My three oldest (13, 11, 10) wanted to stay up on New Year’s Eve. This is a new request so I immediately said no. They pleaded. So I compromised and told them that I’d wake them at 11:30 to come down and watch the Times Square ball drop. It was dopey of me because the three of them just went upstairs and giggled for three hours and didn’t sleep a wink until I told them they could come down.
But they came downstairs and I turned on the television. I first went to Fox where I saw Marlon Wayans be weird and keep making racial jokes which felt a bit awkward. My thirteen year old turned to me and asked me if he was racist.
I just turned the channel to ABC’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve to see former Playboy Playmate Jenny McCarthy threaten to make out with random people. My ten year old said she didn’t know her and asked what she did to get famous. Well, I wasn’t about to tell her that she got famous for getting nekkid’ and telling people to stop vaccinating their children so I just turned the channel.
To CNN I went and saw Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin standing there. I immediately turned that off. And thank goodness I did because she was completely obscene last night. (Check out Noel Sheppard’s story on it at Newsbusters. If you ask me she should be immediately fired.)
I clicked back to ABC just in time to see Taylor Swift sing because that’s what the girls really wanted anyway. She seems like a nice girl but I don’t know what was going on with her but she sounded…uhm…not good. (Does she always sound like that live?)
After Taylor Swift I muted the television and the girls and I just talked. They were overtired so they giggled and laughed hysterically about pretty much everything and I let them eat Funyuns.
But I won’t be watching any of these television shows in the future. So I’m looking for ideas for what to do on New Year’s Eve. Do you guys have any traditions I could steal? Any ideas?
January 1, 2013 at 3:22 pm
I sit in my driveway with close friends … say, "yup" and "un huh" a lot and watch my neighbors blow up the collective equivalent of a small nations military budget on fireworks. Free and spectacular.
January 1, 2013 at 3:24 pm
We did not have one here, but I saw some parishes actually had adoration. That would have been great. And then some hot cocoa and bed after.
January 1, 2013 at 3:26 pm
Have an old fashioned game night (Monopoly and such.) Lots of silly noise makers and hats are required.
Don't turn on the TV until about 5 minutes before the ball drops.
And, yes – Taylor Swift is a horrible singer.
January 1, 2013 at 3:47 pm
We gathered at a friend's home for food, wine, and a wicked game of Settlers of Catan. Board games have been our way of bringing in the New Year for the last 8 years since said friend's first grandchild was born.
This year we were hubby & I, friend and her hubby, friend's 92 year old mom, friends' two oldest daughters and their husbands and children ranging in age from 6 months to 8 years. One of the young couples was celebrating their third wedding anniversary.
January 1, 2013 at 4:03 pm
Does one of your local stations do something silly? We used to have one that did a midnight watermelon drop. When I was a kid we watched Guy Lombardo.
January 1, 2013 at 4:19 pm
We used to dress up in our best clothes (not the tux though), get out the good china and have a fancy candle light dinner. We would dance to Louie Prima http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-a8kLtJSJ4 , wear the paper hats and blow the noise makers. We would play party games such as charade and the Minister's Cat (from the movie Scrooge). We would serve chips and dip and sparkling grape juice to the kids in fancy plastic glasses. We would turn the TV on only a few minutes till 12.
Three of our kids are in college or in high school now so they all left and didn't return till after 12:30. It wasn't the same with only 3 of us. We may do our traditional New Years Eve night tonight with the whole family.
January 1, 2013 at 4:20 pm
I put on Brahms's symphonies, fixed some tea, and prayed between loads of laundry. Today was a workday…so to speak. Then again, I am a 47 year old priest whose three in the home are two dogs and a cat who were fast asleep by that time.
January 1, 2013 at 4:55 pm
Our parish had a vigil Mass for today's Solemnity that started at midnight last night. We didn't go since we went to the one at 7 p.m. instead. We stayed home to eat snacks, to watch the Chick-fil-A bowl, to play video games, and to listen to pieces of our favorite Les Mis albums.
January 1, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Our family watches Marx Brothers movies and drinks sparkling apple juice (3 daughters are 14, 12 and 9-1/2). The 12-year-old does a great Harpo impression. 🙂
January 1, 2013 at 5:07 pm
My tradition for years was to be soundly asleep well before midnight…
January 1, 2013 at 5:12 pm
My oldest is only 6, so none of our kids stayed up. We didn't stay up since I've been having contractions on and off for a week now and am trying to stay as rested as possible for when labor really kicks in.
That said, I do hope some day to have a nice tradition, so I love reading the responses you get. I like the adoration and family game night ideas, especially since today is our wedding anniversary.
January 1, 2013 at 5:36 pm
These are great.
The priest at our Mass told me that every midnight since he was a kid his parents taught him to say a "Hail Mary" at midnight. He said he prayed it last night at midnight. That sounds like a good one too.
January 1, 2013 at 5:37 pm
we feast! and just hang out, as at a normal holiday party- music, drinks, food. sometimes we'll watch a movie and time it so it ends around 11:45. if there are local fireworks, we'll go to see them. we did a bonfire a few times. at some point in the evening, we make it a point to thank God for a new year. our Vigil for the Solemnity of Mary is at 4 on NYE, so we usually have already done that. (unless we plan on attending the 10 am New Years day Mass.)
a Spanish friend of ours passed on her tradition of eating 12 grapes, one at each chime of the clock. so when the clock strikes twelve, we do that- and of course do the noisemakers and New Years kisses, sometimes confetti.
family game night sounds awesome! just any way that you would normally prefer to have fun/hang out with your family, friends, and neighbors. it doesn't have to be elaborate. we have NEVER watched the specials, not even the ball dropping, because they are just so trashy.
January 1, 2013 at 6:01 pm
Family game night + fancy frozen beverages (Mango Lassi, fancy smoothies, etc…)in crystal glasses.
Except we just moved, and our new town has its own celebration, complete with bubble wrap pop, free glow necklaces and noisemakers, countdown, ball drop, music and fireworks….. so we did that this year. The kids liked it a lot.
January 1, 2013 at 7:16 pm
It varies slightly from year to year, but some variation of… board games… noshing… pinata (absolute highlight for the kids)… maybe a movie (last night was Captain America.) Turn on the countdown 2-3 minutes before midnight.
January 1, 2013 at 7:33 pm
We have a family night with a massive fondue bar. We spend time trying different food combinations both savory and sweet. Last night we watched Brave and then Pawn Stars (lots of good history there) and then turned on NBC for the last 3 minutes of 2012. Champagne, sparkling apple cider, and lots of kisses brought in the new year.
January 1, 2013 at 9:30 pm
When our kids were the age of your kids and younger we had other families over for a game night. The kids loved it. At midnight we would all go outside and bang spoons on pots & pans. As the kids got older we added sparklers and a few bottle rockets were shot off. …… Now that the kids are gone and we are in a different parish we still have a party (30 people last night). Had pitch-in dinner, card games, good conversation and lots of laughter, etc from 5:30 – 10:30. By 11:00 most of us headed over to our parish for Adoration from 11-midnight and then attended midnight Mass praying out the old year and in the new year. It is a great tradition that we and our friends look forward to.
January 1, 2013 at 9:35 pm
We go to Mass, and then have a quiet night at home. I turn on the TV without sound to see the ball come down, and that's about it. I'm very glad I missed the CNN spot, and sorry I watched it now. Good grief!
January 1, 2013 at 9:41 pm
We did New Years in Paris (Bonne Année) since at 6 p.m. eastern time (US), it's New Years in Paris, France. We ate french food, toasted "à ta santé", and listed to old french music (around WWII era). (I'm part Québécois.)
January 1, 2013 at 10:03 pm
We eat Chinese food and watch classic movies. Saw Buster Keaton's "The Navigator" last night.