Kids’ Corner
NEW Year’s Eve is here, and you’ve decided to stay in with the kids. Why not? It sure beats ditching that slob you don’t want to kiss at midnight at the grown-up bash. Here are suggestions for three parties for the whole family with New Year’s themes.
Up all night
Kids always ask, “Why can’t I stay up late like the grown-ups?” Capitalize on their fascination with a party exploring the mystery of what happens in the middle of the night. Explain that most animals, people, machines rest at night, but there are places where people work at night -- hospitals, police stations, etc. In Spanish la madrugada means the hours between midnight and morning. Get the kids to invent their own word to describe the wee hours.
Decor: Decorate with paper moons, stars and suns, black or blue tablecloths contrasting with white and yellow ones.
Food: The night before, cook a dish that takes all night to stew. Make cookies in sun, moon or star shapes. Serve breakfast foods at the end of the party to signal that you’ve made it through the night.
Resources: “The Greenwich Guide to Day and Night”; “What Makes Day and Night,” by Franklyn M. Branley; “Stellaluna,” by Janell Cannon; “Midnight Fairy Craft & Party Book,” by Tracy Marsh.
Time passages
Talk about how time is measured and about aging. Drag out the photo albums and look at pictures of parents and grandparents. How old are they in the pictures? What kinds of clothes were Grandma and Grandpa wearing? Kids might dress up like their grandparents for the party and play old-fashioned parlor games. Or, without looking at a watch, guess how long it takes for three minutes to elapse.
Decor: Dress up clocks in the house with ribbons, sprigs of holly, tinsel. Wear all the watches you own at the same time. Set alarms to go off at midnight.
Food: Serve foods that need time to develop; note the contrast between cucumbers and pickles, grapes and raisins. Make bread in the bread machine or make your own pizza dough, allowing time for it to rise, and top with aged cheeses, like parmesan and gouda.
Resources: “The Story of Clocks and Calendars: Marking a Millennium,” by Betsy Maestro; “The Greenwich Guide to Measuring Time,” by Graham Dolan; “The Oxford Treasury of Time Poems,” by Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark; “The Time Machine,” by H.G. Wells.
Around the world
Explain to the kids that the New Year is celebrated at different times of the year in Israel, Iran and parts of Asia. In Vietnam (where it’s called Tet) and China, the New Year is greeted with firecrackers, lion dances and festivals. In Scotland it’s still on Dec. 31-Jan. 1 but it’s called Hagmanay.
Decor: If your family has Scottish ancestry, find the tartan that corresponds with your name on the Internet and print a sample. For a Chinese New Year party, make lanterns and cutout dragons with construction paper, set the table with rice bowls and chopsticks. Parents give children “lucky” money, crisp new dollar bills presented in red envelops.
Food: Scones, shortbread and anything made with oats for New Year’s in Scotland, or Chinese or Vietnamese takeout.
Resources: “Happy New Year, Everywhere!” by Arlene Erlbach; “The Story of the Jewish Calendar,” by Azriel Eisenberg; “Christmas in Britain,” from World Book.
-- Anne Valdespino