New Year’s Eve as a parent . . .

Last Updated on 19 November 2023 by Colette

I remember as a kid New Year was spent with my Grandparents while Mum & Dad had a night out.  Mum always said it was their chance to let their hair down when they’d spent Christmas catering for everyone else.  Grandma used to let us stay up when we were older but would always say “I don’t know what you think you’re going to see” and we’d be in bed by 5 minutes past midnight!  She wasn’t wrong really was she?
 
Our New Year celebrations have changed dramatically over the past decade – more so in the last 6yrs since we’ve been parents ourselves.  In our early to mid twenties New Years Eve was all about two full days of clubs, parties and general hedonistic merriment.  By our mid to late twenties New Year had become more about New Year’s Day, also known as K Day!  Long, relaxed days in the pub with friends to celebrate Kirsty’s birthday.
 
New Year in our thirties?  We’ve had the odd night out, the odd night in with friends . . . this year we have no plans at all.
 
Today we’ve been for a good stomp around Heaton Park to get some fresh air into us, a cheeky lunch in Morribobs & then home to watch film together before getting all three children to bed as usual.  This evening Dave and I will be enjoying turkey curry and some goodies from our Hotel Chocolat “selection box” whilst we watch a film and will more than likely see in the New Year asleep!
 
 

 
 
 

 
I can’t say I haven’t felt a bit grumpy about not going out this year this year, I regret that we didn’t make plans, that we’re not getting dressed up to go and spend time with our friends however I’m also counting my blessings.  I know how lucky I am to have my gorgeous family around me as we say goodbye to 2014.  Maybe next year we’ll be a bit more organised and make some plans for celebrating the New Year, or maybe not.
 
I hope that, whatever you choose to do, your New Year’s Eve / New Year’s Day is exactly what you wish for – see you on the other side!

 

If you’re looking for family friendly things to do in Manchester with the kids this New Year’s Eve – read this next or check out these New Year’s Eve photo booth print outs and find some ideas for celebrating NYE with kids here.

Author

  • Colette Burgess is an experienced primary school teacher and has lived in Manchester for most of her adult life. She is married to Dave and they have three children aged 12, 15, and 17.

    Colette has been writing about days out and adventures in Manchester and beyond including day trips and short breaks in the UK and holidays abroad since 2012.

    Colette and her family love festivals, camping and generally being outside.

    View all posts

14 thoughts on “New Year’s Eve as a parent . . .”

  2. We have a family new year too, we went out when we were younger and I can honestly say I don't miss it. Never really enjoyed them! Now we play bingo for novelty prizes, play any games we get for Christmas and then watch as Big Ben strikes 12 and then go to bed 🙂

    I love your photos from the park!

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  3. Life does change with young children, but trust me it comes back too, until they want picking up from parties themselves! But who would swap the partying of your 20s for the lovely family you have today and those smiles and laughter in the park? Lovely photos, a great blast of fresh air and a very Happy New Year to you all. Thank you for joining me for Country Kids

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  4. Sounds like the perfect way to spend New Year to me Colette! Much similar here too and that's just how I like it. Fab photo's Colette. Happy New Year to you all x

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  5. Lovely photos! I gave up having any expectations of New Year's a long time ago and this year I was ill so I went to bed at 10.30 with a honey and lemon! We had a lovely country walk on New Year's Day though which made up for it! X

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  7. We did make plans this year but still ended up home in bed before midnight! Looks like a lovely family day for new year though

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  8. We also head out on New Years Day (& the day before) as we don't have specific plans on what to do. We didn't even woke up 12 as we are tired from the walks outside =P

    Happy New Year!! #countrykids

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  10. We never do anything for new year's eve because a) the OH's grumpy, b) he gets up at 5am every morning, c) we'd struggle with babysitters and d) it's usually calving time on the farm so he needs to be there in case of a problem. We did get invited out to a friends house for a party, and we could have taken N and put him to bed upstairs, but the OH didn't want to go, and I didn't really want to go alone. So we stayed in and didn't even make it to midnight. Nothing different then!

    New Year's Day is always a good one for us though. Friends always invite people over for lunch and this year there were 20 of us (families, all who knew each other), It's always good fun and a nice way to celebrate without having to stay up late.

    Looks like you had a lovely walk, happy new year

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  11. This is exactly what we did, I do miss the partying a little bit…. but I do love the kids and wouldn't change a thing! 🙂 xx

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  12. Sounds like a pretty darn good New Year to me. Hope 2015 is a good one for you all!

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  13. I really enjoy not having the pressure to go out and have fun at New Year now we have children! There will be plenty of time for going out again once they are grown up! #CountryKids

    Reply

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