New Year's Eve with Kids Part 3

My daughter informed me 2 days ago that I better start planning our New Year's Eve bags. So I decided to be adventurous and explore New Year's Eve traditions in other parts of the world to incorporate into our bags this year. I attempted to find traditions for a country in each time zone so that we can celebrate all day long.

**All times will be eastern standard time. Each country will also have a link to the website where I found my information and will often give you more detailed information about the traditions that take place there.

6:00 am - New Zealand - bang pots and pans and sing Auld Lang Syne

8:00 am - Sydney, Australia - it sounds like this country is known for their elaborate fireworks displays, so we will be making a firework craft found here at Growing a Jeweled Rose.

9:00 am - Papua New Guinea - traditional dances

9:00 am - Guam - collect coins to jingle in pockets at midnight, make Bonelos Dago (yam donuts) or Nilagang baka (boiled beef)

10:00 am - Tokyo, Japan - ring bells 107 times, then once at midnight to banish all the human sins and purify participants

11:00 am - Philippines - celebrate with 12 round fruits (ie. oranges, grapes, cherries), wear polka dots, and scatter coins (we are going to do chocolate coins)

11:00 am - Hong Kong, China - learn about the Chinese New Year with crafts from Chalk Academy

12:00 pm - Thailand and Indonesia - both cultures have traditions that have to do with lanterns, so we will be making lanterns with paper bags and battery operated candles

1:30 pm - India - learn about Diwali from the Educator's Spin on It

3:00 pm - Dubai - this country is known for their elaborate celebrations and dinner, so we are going to dress fancy and celebrate by drinking tea and eating a treat (luqaimat recipe)

4:00 pm - Turkey - sprinkle salt at the front door and smash pomegranates, we are also going to let the kids scratch off a few lottery tickets

4:00 pm - Russia - mandarin oranges or sweets for the kids

4:00 pm - Madagascar traditions

5:00 pm - Greece - hang an onion over the door and make vasilopita (cake version or bread version)

5:00 pm - Finland - eat ready-made frankfurters, potato salad, french fries, and crisps. Feeling adventurous, learn all about melting tin to determine your future health, wealth, or happiness

5:00 pm - South Africa - toss furniture (or a bucket of water to be more kid-friendly) out of the front door to signify leaving all of the bad things behind in the new year

6:00 pm - Spain - eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the new year

6:00 pm - France - make paper hats and paper confetti

6:00 pm - Germany - make German Berliner (a jelly filled donut)

7:00 pm - Ireland - bang a loaf of bread on the wall to banish bad luck and bad spirits from the house

7:00 pm - Scotland - build a fire to ward off evil spirits and "burn the old year out", sing Auld Lang Syne

7:00 pm - England - make new year's resolutions, make a Cannelig for good luck

9:00 pm - Greenland - make masks

10:00 pm - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - wear white to celebrate, put a bay leaf and money in your wallet and leave it there all year then next December 31 donate the money and throw the bay leaf in a running water stream

10:00 pm - Argentina - shred old documents and throw the paper like confetti, eat dried fruit and nuts, take the first step at midnight with your right foot to everything goes right throughout the year, eat beans

10:00 pm - Chile traditions

11:00 pm - Puerto Rico - they also throw a bucket of old water out of the front door and they sprinkle sugar outside their house for good luck

11:00 pm - Bermuda - make a paper-mache onion and drop it down at midnight

12:00 am - Colombia - run around outside with an empty suitcase if you hope to travel a lot in the new year, they also eat 12 grapes at midnight

12:00 am - Cuba traditions

12:00 am - Peru traditions

1:00 am - Mexico City, Mexico - learn about how the color of your underwear is a sign of what kind of year you will have!

2:00 am - Calgary or Edmonton, Canada

3:00 am - Vancouver, Canada

(still searching for the Canadian traditions)

If you are a Canva user, here is the link to the cards I made. You can make a copy and then edit them to fit your needs.

Click here to access the Google Slides with the cards for each country.

Do you have any special traditions from countries around the world that I can add to this list?? Let me know!

Previous Year NYE posts:

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 1

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 2

Thankful.

Thankful.

That's my word for this year. As I sit here during the post-Christmas hangover, I was thinking about this past year and realized that so many things happened (both good and bad) and I'm just thankful to make it through another year.

This year we celebrated our 10 year anniversary by sneaking away for a quick weekend to Orlando and visited Universal Studios. We also spent a weekend with my cousin and his wife in New England. I'm thankful for family that is willing to watch our kiddos whenever we want to have a little adult time.

This year both of my grandmothers (ages 90 and 94) suffered strokes. I'm thankful that they are both strong, badass women who overcame their medical issues. Oh and they both still live in their homes by themselves. I've learned a lot from both of them.

This year we were able to pull off a surprise 80th birthday party for my mother-in-law in Pennsylvania. Seeing all of the people there to celebrate her was so amazing.

This year we had so many fun, family trips. We went to Nashville for my cousin's wedding. We went to Gatlinburg to spend time with my husband's family. We had our annual beach trip with my family. 

This year I found a new school that feels like home. Amazing people, awesome leadership, and just a fun atmosphere. Finding a place where you feel welcomed, celebrated, and trusted is not always easy to find.

This year my kids were able to go to the same school for the first time. While this may sound silly, you don't realize how hard it is to constantly be the new kid in a new school. I've enjoyed watching them make friendships, get invited to birthday parties, and participate in a school community that feels like family.

This year we got to celebrate Christmas in our home. When we lived in Maryland, we always traveled to either North Carolina or Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with family. Since this was our year in NC, we got to stay at our home. Again, sounds silly, but being able to wake up in your own bed and set up/play with presents in your own home is so relaxing.

Thankful for family and friends. Thankful for good health. Thankful for another year.