New Year, New Dad?

If you’re a new mom or dad as of January 1, congratulations! What a wild one 2026 is going to be for you!

I’ve been a dad for the last 15 New Year’s Eve celebrations. For most of them I’ve been with at least one, or both of my kids. I don’t have to tell you, but as you get older, kids want to spend more time with their friends during celebrations. I was that way, too. However, this year I had both my kids!

They are now 12 and 15 years old. We didn’t have anything big planned, no noisemakers or sparkling apple juice. I was watching the celebrations from around the world with my dog, Domino. My kids? They both stayed in their rooms on their devices with their friends. 

Even though we did not have a big celebration or lots of fanfare, it was still really nice to be able to wake up on New Year’s Day, walk into their bedrooms and whisper quietly “Happy New Year” and give them a kiss on their sleepy heads. My son slept in till the afternoon (as per any other day of the year), but my daughter, Angel, and I treated ourselves to donuts at Krispy Kreme! It was a fun way to start the new year.

Angel was actually scheduled to be born on January 1, but the decision was made to welcome her a couple days earlier. It’s nice that she does not have to share her special day with any other big national holiday.

Is your birthday on any other big, significant day? I always felt sorry for the kids that have their birthday on December 25. Or September 11.

You know “Mini Me” from the Austin Powers movies? The actor’s name is Verne Troyer. He was born on January 1.

If you do, how have you liked it? I have heard of some parents making sure their child enjoys their birthday in some kind of stand-alone celebration like picking a weekend day before or after the holiday. Although I have talked to some kids that have had their birthdays on major holidays and hated it.