With a new baby on the way, you’re probably looking for ways to ring in the New Year that don’t involve partying all night long. Consider consulting The Joy of Family Traditions by Jennifer Trainer Thompson, a lovely new book that pays tribute to hundreds of celebrations from around the world and offers new ideas for marking important occasions. Here’s a December 31 tradition started by a family in Georgia:
On New Year’s Eve, the family spreads out all the photographs they took during the year and talks about them—what they did, where they went, what mattered to them—and arranges the photos in an album. It’s become so popular in the family, when their teenage daughter was old enough to go to a New Year’s party, she ducked out early so she could be home with her family, going over the pictures.
Photos by the Geaney family.