When we were little, my sister and I played Monopoly until the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. It was one of those rare evenings when my parents allowed us to stay up way past our bedtime. The evening wasn’t exactly a family affair – my parents always fell asleep early – but my sister and I had fun until we knew better. While trying to amass property on the board, we ate snacks and watched Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve on TV and waited for the ball to drop in Times Square.

My mom did have this quirk of hiding money on New Year’s Eve for good luck. It’s an Asian tradition, I think, so we spent the next day and sometimes the entire year finding change in the couch, the kitchen cabinets, in our shoes, etc.

Hopefully, your family was a lot more creative than mine.

In recent years, a growing number of families have taken part in First Night Spokane. Organizers say about 4,000 kids attend every year with their parents. (It’s free for children 10 and under as long as they’re accompanied by an adult with a button.) Many families come to the Spokane Convention Center for the Kids Night Out events earlier in the evening, which features live music, dancing and crafts.

How does your family celebrate New Year’s Eve? How late do your kids stay up?

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