The Gingras family of Raynham, Massachusetts, turns over a new leaf on New Year's Eve with their annual to-do list. Allison and her kids, Ian, age eight, and Adam, four, come up with several categories, such as:

•Books to read
•Charity work to do
•New exercises to try
•Things to clean out
•Ways to show we love each other.

Then they have a big brainstorming session about what to write under each column (some examples of how to show their love: "give a kiss whenever we arrive home or leave" and "find ten times a day to say 'I love you'"). "The boys get a big kick out of coming up with things to put on the list, and they're really great at it!" says Allison. She keeps it in her PalmPilot so they can work on it all year long. The Gingrases also use the occasion to go over last year's list and see what they accomplished--and if there's anything they'd like to keep working on.

Judy Shedd and her eight-year-old daughter, Annie Koonan, of Kirkland, Washington, put a different spin on New Year's resolutions: in the days after Christmas, they each decorate a small papier-mache box with paint, beads, and plastic jewels while talking about the importance of (realistic!) goals. Then, on New Year's Eve, each secretly decides on an objective for the next 12 months, writes it on a slip of paper, and puts it in her box. They keep them on top of Judy's dresser. The following year, they open the boxes and share what they've written. One year, for instance, Annie wrote "to be a good girl." "It was really wonderful to be able to reflect on all of the nice things she'd done!" says Judy.

This year, Annie and Judy share an aim: to convince dad Terry to partake of the ritual with them. "I think we'll help him decorate his box," says Judy. "That way it might happen."