A New Year’s Resolution List for Your Kids and You!

“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.” – Melody Beattie, bestselling author

According to various estimates, approximately 45 percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions with the most common goals being to exercise more, eat healthier and save more money. Unfortunately, 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions fail by the second week of February, according to U.S. News & World Report. More depressing still, only eight percent of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions will still be committed to them by the end of the year, according to Forbes. Earlier in our super-sweet travel blog, we shed some light on this and tried to reverse this trend by sharing our short list of New Year's resolutions you can keep (for those who are interested).

However, on the bright side, a recent study reported by msn.com suggests that the success percentage of New Year’s resolutions increases considerably when families get involved on New Year’s resolutions together. By making New Year’s resolutions as a family, you can spend more time together and work toward a common goal, while motivating and encouraging each other throughout the year. According to psychotherapist Amy Morin in American Express Essentials, “Establishing a resolution together teaches kids about goals and emphasizes the importance of self-improvement.” For 2019, why not discover a New Year’s resolution list for your kids and you? Learn more about how you and your family can kick off the New Year right by following this handy guide to easy, achievable New Year’s resolution ideas for the family for 2019!

Starting Out: Don’t Set the Bar Too High

Legendary life coach Tony Robbins once stated, “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” However, several studies suggest that more Americans are successful with their New Year’s resolutions when they break them down into easily achievable goals. For instance, if you are a family of total couch potatoes and Netflix addicts, don’t aspire to qualify for the New York City Marathon, hike the Appalachian Trail or climb K2 this year – simply start with a light walking and jogging regimen for the entire family with perhaps the goal of working up to competing in a 5K race by the end of the year (after first consulting with your family physician, of course). Chart your family’s progress on your New Year’s resolutions on a weekly basis to stay on track with your realistic goals for the year.

Making Lifestyle Changes That Last

According to famous English bookseller and bibliographer William Londen, “To insure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness and maintain an interest in life.” In fact, getting healthy is one of the top New Year’s resolutions among Americans each year. The good news is that you and your family don’t have to starve yourselves or become gym rats to get in shape as part of your New Year’s resolution. Follow these tips for a healthier family in 2019:

• Remove all the junk food from your pantry and replace with healthy snacks.

• Make exercise fun for the whole family by planning a daily walk after dinner, organizing a bicycling adventure, starting a new active hobby, taking family exercise classes or planting a garden in the backyard.

• Limit time spent online, on smartphones and in front of the TV. For example, set an hourly limit daily and/or one day a month to go “unplugged.” Or schedule a “tech-free” night once a week. Use the time you save away from electronics to get more active.

• Plan at least one family outdoor excursion each weekend, whether it involves strolling through a local park, hiking in a nature preserve or even kayaking on a scenic river.

• Make a bucket list of new outdoor adventures that your family can enjoy throughout the year.

It's been said the health is the ultimate form of wealth, and nothing could be truer than this axiom. So take care of you (and your family) in the new year, and learn to unwind with wellness in mind, no matter what else you resolve to accomplish!

Taking Control of Your Family’s Finances

Benjamin Franklin once quipped, “Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.” A common New Year’s resolution for families is to get household finances back on track. Here are some tips for spending less and saving more in 2019:

• Identify your financial goals for the year and outline a systematic plan of attack in order to make those goals a reality.

• Cook at home more often to save some money while eating healthier and spending more quality time as a family.

• Visit your public library and take advantage of the free books, audiobooks, magazines, DVDs and CDs, as well as lectures, classes, workshops and other activities.

• Start a travel saving account and set aside money each month for your 2019 vacation goals.

• Commit to one “no-spend day” a month where you put your debit and credit cards aside, skip shopping entirely, eat at home and seek out free entertainment.

Another great thought for 'starting a savings' mentality is to get your kids involved this coming year! Let them start doing small jobs around the house for an allowance that they earn, or start a matching-savings policy with older kids that have actual jobs outside the house to get them in a savings frame of mind. It's a great way to bring you closer together, and it builds life lessons that far beyond a one time resolution.

Create to Recreate: Formative Family Fun Fills Young Minds!

According to poet Maya Angelou,” You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Therefore, make sure to include some New Year’s resolutions for 2019 that help your kids try something totally new, flex their creative muscles and enhance their artistic talents. Who knows – A new hobby picked up today could even turn into a true life’s passion tomorrow! Consider the following activities to help your family unleash their imagination and learn invaluable new skills during the New Year:

• Pick an exciting arts & crafts project for the entire family to work on and let the fun begin! Arts & crafts encourage creative expression for all ages and provide a perfect New Year’s resolution that will serve to spark their creative prowess.

• Thinking that the “paint-and-sip” craze of adult painting classes paired with wine have left kids out in the cold? Good news – most of the major paint-and-sip chains now offer family painting classes that are specially designed for budding artists of all ages and skill levels. It’s the perfect locale to create some quality family memories in a laid-back, creative atmosphere.

• Get the family together and come up with some ideas to write a short story, which could be a complete work of fiction, a favorite family trip from the past or even a narrative related to family history. Each family member can contribute a paragraph to the short story or a chapter if you wish to be a little more ambitious and create a novella.

• Going digital and creating a new website with your kids can be a fun and rewarding experience, while providing them with technical expertise they can use in their future academic pursuits. Sample website topic ideas can revolve around hobbies, family history, books, movie reviews, sports teams, celebrities and video games, among many others. In addition, there are a variety of new apps, software and guides available to help introduce and familiarize kids with the concept of computer coding – a much-sought after skill in the digital age.

• Introduce the family to alternative artistic mediums such as Perlers (plastic fusible beads), woodcarving or foam sculpting so they can expand their creativity in many directions.

• Create an outdoor adventure movie or travel documentary during your next weekend getaway with your family by first creating a short screenplay and then involving everyone in filming, editing and posting it to YouTube.

Being creative takes so many forms these days, it's hard to properly encapsulated all that can be done with every creative medium available to us now, both on our smartphones and online,... but on thing is for sure, nurturing creativity never gets old, and activity of 'making things' has a lasting value that you can't quite put into words. So don't let the video game console crowd out creativity with canned sounds and corny level 'achievements',... you never know what your kids might come up with when they set their mind to more than just conquering the next boss in their nondescript digital dolldrums! Get out there and create!

Travel More: The World is Your Oyster

According to the Travel Channel, “If you goal is a happier life, consider this: research says that Americans who choose experiences tend to be happier than those who opt for ‘stuff’ – material things.” Therefore, (without diving too deep into the proven benefits of vacation), every annual list of New Year’s resolutions deserves to include exploring more of the world and broadening your horizons as a major goal. For example, perhaps you and your family can use a dream vacation getaway at the end of the year as a reward for achieving your other New Year’s resolutions. Whether you desire to take several short weekend getaways throughout the year or are planning the “trip of a lifetime,” here are some other ways you can incorporate your love of travel into your New Year’s resolutions for 2019:

• Sketch out your family vacation getaways on a calendar for the entire year. Book your trips well in advance so you will commit to your travel plans and have them to look forward to all year long.

• Make sure you enjoy all your well-earned vacation time with your family. A recent GfK-Oxford Economics survey discovered that a whopping 52 percent of American workers had unused vacation days at the end of last year.

• Take an education vacation where the entire family can not only visit an exotic locale, but also study painting, photography, crafts, cooking, a second language or other new skill.

• Combine your fitness resolutions with travel and plan an outdoor vacation adventure (like visiting an amazing teepee hotel!) that allows you to burn calories along the way such as skiing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, golfing, kayaking and scuba diving.

• Put together a few staycation ideas and explore your own backyard, where you and your family can gain a whole new perspective of all the hidden gems and touristy attractions you’ve never visited in your own city or state (check out some sweet ideas for a Florida staycation here).

• Organize a family reunion to bring everyone together in a special locale – whether you prefer relaxing on white-sand beaches, skiing down powdery slopes, exploring world-famous theme parks, visiting historic sites, teeing off at championship golf courses or even horseback riding at an authentic dude ranch.

No matter what your family's resolutions are for 2019, if they help you to come together closer, then (ultimately) your resolutions are much more beneficial than their surface value accomplishments. At Westgate Resorts, we wish you and your family a lifetime of peace, prosperity and amazing travel experiences. If you're traveling this year, take a look at all the changes we've made in 2022! And whether you're looking for an Orlando vacation, a classic New York City hotel stay, or an award-winning ski vacation that blows away your expectations, we hope to meet you soon! When you check in at Westgate Resorts, there's a lot to check out.

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