Forecasting the Future

For the last 12 years, the Kipf family of Oklahoma City has made gazing into a figurative crystal ball a central part of their New Year's Eve festivities. Together, all five kids, now ages 14 to 20, decorate a cardboard box with markers, glued-on photos, and stickers. Then each family member comes up with one question about the next 12 months--a great way to get the whole clan thinking about the year ahead, says mom Sharon. Some past ones have included:

•How many As will Traci get on her report card?
•Which child will change the most this year, and how?
•What will be the top news story of the year?

Once the topics are set, everyone writes down one prediction for each of the questions--keeping his or her answers secret from everyone else--and ceremoniously deposits the list into the box. When the last one drops in, they tape or tie it shut.

Then it's time for the second part of the celebration: breaking open last year's box. "This is the most fun of the whole thing," says Sharon. The group takes turns reading the prognostications aloud. "Some are just plain ridiculous, in hindsight, and others have absolutely come true. Either way, it really gets us laughing and reminiscing."