This is not the most timely post, I realize, but for those of you who plan ahead, I wanted to share how we've been spending our New Year's Eves. I wish I could take credit for this brilliant idea, but I cannot. Our friends downstairs host a party every year for parents of small children, and everyone brings the kids along.
Instead of the usual countdown at midnight, we pretend that 8:00 is time to celebrate the new year. Everyone brings food for a pot luck, and we eat and hang out, and at 8:00 we have a countdown and toast (champagne for big people, sparkling apple cider for little people.)
We hang out for a bit more, and most people leave by around 9:00 to take the kids home and put them to bed. It's really, really fun for both the kids and the parents. And if you're one of us who are now finding themselves pretty exhausted by midnight, it gives you a great excuse not to have to stay out at a party waiting for the real countdown ;).
What fun New Year's Eve traditions have you developed?
************
Don't forget to enter my giveaway here!
4 comments:
What fun! We don't have any New Years traditions yet, but it would be nice to start for 2011/2012. I have friends who do the ball drop at 12 noon instead of midnight, but your version adds the excitement of staying up (a little bit) late!
That's a great idea (and those skirts are a-dorable). We usually get Thai takeout, drink sparkling cider (another blogger refers to this as "kid wine" which I may adopt) and watch a movie. This year, since we were all already home, with no one to pick up Thai on their way from anywhere, we went out to eat (not Thai) and came home and watched a movie. The small boys didn't like it (Ponyo--a Japanese anime that while not exactly scary is slightly unsettling) and were in bed by 7:30. The rest of us were in bed and asleep by 9:00.
Perfect idea, I really like the idea of celebrating at 8 pm, I don't like to stay up late. I am a New Years Brunch person!
Sounds like a fun night out with the kids! Our family tradition is to ring in the new year with our girls (6, 3, & now 12 wks) with a yummy dinner, sparkling grape juice, party hats and all the noisy noise makers. The 2 older ones open a gift which is a new calendar just for them. My oldest keeps track of play dates, friend birthdays, special holidays, etc. It becomes a journal of her year! The younger one enjoys coloring in her favorite days of the month and is learning about numbers and the days of the week. Our BIG celebration happens on the 1st. We invite friends on a pajama play-date starting at 11:30am then we all count down for the new year at 12 noon!! The sparkling grape juice poured in plastic champagne cups gets passed around again for a special toast. Good times for all. :)
Post a Comment