When I was younger, I thought it would be fun to go to a big, blowout New Year’s Eve party.
I never did. I’m totally fine with that.
First of all, I didn’t want to go by myself; I wanted to go to that kind of party with a boyfriend. And I almost never had a boyfriend, which limited my opportunities. (I did once go to First Night in Manhattan with a friend, her husband, and her brother, but I’m not even sure that was a set-up; I think we just all wanted to go to First Night.)
So what have been my favorite New Year’s Eve celebrations?
Growing up, we would have dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then see some blockbuster or other. That was always good.
One year–I can’t remember whether I was dating Mr. Sandwich yet–another friend invited me to a party at her brother’s Manhattan apartment (different friend, different brother, same Manhattan). But it was supposed to snow, and my block was always last to be plowed, and at the last minute I canceled because I wasn’t sure I’d get home. Instead, I spent New Year’s Eve curled up on my couch, watching movies I can no longer recall and eating either Chinese food or pizza. The details don’t matter, because what I do remember is that it was a great evening.
When we were dating, Mr. Sandwich and I spent one New Year’s Eve with his friends, starting at Cheesecake Factory and moving to one friend’s nearby apartment; we spent others playing board games with some of my friends.
The year we moved into our house, we hosted a party at which I learned that if I’m going to drink, I really need to eat dinner. Or at least lunch. But that lesson didn’t make itself clear until after everyone else had gone home, so the party itself was a lot of fun.
Since then, we tend to stay home, safe from the drunk drivers of the world. Last year, Bestie and her parents came over for dinner (we planned to start early, to reduce their odds of being menaced by drunk drivers on their return). A good time was had by all, including Wicket–although the hat placed on her head spoke more to her tolerance than to her awareness of the passage of time.
This year, we have planned absolutely nothing. It’s been a busy couple of weeks, with lots of events filled with people who want to see Baguette. She’s done really well with it, but she needs plenty of downtime. We all do. So we have no plans, and I think it’s going to be another great evening.
So to all, near and far–may you have a Happy New Year. And those good wishes aren’t just from me. They’re also from Wicket.
Your party sounds like my kind of party: no need to go out in the cold and staying snuggled on the sofa. Happy New Year to you all!
And most especially to the tolerant Wicket. 😉
We’re even getting cold-for-L.A. weather, so I’m looking forward to the cozy evening.
I love my new year tradition, lately. BK (Before Kids), a group of three families used to get together twice a year to camp — one was in Georgia, one was in Northern VA, and one was in PA (me & Duffy). Then kids started, and instead of camping, we started heading to the family who last had a child and took residence in their place for the New Year. We drank, but never drove (because everyone was there), we played Wii. We played board games. We ate. Heck, we feasted. We had a good, low-key time.
We’ve now moved to four families, but the tradition continues . . . 8 adults, 7 children, 1 epic came of Cards Against Humanity. Lots of bottles of wine. Tremendous meals. Heck, I think I gained 12 pounds between my birthday (the 30th) and when I was back from this year’s festivities.
That sounds great. I’m really looking forward to when Baguette is able to play games like that.