New Year’s Day Bistro: A 12 Course Meal Idea

Welcome to the New Year’s Day Bistro!  This is a fun way to celebrate New Year’s Day that is full of good food, fun conversation, reminiscing about the past year, and excitement about what’s to come!

We started this new tradition recently and I know that it will now be a permanent fixture in our New Year’s Day celebrations. Try out our New Year’s Day 12 Course Meal Idea if you want something fun and unique to bring in the New Year! 

Remembering “Seafood Day”

My parents came to visit just after Christmas and were going to be with us over New Year’s.  I wanted to come up with something fun to celebrate.  I looked back to my childhood for inspiration. I grew up going to an event at my grandparents house called “Seafood Day.”  My grandparents did a 10-12 course meal over the course of the day, each course featuring a different seafood item such as clam chowder, crab cakes, clams, muscles, raw oysters, king crab legs, shark, and lobster.  It was very memorable for me as a young kid!  I always looked forward to the fun food and the breaks in between each course where we could play games, wander around their big house and yard, and watch movies. 

Now doing something at the “Seafood Day” level wasn’t practical for our family.  Not to mention, my kids don’t really like seafood except for shrimp.  So I came up with idea of doing some of our family’s foods instead, but still in the 12-course style.  And twelve seemed like the perfect number.  One course for each month.

The New Year’s Day Bistro Tradition is Born

Last New Year’s Day Bistro was a bit more involved.  I did Mac and cheese, tater tots, raspberries, cucumbers, pie, chocolate, salad, and Charlie even cooked a brisket (to name a few)!  By the end, I was stuffed!  I planned different games and activities that we did in between each course with my parents.  We went on a walk, went fishing at the pond, played cards, did a lego challenge, and watched a movie.  It was a busy day full of food and fun.  The kids loved it so much they wanted to do it again this year.

Unfortunately, we were out of town over New Year’s this year, but I decided to still do the Bistro, just on another day during the month.  This worked out fine! I guess it was a little anti climatic with us having already celebrated the first day of the year, but the kids still loved doing the different courses and looking at pictures. Plus, I really simplified it so that I wouldn’t have to spend quite so much time in the kitchen.

This was our menu for New Year’s Day Bistro 2025:

  • Scrambled eggs
  • Raspberries
  • Cucumbers
  • Cheese and crackers
  • Mangos
  • Salad
  • Garlic knots
  • Popcorn
  • Homemade donuts
  • Chocolate Milk
  • Chocolate Mints
  • (And something else that I am completely forgetting) Ha ha!

To bring it all together, we decorate the table all fancy with a tablecloth, confetti, gold napkins, and glass goblets.  I buy gold paper plates and switch those out at every meal.  That really helps with the dishes later on.

And lastly, I have a dry erase board easel that I write the name of our restaurant as well as what course we are on.  Everything feels fancy and the kids get excited to help with the set up!

New Year's Day Bistro dry erase board

The Most Important Part

Probably the most important things is to remember that each course number corresponds with a month of the year.  Don’t forget to pull up your pictures and remember what your family was doing at that time.  I promise, it will amaze you.  I always feel so grateful for the time we have spent together and the things we have accomplished.  A year goes by so fast, especially the older I get.  I love these moments to focus on the joys, remember the hard times, and come together closer as a family.  I hope that you can have a similar experience!

~Rachel

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