evening a week with no screens, no phones or tech and really just chat to my dd even if it's just for an hour or so, we end up playing simple games but actually really connect.

My aim is to become fitter by eating healthier and taking more exercise