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New Year's Eve plans?
Old 12-26-2008, 08:21 PM   #1
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New Year's Eve plans?

So what's everyone doing?

We'll be flying north to western PA to visit my family. (I can't believe I am voluntarily going north in January!).

My brother and SIL host a party at their house every New Year's. Everyone dresses up, appetizers, drinks, dancing, etc., etc. Plenty of couches and floor space and all are invited to crash. Should be a heck of a bash!
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:27 PM   #2
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Can I come too?

No plans for us. It will probably be the same it has been for the last few years. Have a few drinks, DH will fall asleep in front of the tv, and I'll wake him up at midnight...to go to bed.

However, back in the daze, we used to party down! When we lived in small towns, we always went to a party. Ahhh, such great parties! No, I won't be showing any pics from these parties...however I do have a good one with a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on my head..... (never any chicken in the bucket...just ice, btw)
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:30 PM   #3
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We'll be at our son's and we'll probably walk into the town center, hit a few bars and walk home. No parties for us these days I'm afraid.
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:34 PM   #4
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Probably hang out at home and do what comes naturally. Maybe I'll just be a cheap date after a small bottle of champagne.
I may cook up something special, or it may be pepperoni pizza on a Boboli.
I used to party very hearty back in the day. But I need to save my brain cells and liver for my golden years.
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Old 12-26-2008, 08:39 PM   #5
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By the time New Years gets here I am partied out ,entertained out , done with cooking and ready to chill out in my PJ's . Last year we went out to our local place for appetizers and a few drinks and came home and that was perfect .
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Old 12-26-2008, 09:02 PM   #6
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North to Missouri tomorrow to join kids and grandkids. I'll gain 3 lbs. We'll play Wii, go for a walk on the trail, and do puzzles. On the eve, the g-kids will be all excited about being allowed to stay up til midnight, but will both be asleep by 10-10:30, mumbling something through closed eyes about not being sleepy.

DW and SIL will fade about 11:30, and DD and I will stay up another hour chatting earnestly.

Just about perfect. Happy New Year all.
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Old 12-26-2008, 10:02 PM   #7
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Probably same as last year. Round up all the "strays" and throw a last minute party. Last year we had a great time, 7-course dinner, champagne toast, interesting conversations...
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Old 12-26-2008, 10:09 PM   #8
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We'll do our annual 12/31 dinner with 4-10 friends at a local steakhouse before (1) some of the folks head south for sunshine, and (2) the restaurant closes until Good Friday. Back in the barn by 10:30pm, and that's enough excitement. Always have looked at New Year's Eve as amateur night.

B O R I N G, I guess...
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Old 12-26-2008, 10:18 PM   #9
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Nuttin'! Staying home on "amateur night". I may hit the coffee shop sometime before they close, and harass the help. Other than that, if the weather's nice, I might throw some rib-eyes and prawns on the grill, and have a nice dinner. Then snack the rest of the night, watch the ball drop in Times Square (on TV of course!), and then hit the pillows.

I think the last time I went out on New Years Eve was about 10 years ago. A bunch of us went bowling until they kicked us out so they could close and go home. Then we went across the road to Steak & Shake, and ate and drank coffee until about 2 a.m. Then came home to bed, utterly worn out from all of the whoopty-doing & excitement!
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Old 12-27-2008, 06:23 AM   #10
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A few friends are joining us at our weekend house to sit in front of a fire and enjoy a great meal. Here is the winter view from the living room windows:
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Old 12-27-2008, 07:38 AM   #11
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Out for an early, very nice 7 course dinner with DW. For us, also our anniversary (29th) celebration (see how LBYM we are combining the two, and we saved on income taxes that year too!). Will probably be blissfully asleep between 9-10pm as usual...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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Old 12-27-2008, 09:23 AM   #12
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Originally Posted by donheff View Post
A few friends are joining us at our weekend house to sit in front of a fire and enjoy a great meal. Here is the winter view from the living room windows:
It's beautiful Donheff! DH and I will do the usual. Stay home by the fire with some good food and festive beverages.
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Old 12-27-2008, 01:18 PM   #13
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We're having a few friends over for sausage, kraut, homemade bread, and leftover Christmas cookies as well as poppyseed and nutrolls I made for the first time this year. I'm looking forward to it as it is the first New Year's Eve in our new home.
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Old 12-27-2008, 01:42 PM   #14
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We're having a few friends over for sausage, kraut, homemade bread, and leftover Christmas cookies as well as poppyseed and nutrolls I made for the first time this year. I'm looking forward to it as it is the first New Year's Eve in our new home.
I am kind of bummed because I am somehwat car-phobic after my crash and I no longer like to drive on New Year's Eve. A woman in my neighborhood always had a party I could walk to, but this year it is being held out in the 'burbs and I am too afraid of the drunks on the road to go.

There is a nice club with no tendency toward shootings fairly close, so I think I will walk down there instead.

Ha
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Old 12-27-2008, 01:50 PM   #15
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I hate New Year's Eve.

The fireworks (aerials & concussion blasts) have already been going off most of the month. You'll hear/see a couple dozen every evening before 10 PM. On the 31st the early birds will get started around 3 PM. By sundown the streets will be smoky and by 9 PM visibility will be down to about 100 feet. The "little" 5000-firecracker strings have been going off for hours by this point, but now people start bringing out the longer rolls-- I've heard that some of them are up to 100,000. They're hoisted by block & tackle to hang from streetlights, 15 feet above the crowd. By 11:30 PM the noise is absolutely amazing, as is the light show. At midnight it's totally deafening and will stay that way for about 30 minutes. Dante's vision of Hell.

Finally all the celebrants high-five each other and start sweeping up their messes. (A few sociopaths hold back some of their unexploded inventory to use the next evening.) If we're lucky the tradewinds will start blowing away the smoke by 2 AM and we'll be clear by sunrise. On a still, calm night it lasts until noon. The street trash is unbelievable, although "paperless" firecrackers are starting to make inroads. For people who claim to give a damn about the 'aina, their fireworks behavior is highly inconsistent with their sentiments.

I made a career out of blowing things up for fun & national policy, but I can't stand to spend the money on this-- let alone deal with the safety issues. The city "requires" a $25 permit to light firecrackers and Costco sells $200 fireworks kits that just fly off the shelves. Every year someone's caught caching tons of illegal aerials & "bombs" in their homes for sale on the black market. Theaters stay open late, advertising their air conditioning for those with respiratory problems. Hospitals & emergency crews load up on staff. Every firefighter on the island is on duty, and they'll probably make over 100 calls. Veterinarians hand out pet tranquilizers by the truckload. Every year some inebriated fool with a tank of welder's acetylene starts filling balloons, putting them in various containers, lighting them, and accidentally making shrapnel. Teens manage to damage property or hurt each other with M80s. Even little kids figure out how to immolate themselves with sparklers. Every year someone gets hurt, sometimes to the point of eye injuries or missing body parts. Hopefully it won't happen in our neighborhood.

Our daughter lights fireworks with the neighbors, who are reasonably restrained and careful. She's welcome to buy her own explosives but she usually opts to supply sparkling beverages & munchies. I'll be hunkered down with earplugs at the computer, on "safety watch" until she comes home a bit after midnight. Maybe I'll put up a "how much did you spend this year" post or work on other projects. By 2 AM I'll be trying to sleep, still with earplugs.

If we're really really lucky then it'll rain from 6 PM until after midnight. It's been raining nearly every day this month, so Murphy's Law will no doubt give us clear skies.

Mochi, kadomatsu, parties with neighbors & friends, other New Year's traditions-- no problem. Love it. Fireworks? I think they should be limited to public displays. But Hawaii has a century-old culture of setting off firecrackers. Legislating the practice, let alone enforcing it, seems impossible.

When we're empty nesters I think we'll investigate celebrating New Year's anywhere else.
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Old 12-27-2008, 02:35 PM   #16
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I have plans to go out dancing with a few friends, toast the new year with champagne and then go home and take my clothes off get into my pajamas and under the covers to say good riddence to the last friggin night of 2008.
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Old 12-27-2008, 03:19 PM   #17
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As I have done for several years now, I will rent a stack of movies and stay up all night watching them.
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Old 12-27-2008, 03:28 PM   #18
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I will be about 8 miles from Times Square cuddled under a blanket sound asleep
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Old 12-27-2008, 03:43 PM   #19
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Go to bed at 10PM, and wake up a midnight to the sounds of firecrackers, guns, and the sirens from the local firehouse.
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Old 12-27-2008, 03:46 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by haha View Post
I am kind of bummed because I am somehwat car-phobic after my crash and I no longer like to drive on New Year's Eve. A woman in my neighborhood always had a party I could walk to, but this year it is being held out in the 'burbs and I am too afraid of the drunks on the road to go.
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