new year’s celebration 2013, and the word of the year

We are not much for partying on New Year’s Eve. Even in our younger days, we preferred to spend a quiet evening at home. While trying to instill a sense of the passage of time with the kids, I thought it might be fun to mark the occasion with a celebration. Since the winter solstice zipped past us with little fanfare, I decided to do our usual advent spiral on New Year’s instead. A spiral walk is a powerful experience any time of the year, why not one to mark a new year?!

I took down our holiday tree, and The Daddy took it outside and removed all the branches from it. I simply laid the branches in a spiral pattern and The Girl and I decorated it with pretty leaves, glitter and glass beads. A tree stump placed in the middle served as a resting spot for our apple candles.

We talked a bit about what it means to set an intention, as a way to mindfully accomplish a personal goal. I’m not much of a believer in New Year’s resolutions, but the idea of setting an intention for the year is something that resonates with me.  So I chose my Word of the Year as “GROW.” The Girl chose “LOVE.” and The Boy chose “FOCUS.” All really great intentions!

We took turns walking the spiral slowly and mindfully, setting our candles on the stump as we reached the center. When we were finished, we had a nice fire with sparklers, s’mores, champagne, and music. The kids even felt inspired to compose poetry on the spot!

It was a perfect, enchanting evening. Happy New Year!