Documenting Traditions - My New Year's Eve at the Beach

Documentary Family Photography for the Holidays and Beyond

New Year’s Eve used to be one of those fraught holidays for me. I found all of that pressure for it to be THE BEST NIGHT daunting. To be doing the right thing that would somehow set the perfect tone for the whole year. It was all a bit much for me.

But I have to say, since becoming a mom and stumbling in to our current tradition, it has become one of my favorites, something I really look forward to as the end of the year approaches.

It’s very simple. We spend every new year’s eve, rain, shine or dense fog (like this year), at the beach watching the last sunset of the year, with a bunch of friends. The kids all run around and build castles, the adults get to catch up, and sometimes a brave soul takes a plunge. The whole thing wraps up and everyone is on their way when the beach gets dark. And whether one is up or not at midnight seems less important as we’ve all already done something to mark the moment.

Documenting this tradition, seeing families grow and kids changing year to year is part of the fun for me. Here are a few favorites from this past New Year’s Eve at the beach.