At five and eight years of age, it is likely that your children will remember your special celebration. Each family has its own favorite ways of celebrating together. You might want to think about your family history and culture to get ideas of ways to celebrate this passing year. Here are some ideas:

• Keep it simple, but special. When we think of significant occasions, often we think of BIG: big parties, big trips, big festivities. While these are sometimes fun for children, they may not offer time for the family to really connect with each other and think about the significance of the occasion. They may also take lots of planning which actually takes time away from family.
• Plan for special family time. Crowded out by television, computers, video games and everyone's hectic pace, families are having fewer opportunities to spend meaningful time together. What would your family really enjoy doing together? Here are some suggestions that might remind you of what would be special for your family:
  1. Take a day-long hike.
  2. Look through family albums and tell/write stories of the oldest relatives you know about.
  3. Take a roll of film of each family member doing her/his favorite things.
  4. Have each person choose one thing special they would like to do with the whole family and plan an activity a day until everyone has had a special day.
  5. Have each family member choose and plant a tree to commemorate the event.
  6. Cook a meal together, having each person fix their favorite thing for the family.
• Create mementos. Because your children are fairly young, they are going to be able to remember the event partly through their experience and partly through whatever mementos you create together. You could:
  1. Take pictures of whatever you do to celebrate and new millennium, and make a family memory book of the year 2000.
  2. Make a time capsule, with everyone in the family putting in a few special things, which you could plan to open up (and possibly add to) every five years.
  3. Write family journals including all of your significant memories, including photos, drawings, if possible.
  4. Interview each family member on audio or video tape, asking about memories, as well as hopes for the coming year.
  5. Interview all of your significant relatives, especially the oldest ones, and ask them questions about the changes they've seen during their lifetimes (this could be on audio or video tape, as well).
• Protect kids from inappropriate and/or uncomfortable situations. Typical ways that Americans party involve lots of alcohol and large groups of people. Children don't get their needs met when they are around inebriated adults. If you are planning this kind of activity, make safe arrangements for your children and plan another activity to celebrate the new year with them.

Happy New Year!