1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 The Family Brand New Year’s Kickoff: A Tradition That Builds Culture Every year, right after Christmas — during those quiet, in-between days when no one quite knows what day it is — our family slows down and does something that has become one of our most meaningful traditions. We reflect. We celebrate. And we intentionally step into the new year together. In this solo episode, Melissa walks you through the Family Brand New Year’s Kickoff, a simple, free activity that hundreds of families download every year — and come back to again and again. This year’s version has been fully updated, and families continue to share how impactful it’s been, from sparking meaningful conversations to even becoming the moment they announced a new baby to their kids. Melissa explains why reflection matters just as much as goal-setting, and how looking back before looking forward helps families build clarity, gratitude, and momentum. She shares how to use the reflection questions with kids of all ages (even toddlers), how to keep the process light and pressure-free, and why there’s no “right” way to do this — just a way that works for your family. She also breaks down two of the most loved parts of the kickoff: Choosing a family word (or phrase) for the year — a shared language that shapes how your family shows up The annual Family Award Ceremony — a powerful moment where each child (and spouse!) is recognized not for achievements, but for who they are and how they showed up Melissa shares a deeply touching story about a family friend whose son, now leaving on a two-year mission, named this New Year’s award ceremony as one of his favorite family memories — a reminder that these small traditions often leave the biggest impact. Finally, she walks through how they create vision boards as a family, why perfection isn’t the goal, and shares a beautiful personal story about a vision board image that unexpectedly showed up for her on a bridge in Spain — a moment that felt like a quiet wink from God. This episode is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and start the year with intention — not pressure. You don’t need a perfect plan. You just need a moment to pause and ask: Who do we want to be this year, together? LINKS: All Links Family Brand!&amp;nbsp; stan.store/familybrand familybrand.com/quiz familybrand.com/retreats.&amp;nbsp; Links For This Episode: https://familybrand.com/kickoff Episode Minute By Minute: 01:20 – Introducing the Family Brand New Year’s Kickoff 02:30 – Why reflection is often skipped (and why it matters) 03:30 – How the reflection questions work 04:30 – Keeping it light and pressure-free for kids 05:30 – Adapting the activity for younger children 06:30 – Using everyday moments (car rides, walks) for reflection 07:30 – Choosing a family word or phrase for the year 08:45 – Shared language and building family culture 10:00 – The Family Award Ceremony explained 11:15 – Why awards are about who they are, not what they did 12:15 – A powerful story about a son leaving on a mission 13:30 – Vision boards: why they matter 14:45 – How to make vision boards simple and fun 16:00 – Encouraging kids without forcing perfection 17:00 – Melissa’s vision board story from Spain 19:30 – Feeling seen, aligned, and intentional 20:45 – Don’t forget to honor your spouse 21:45 – Where to download the kickoff + how to share 22:45 – Final encouragement for the new year Family Brand: Take Back Your Family https://familybrand.com/ <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/39458860/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/item/39458860