New Year's wish jars: the most beautiful DIY activity you can do with children this winter

Winter is the perfect time for cozy moments at home. Candles, the smell of hot tea, snow outside the window, and children eager to play and prepare for the New Year. If you're looking for a beautiful, simple, and emotional activity you can do as a family, then New Year's wish jars are the perfect choice.

This activity is gentle, creative, fun, and very symbolic. Children love to decorate, make wishes, and create something that will last as a keepsake. And it gives you the opportunity to stop, connect with the children, and get into the holiday spirit together.

What are New Year's Wish Jars?

These are small decorated jars that children make before the end of the year, and then put their wishes and small messages in them for the coming year. These can be drawings, short sentences, small illustrations, and even symbols of something they desire. The jar is closed and stored in a special place throughout the year.

The best thing about it is that this jar becomes a little family tradition, a memory that lasts forever.

Why this activity is perfect for kids

This simple idea actually develops many important skills in children:

• creativity while decorating the jar with colors, ribbons and glitter

• fine motor skills through gluing, chopping and drawing

• imagination and self-expression as they create their desires

• emotional intelligence because they learn to recognize what they want and what is important to them

• family bonding through creating something special together

And it gives you exactly what we want most during the holiday season – that half hour of gentle, quiet time spent together.

What do you need?

The best part is that you don't have to have anything complicated. A small jar and a few decorations are enough.

It is necessary:

• a small glass or plastic jar

• glitter, stickers, stars, ribbons or any decoration

• glue

• paper cut into small strips

• markers or crayons

• optional: string, mini bows, stickers with numbers

It's important to keep the decorations safe and simple, and you choose how minimal or playful you want them to be.

How to make New Year's wish jars

1. Prepare the jar

Clean and dry it. If you are working with very young children, choose plastic jars for extra safety.

2. Decorate the exterior

Let the children let their imagination run wild. They can glue on stars, draw snowflakes, add ribbon, glitter, paper Christmas trees or small stickers.

3. Make wishes

Tear up several small pieces of paper. Each child can write three to five wishes, and younger children can draw what they want or what is important to them. If they don't write, you can write their sentences for them.

4. Put your wishes in the jar.

Fold the pieces of paper, put them inside and close the jar.

5. Find a special place

Place the jar on a shelf, a coffee table, next to the Christmas tree, or in the children's room. You can even have a small family ceremony to open the jar next year.

Create a family tradition

The best part about this activity is that it can become a wonderful family tradition. You can make a new wish jar every year and open the jar from the previous year on the last day of December. When you read the wishes, you will see how much your children have grown, what was important to them back then, and how some of the wishes may have become memories.

It's those little things that make up childhood.

The holiday season is the right time for creativity

In a time when everything is somehow speeding up, when lists are long and obligations are many, activities like this bring us back to what is most important: peace, simplicity, play, and tender moments with children.

And if you want to make things even easier for you and not have to search for materials online, on my website you can also find ready-made printable sets for creative holiday activities that you can just print out and use immediately.

Ready to start your first New Year's tradition?

Click here and discover my printable sets that perfectly complement this activity.

May this New Year be full of joy, creativity and the most beautiful moments that you will cherish forever.