Yep...I was asleep before midnight. And though my New Year was safe and cozy...it was a little lame. We really don't have any good traditions for New Years. Chuck wanted me to see if there are any good ideas out there to ring in the New Year. I think it is the one holiday that points out how different Chuck and I actually are. I think his dream New Year's celebration would be Times Square right in the middle of all the hubbub. I would rather be in a cozy cabin watching movies, somewhere they DON'T set off fireworks that scare the children.
We really don't have a good tradition for New Years. It seems that someone is sick (and in fact this year BOTH of the girls are sick). Or too tired. Or too busy to plan some kind of party. With kids, it is hard to stay up to midnight just to watch a ball drop on TV. Letting them stay up, just turns into cranky kids the next day. So our default was watching a movie and eating some lame, everyday food. I am sure Chuck was highly disappointed.
So...all that to say, do you have a good New Year's tradition? Family game night. Party with friends. Appetizers or fondue for dinner. Bang pots and pans around the yard at midnight. Bring on the ideas to inspire us.
Maybe next year we wont be in survival mode and we can get our act together to plan some kind of a shin-dig. Oh...and Happy New Year by the way.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
sm.jpg)
19 comments:
None at all. A couple of times we misguidedly tried to entertain on New Year's Eve. What a mistake! I get too sleepy and want to go to bed!
My BEST New Years was 2000 when our parish had a midnight candlelight Mass and a reception downstairs afterward. It was perfect.
We did the same thing for our New Years Eve, only I fell asleep during the movie. Rick and the kids brought in the New Year. I think they played Monopoly until midnight. We used to have meat and chocolate fondue with my sister and her family. Crab is also a nice tradition that we have during Christmas or New Years.
Love your new wallpaper! We were asleep before 9:30, I think! Good quiet night! I've always wanted to do the cabin in the woods! Good movies, snack food, blowing whistles or small fireworks at midnight - but all with family and/or special friends! Not sure I would survive being part of the mass at Time Square in NY!
We watched movies, Mark brought dinner home, and we watched the ball drop. Our neighbors shot off fireworks...which terrified the puppy of course, but the kids loved it. We were all asleep before 12:30 but slept in this morning. Guess we need to read some of your ideas.....maybe next year will be better!
I stayed up by myself to usher in the New Year. To be fair, though, my husband manages a liquor store and woirked 8am to 9pm so he was a little tired. My son doesn't realize he should try to petition to stay up yet and I was surfing the internet....not terribly exciting but that's how it was here in our own little world. I'm definitely with you re: staying in though. Speaking of fireworks, now that I think about it, it's the first years in the 8 years that we've lived here that the neighbors haven't set off the fireworks which you usually scares the bejesus out of us (our bedroom is near their back yard). We do have appetizer-type food though for dinner so I guess that is kind of a tradition.
I tried to leave a comment and got an error message. Did it come through? Don't want to type it twice if it did! Sorry you have sick little ones. It's a bad year for illness. Lots of gunky colds and strep throat going around.
As much as Chuck would love the noise, crowds and excitement...it's the drive home that would scare me. I guess I've been the daughter of a policeman and nurse too long to be "out on the town" New Year's Eve. We don't do anything exciting- just cook something special and watch the ball drop. Last year, however, we were camping and they guys rigged a movie screen on a sheet between some trees...that was a lot of fun!
Chuck's great-grandmother, Philena Parks and great-grandfather Edmond Parks practiced a tradition of eating homemade lentil soup at midnight. His grand-mother Frances Peters and Grand-father Albert Peters continued the tradition all of the years that I lived at home. When Marilyn and I married, I picked up the tradition and have had lentil soup each New Year's Eve at midnight. I once asked my mother where this originated. Although I can't remember the whole answer, it is true that the practice began in the 1700's in Europe.
We don't really have New Year's traditions, but most New Year's Eves for us involve friends, games, and snacky foods. And we usually stay up until just past midnight...the two bigger kids pretty much always stay up the whole time and Jake hasn't made it yet, last night was no exception.
Think when Chuck was little most churches had parties at the church.
So if there wasn't something going on like that we stayed home.
Now we entertain. Send out a general invitation and had 20 of us this time. Everyone brings a snack to pass and we do games.
Favorite one now with the group is Apples to Apples. Had three tables for different games...but only used two. People come and go as they wish. Some stay to see the ball drop with us.
It is hard to do that with children. Now that we are old and our friends are, it works good for us.
First day of the New Year our family come here for supper and games. Wish you were here family.
I make black-eyed peas and greens every New Year's Day. It's a Southern tradition my Mom always did when I was a little girl. I don't think my kid's care for the tradition as much as I do though. They like them, but don't LOVE them.
Now that we have Katya, Grandfather Frost has started leaving a little present under the kids' pillows on New Years Eve too.
That's about all we've got. Most years I'm lucky to be up 'til midnight; OR, equal chance I could be working. But, my blog-pal, Elle J has the BEST traditions for everything. Here's her New Years Eve ones (I might just try some of these myself): http://ellejthoughts.blogspot.com/2008/12/new-years-eve-tradition.html
New Year's Eve is very low-key around here. Where we used to live we had friends whose NYE tradition was to go out to eat, always to Olive Garden, then take in a late movie. The movie would be over around 12:15, and we would drive home carefully. It was fun before we became parents. After, we'd still meet them for dinner, then bug out for home, and call the next day to see how the movie was.
New Year's Day around here is all about food and football. (Big surprise, huh?) Last year Daddy and Daughter went on a bike ride and invited friends to hang out, and returned trailing little girls. Grownups soon followed bearing leftover Chritmas cookies and snacks, and we had Southern New Years' fare - blackeyed peas and collard greens, ham, and shrimp creole, lots of football and princess fashion shows. Best New Year's Day ever. I had wanted repeat this year, but am nursing a cold, and the dear friends who joined us last year are mourning the passing of their wonderful Dad and Grandpa yesterday.
martinelli's sparkling cider in fluted glasses after dinner toasting to a good year gone & hopes for the next year. Then to bed because we are up early to watch the Rose parade. Someday we are going to campout on New Years to watch it live.
Since my original comment didn't go through, here's a recap. Just the 4 of us rent movies, stay home and eat junk food (fondue, chips, etc.). The boys stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop. Then, we exchange kisses, and toast a cheer with sparkling cider in champagne glasses. Our neighbors set off fireworks last night, so the boys got to stay up even later to watch them. Then, we always make a big southern dinner for New Year's day and have the extended family over. Today was ham, sweet potatoes, baked apples, hoppin' john (black eyed peas over rice), greens, cornbread with apple butter. The story goes that the number of black eyed peas you eat is related to how much change money you'll earn that year, while the greens correlate to the "paper money" you'll earn. I hate greens, so that must be why Joel earns the money! When my grandparents were living, they'd always dance together at midnight (even in their 80s), then call my folks to wish them Happy New Year. A sweet tradition that I miss.
Nah. We are like you.... nothing special really.
This year we had some friends come and spend the night. That was fun. But we didn't do anything special. We just hung out.
I enjoyed reading different traditions! What fun blogging friends!
The people group is in Nepal again. Thought I'd beat you for once and comment on YOUR blog! There are so many little villages and people groups in the middle of nowhere, but Nepal is roughly the same size as Tennessee.
Ok...as far as NYE plans, we always cleaned the house and changed our sheets and etc. That night, we usually had another family over that had kids. We would play games and my mom would make appetizer type foods. We also toasted with sparkling cider.
I haven't been with my family on New Years in....5 years? Cherish the years you have together before everyone wants to do their own thing!
We are pretty low key as well. We did sparkling cider and appetizers (our favorite was frozen cheese sticks) and left over Christmas cookies. The boys had a youth group party so I had to stay up till they were done at 1 am. (I hate the tired-jet lag style hangover we all have trying to get back to sleeping normally...yikes school starts in 2 days.) Chad and I watched TV and played webkinz then banged pans outside at midnight!!
Cris, as you know, our girls wanted to jump in the pool at midnight, as do some friends of theirs. I was able to coerce them into taking the plunge at 6:30. (temp was in the low 40's) This may be a new tradition for them. Before new years, another mom mentioned cooking black-eyed peas. So, I googled "traditional new years food". Yes, "Hoppin John", which is a black-eyed pea dish came up several times. I made some adjustments to a recipe I found. The whole family really liked it.
And, of course, we always watch the Rose Parade.
Post a Comment