Oh! New Year's Tree - Our Story
New Year's Eve nights 'out on the town' were long behind us. And as a busy wife and mother of three daughters, I wanted to make New Year’s Eve more fun for my girls. It’s no secret that children absolutely love Christmas! But, they don’t get as excited about New Year’s Eve, because it's typically an adult event filled with late night celebrations, often without kiddos in tow.
Stuck at home, with little to do when our kids were younger, my husband raced out to the store and bought traditional streamers, hats and noisemakers one New Year's Eve. Instead of just tossing streamers into the air, we decided to toss them onto our Christmas tree. We all loved doing it. The kids loved looking at it. And it has given us all extra-special memories of New Year’s Eve, beyond just the goofy hats, crazy horns and that old crystal ball-drop on TV. That’s how Oh! New Year’s Tree came to be. We took the tradition, that we first started in Madison, Wisconsin, to the suburbs of Chicago!
A few years ago, my middle daughter said “I thought everyone decorated a New Year’s tree!” And because it is such a fun, easy and memorable activity, I decided everyone could decorate a New Year’s tree! So, I set out to find the best products for an all-inclusive kit. And to tell the story of Oh! New Year's Tree, I crafted and copyrighted my tale and revised and further developed it over the next few years.
Luckily, my manuscript resonated with a talented, young illustrator in the UK. Alexandra Ball, illustrator of Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, Care for Our World and others, was keen to illustrate my story. And I was ecstatic to have discovered her work! Alexandra hails from the English countryside, and her own Springer Spaniel was the inspiration for Mack and Mae's canine pet. She is a master at creating lovable characters and animals. And I knew she was the right one to bring the Holiday family and all of their adventures (more to come) to life!
Sincerest thanks to our families and to all who have helped along the way! We hope you enjoy Oh! New Year’s Tree as much as we have enjoyed creating it!