During Christmas break, the stake organized a temple day with babysitting. It was really nice, Chris and I got to do sealings and then baptisms with Sarah and Nick. The younger kids were kept busy and happy making and decorating games for New Year’s Eve. Every hour there was a different bag to open, with either a game, a puzzle, or some other activity. They were very excited to use it, and it definitely made the evening very fun. Even Chris got involved, and normally he thinks New Year’s Eve, and celebrating it, is kind of dumb. 🙂
This is a Bingo game the kids made, and there were even prizes included. So cute!
We also had our traditional snack/junk food feast, along with the delicious fancy salami we received as a gift. 
Sooo good! Sophie says we now have to have it every year, even if we end up buying it ourselves. 🙂
We played another game, and then, before Papa went to bed, we headed outside for some fireworks. 
It wasn’t actually midnight yet, but Chris was ready for bed. So we went back inside and some of the kids settled down to watch a movie. I even had them use pillows and blankets to get nice and comfy and maybe fall asleep…but they didn’t. 
Nick, Sophie and I played another epic game of Settler’s, naturally. 
We watched the countdown on one of the Austrian channels, as per tradition, and then yelled and screamed and blew horns out the window along with a few of our other neighbors. The same people who shot off big fireworks last year, including the one that landed on the roof, showed up again. It’s so weird. They drive up in their car, stand in the middle of the road, light off several hundred franks worth of fireworks, then drive off again. Not sure why they chose our intersection as the perfect spot to do this, but we enjoy the free show nonetheless. When we were sure they were done, we closed the windows and went to bed. Happy New Year!