New Year is the perfect time for a fresh start, but let’s be honest – resolutions have a habit of quietly disappearing by mid-January. If you’d rather have something tangible to look back on at the end of the year, these fun new year traditions are all about making memories as a family, not just making promises to yourself.
The best part? Every one of these ideas takes just a few minutes out of your day, yet they’ll leave you with memories worth keeping for years to come.
Easy New Year Traditions For Your Family
Start a Positive Memory Jar
It’s so easy to forget the small things that brighten our day. We enjoy them in the moment, then let them slip away as the days roll on. A memory jar is a lovely way to hold on to them – you can find a simple printable version to get you started from Make and Do Crew.
To create your memory jar, sit down together as a family each week and write down one positive thing that happened for each person. Pop your notes into a box or glass jar and watch your collection of happy memories grow over the year.
Come next New Year’s Eve, gather everyone together and read back over all the good things that happened – big and small – over the last 12 months.
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Take More Photos
Most of us are guilty of taking hundreds of photos of the kids and very few of the whole family together. Make it a goal this year to get in front of the camera as well as behind it – a daily silly selfie is a fun, low-effort way to do it.
Pick a time of day that suits your routine and get snapping. Nobody minds messy hair or no make-up in a daily selfie – your kids will love the fun of it now, and you’ll treasure looking back on it together in years to come.
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Set a Family Goal For the Year
Instead of individual resolutions, why not set one goal together as a family? It could be saving for a special trip, getting outdoors more, trying new activities, eating better, having a regular family night, being kinder to one another, or simply having more device-free time together.
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Create a Savings Goal
Get the kids involved in a savings challenge for the year ahead. You could try our 52 Week Savings Challenge, or scale it down for younger savers – starting small, for example, and adding a little more each week as their confidence (and their piggy bank) grows.
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Interview the Kids
Start each new year with a quick family Q&A. Put together a list of ten (or more) questions, keep the answers somewhere safe, and ask the same ones every year to see how they change. Younger children can join in too, with simple questions like their favourite colour, food or bedtime story.
Some questions to get you started:
- What are your goals for the year ahead?
- What was your favourite memory from the past year?
- What makes you laugh?
- What was your favourite book to read or movie to watch this year?
- What three words best describe you?
- What do you want to be when you grow up?
- Who do you most admire?
- What do you do best?
- What activity do you most enjoy?
- What would you change if you could?
- What do you love to learn about?
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Have Family Meetings
A friend once told me her family holds a monthly meeting over ice cream, where they sort out any differences of opinion, plan holidays or outings, and generally check in with each other. It’s a simple, low-pressure way to make sure everyone gets a say – and to protect a little time together as a family.
All you need is a regular day and time – weekly or monthly, whatever suits – and a topic or two to talk through. The ice cream is optional, but highly recommended.
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FAQs About Making Memories as a Family
Why start family traditions instead of new year’s resolutions?
Resolutions are often individual and easy to abandon once life gets busy. Family traditions are shared, repeated, and built around small, doable actions – which makes them much easier to stick with, and far more likely to become genuinely treasured memories.
How much time do these traditions take?
Very little. Most of the ideas above – a memory jar note, a daily selfie, a quick family Q&A – take just a few minutes. The value comes from doing them consistently, not from a big time commitment.
What age are these traditions suitable for?
They work well across a wide age range. Younger children can join in with simplified versions (favourite colour, favourite food), while older kids and teens can engage more fully with goal-setting, savings challenges, and family meetings.
Do we need to do all of these traditions?
Not at all. Pick one or two that suit your family’s rhythm and personality. A tradition that feels natural and enjoyable is far more likely to last than one that feels like a chore.
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Save These Ideas for Later
Not ready to start today? Bookmark this article or save it to your favourites so you can come back and pick a tradition whenever the moment feels right – New Year’s Day isn’t the only day you can start.
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Have your own family new year tradition? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
