NYE
I should have it known that I’m not a big fan of making a big deal out of New Year’s Eve. Kind of like high school prom, I feel it’s one of those nights people spend far too much time, money and energy planning only to have some sort of letdown. It’s just not worth it to me.
It should therefore come as no surprise that Sweets and I dragged our feet making plans for New Year’s Eve. A month ago, there was interesting talk about going to a cabin in Wisconsin with a few other couples. When it was clear that wasn’t going to be organized, Sweets and I liked the idea of doing absolutely nothing more than sitting on our couch with SoMi and watching hours of DVDs. That also didn’t happen.
Instead, we wound up organizing a night with neighbors. Next door neighbors who share a floor with us. Next door neighbors who live in the building next to us. A dog-friendly night. I started the night by putting together a few displays of colorful flowers. The leftovers wound up in the bathroom, looking something like this:
Once the friends arrived, we ate crap and artichoke dip (yes, that’s right, I accidentally wrote crap instead of crab when putting a list together for one neighbor; it was a humorous mistake I was not allowed to forget), moved onto a scallop and corn chowder that I made from scratch (it was a big hit) and then landed in the living room taking a break for games. The table looked a little something like this:
Ever played the Game of Things? If not, you should try it. It’s a great and potentially hilarious game to play with a group of friends. Alcohol consumption encouraged. Around 11:00, we decided we were ready for our next and main course of dinner: crab legs accompanied by cheesy potatoes. Oh yeah, and our neighbor who hunts brought over a venison steak, which we threw on the grill. The group moved back into the kitchen and organized ourselves to begin eating. The kitchen island looked something like this:
When the bell struck midnight, we stopped eating momentarily to clink our glasses and kiss loved ones, but then returned to our meal. Dessert of brownies and cookies were consumed, too, however we skipped making the planned fondue. Our stomachs hurt a little too much.
At the end of the night, we had so much food left over, we decided to do it all over again two nights later. That’s right, on Saturday night, we changed venues to our neighbors in the building next door, brought over lots of left overs and played more games. This time, Mad Gab and Apples to Apples. Lots of laughs and only a few dirty looks ensued.
Overall, it was a great holiday weekend. I continued to be on the mend (BTW, I spent a lot of hours sleeping last week, so I was unable to respond to your comments, though I did read all of them – thank you). Though, I still required lots of sleep and probably didn’t drink as much as I might have had I been feeling better, it was a nice balance of socializing close to home and trying to be good to my body.
How did you spend your New Year’s Eve and would you have changed anything about it?
January 4th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Your NYE sounds ideal. Mine was too loud, too drunk (mostly other, but I wasn’t exactly sober) and too cold. I was in bed by 1:15 thinking how I wished I had stayed home in my pajama pants with a cup of tea.
But my New Years Day, and each day since, has been better than expected.
Happy New Year, Nilsa.
January 4th, 2010 at 8:18 am
I am happy to hear you are feeling somewhat better! Of course, I was worried about you, but didn’t send an email. Duh.
That sounds like my kind of NYE! We did something similar, at a friend’s house, with his parents and his wife and sis. We had a blast playing pictionary and eating wonderful food. They even cooked a vegan meal!
I don’t like to “go out.” I never have… never will ;) I like to keep things low-key!
January 4th, 2010 at 8:40 am
The hubs and I spent NYE eating wings, drinking wine, and playing Wii!
We played The Game of Things over the holidays with my in-laws. So. Much. Fun. Of course my husband is terrible at it because he starts cracking up at his answer before he even gives it to the reader!
January 4th, 2010 at 9:21 am
With my husband and the dogs eating take out. It was perfect!
January 4th, 2010 at 9:33 am
I spent my NYE going to two parties and loving both of them. One party had RockBand and the other had Cranium and Apples to Apples! I am so glad yours was festive.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:36 am
I stayed in with my mum, and just clinked a glass of champagne when the clock chimed midnight -- I’ve done it for the past 5 years because I, like you, don’t get the hype about New Years.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:43 am
The food you had sounds like I missed the better party. I love crap.. er crab and scallops.
As for our NYE, we went to a friend’s house that overlooks all of Salt Lake valley and watched a fireworks show at midnight. We had good drinks, good food (someone made a wonderful potato soup with breadsticks) and watched the ball drop on the TV at midnight.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Sounds like fun! We don’t really get into the big NYE thing either, it’s usually expensive, way too crowded, and we don’t really live in a cab friendly area. So, we stayed in!
January 4th, 2010 at 9:49 am
We had some friends over for dinner and played some games. I am not a “going out” kind of person in general, so this was perfect for me. Everyone had a good time and it was nice and casual.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:55 am
sounds like a blast, but i’m most taken by the flower arrangements…and the colors!!!!
January 4th, 2010 at 10:02 am
I agree with you, NYE is overrated. Yours sounds fabulous. I spent the evening at home with my family having dinner, drinking wine, watching DVDs. I wouldn’t have changed anything about it. It was nice to bring in the New Year quietly and just enjoy it.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:29 am
sounds like a nice new years! we stayed home with the girls…no sitter. We used to always go out and do something fun and i sorta miss that. BUT i’m so tired lately with the baby that it was kinda nice to go to bed by 12:30 :)
January 4th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Glad you feel better! Food sounds yummy! Mine was mellow and nice. Went over to a friend’s house where she made pizza dough and we made our own pizza’s which we all shared. Probably about 15 people that got whittled down to just 5 of us by midnight. But the weather was GORGEOUS the last several days so I played 4 days straight of non-stop volleyball. Now THAT was fun!
January 4th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Bingo. Of course. But I gave up around 11 and went home to slippers and tea and it was just the cats and me at midnight. It was lovely.
January 4th, 2010 at 11:00 am
sounds really perfect to me!
January 4th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Now I’m hungry.
Matt and I had a date with The Couch and Inglorious Bastards. Lazy? Yes. Fun? Double yes.
Happy 2010!!
January 4th, 2010 at 11:16 am
I spent my evening with a frozen pizza, a bottle of wine, chips & Dips, puzzles and a stack of girlie movies with my next door neighbor. It was a great evening and definitely more fun than most I’ve had in the past. We wore sweats. Talked about work, guys, movies, hopes for 2010. It would have been nice if I’d had someone to cuddle with when it was all over and done with, but Jack was there when I got home and despite his furry appearance he’s pretty great when it comes to cuddles!
January 4th, 2010 at 11:43 am
This sounds awesome. NYE is the perfect time for an intimate night in with friends, in my opinion. This year it was just us and the dog, and that was lovely too.
January 4th, 2010 at 11:58 am
We were lame this year and cleaned the house and were in bed by 11! However, it was all in preparation for a trip to Bend (a ski town about 4 hours from use) the next morning. We spent 3 glorious days at our favorite bed and breakfast being spoiled.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
nilsa that all sounds absolutely perfect -- especially the impromptu after the big shindig get togethers. i simply love just sitting around hanging out with friends.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
That sounds like exactly my kind of NYE! We’re not big into new years either but our friends are, so this year we provided a service: first stop of the night!
We fed everyone hot apps and we all got to say hi to our close friends before they hit the rest of their nights. And then I got furiously drunk and trounced Mister at scrabble.
It was a good night lol
January 4th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
I would not change anything about my NYE. It was at the coast with great friends, good food, wine, music and a midnight jump in the frigid ocean. Bliss!
January 4th, 2010 at 4:02 pm
What a fun bunch you live near! That sounds like a great weekend. We were in Santa Ynez with my parents that night and after too much wine and a delicious dinner, I was taking naps in between laying down Scrabble words. I woke up 3 minutes after midnight, kissed Mr. W and dozed off again. What an old lady I’ve become!
January 4th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I got off work late, came home to take-out (and The Boy), fell asleep early, woke up for 10 mins at midnight to watch some fireworks, and then went back to bed. Sigh.
xox
January 4th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
I, too, think that New Year’s eve is overrated (though don’t mind getting the day off from work!). We “celebrated” similarly: appetizers, desserts, and lots of board games at my uncle’s house in the country of Kentucky. We got back to my parent’s house just as the clock struck midnight and played more board games before going to bed! Happy New Year, indeed!
January 4th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
That sounds like such a cute NYE!! I’m glad you had fun. We ended up out to dinner in Whistler :)
January 4th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
I really dislike New Years Eve. Maybe it’s just the city I live in but it seems to be an overdone, overpriced, ridiculous holiday. We went to a steakhouse for an early dinner (we forgot to make reservations so we ended up eating dinner at 5pm -- we felt about 80 years old!) and then watched the Canada / USA junior’s game (hockey.) I was still feeling pretty grim from my eye surgery so I was in bed by 11 :)
January 4th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Lovely!
Mine was spent at the home of a very wonderful gay couple. It was a perfect grown-up party. The food and beverages were amazing, the music was great, and there were 2 puppies and a BABY at the party! Too cute! (the baby pretty much slept all the way until midnight when we woke the poor dear up with our noisemakers)
January 4th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Your NYE sounds like it was amazing and relaxing! The games you played? Love them, especially Apple to Apples.
We set off fireworks with the boy’s younger family members, then came home to watch a movie. I was asleep by 11, and I was OK by that. It was relatively quiet and a lovely evening for us, too. I only wish I had stayed up for a midnight kiss.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
We had a low-key NYE too. Maggie had a sleepover at Grandma’s (her first!) and we went to dinner in downtown Pittsburgh (SO. GOOD.) Then we came home, got in our pajamas and watch a movie until midnight. The next day we went to my parents’ and played Apples to Apples! I love that game!
January 4th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
That sounds like a lovely NYE celebration. Low-key is just as much fun as going out. Especially when it’s bitter cold!
January 5th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Sounds a little like my night without the games. And more of watching boyfriend who doesn’t usually drink get so wasted he couldn’t leave the bed the next day. Very entertaining.
Just want to tell you that you are one of my new friends I am thankful for this year. :)
January 5th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Scallop and corn chowder…mmm! May I have the recipe, please? Our NYE was very laid-back, just me and the hub. We grilled steaks and had lobster tail, along with champagne at midnight, but that was about the extent of it! We tend not to go out on that night — too many amateurs out there!
January 5th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
That sounds like a divine night!
We ended up in a Mexican restaurant in the NC mountains drinking blue champagne, eating chips and cheese dip, listening to Mexican rave music. Just me and Mr. P. It was truly unplanned and PERFECT.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
This sounds like an absolutely fabulous night! I really need to encourage more couple nights with my BF. We are often hanging out with my single girlfriends but playing couple games sounds like so much fun!
January 6th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
That sounds like such a perfect NYE! I love Apples To Apples, and I’m definitely going to check out the Things game!
January 6th, 2010 at 6:45 pm
How does one grill in Chicago in the winter? Not the focus of the post, I understand, but this Californian (and former Bostonian!) is curious.
(I’m fully expecting a response along the lines of, “with mittens”.)