Happy New Year!

Several bloggers asked about Christmas traditions this holiday season--my family has fun New Year's traditions, as well!

A tradition Mike and I have started with our girls is playing games to pass the time on New Year's Eve. We let them each pick one, and if it still isn't midnight, Mike and I pick some, too. This year we played Cranium's "Zooreka," Life (board game, not wii), and Clue (wii, not board game). Mikayla won the first 2 games (which is good, because she is SUCH a sore loser)(don't tell her I said that), and Jessica won Clue. (I love our Wii Family Game Night we got for Christmas, but Clue is my least favorite game on there. No, Hands Down is. The only fun ones are Life and Mouse Trap. Just so you know.)


Growing up, of course we always stayed up 'til midnight on New Year's Eve, and we would get pots and pans and bang on them with spoons on the front porch yelling "Happy New Year!" to all our neighbors. Mike didn't grow up doing this, and won't do it because he feels silly, but so far I've been able to get all 3 girls to participate with me. We'll see if Jessica will next year when she's a teenager...

In a family of college football fans, no one wanted to leave the tv to eat when I was little. So instead of eating around the table as usual, my mom would make all kinds of yummy finger foods, spread a tablecloth on the family room floor, and we would eat all.day.long. And watch football. We called it our "spread." She always made shrimp cocktail, which I didn't like, and tater tots, which I loved, and a veggie tray and other dips and spreads and treats. We have continued this tradition, my football-loving husband and I. Today we're munching on hot wings, sausage/cheese balls, mozzarella sticks with marinara, tater tots, veggie tray with ranch dip, crackers with beef dip, and chips with Rotel/chili/cheese dip. That's a lot of food for a family of 5!! We'll have some good lunches next week. :)