It’s almost impossible for me to believe that it’s nearly 2009, which sounds like a freaky-leaky sci-fi year and not a year that we actually will be LIVING in. I think that in my mind, real years start with 19-something, despite the fact that 2/5 of my household were born in the 2000s and another 1/5 was hanging out in diapers in the latter half of 1999. Still, though.
2008 hasn’t been – and I’m knocking on wood here – that bad. It was pretty busy, but I managed to not nearly die this year, which is always a plus, and the kids are still pretty cute, and we’re keeping our head above water economically, so I’m grateful for all of that. We’re going to celebrate in our usual fashion, which means hanging out at homes, playing board games and eating appetizers and nursing whatever dread illnesses we managed to pick up over Christmas. We are warily allowing The Girl to invite her BFF over for the night, but that is only because we are VERY nice and also because she’s a pretty good kid. I realize that’s pretty low-key, but by December 31st, it’s ALL we are up to.
I keep seeing big menu plans for fancy New Year’s Eve dinners, which is fine if you can stand it, I guess, but right NOW I never want to eat again, thanks to… let me think… SEVEN family gatherings over the past four days, all of which involved MASSIVE amounts of food. Nothing but dour water and lettuce for me right now, thank you. So we’re probably just going to do a cheese fondue and some boxed appetizers – because I REALLY do not want to cook at this moment – and something child-pleasing for dessert and that is IT.
New Year’s Eve used to be THE big party night of the year, and now it’s turned into a quiet night at home, which is the sort of thing you never suspect that you might eventually want someday – and this is why I’m not a big plan-maker, because who KNOWS what I’ll like ten years from now? Right now, though, the idea of a quiet night with all my kids and some easy yummy food and probably a million rounds of Mario Kart sounds just PERFECT, sounds like the ideal end to a year that was certainly not perfect but that was more than good enough.
So what are you doing New Year’s Eve? Has it been a good year for you and yours?
staying in for New year’s rocks! we ordered chinese and watched “Burn After Reading”. movie was just okay, but the evening was low-key and fun.
We’re pretending New Year’s Eve isn’t…until the next night or so. Andrew’s working so bed by 10 or so. Doesn’t mean so much to us. Just quiet time together, and ya, a bag of chips.
Happy new year, stranger!
Your plans sound lovely! We don’t have plans so that probably means some game playing and movie watching. Our big plans this year were for Christmas. We spent it mostly wandering and eating our way through the historic old city of Quebec. At least the city’s many hills and stairs help to work off the caloric intake!
Happy New Year to you!
Our New Years plans sound almost exactly like yours (minus the friend sleeping over). We used to do the big party thing, but I much prefer the cheese fondue/board games deal now. Happy New Year to you and your family!
It is funny looking back to see how the zeal has mellowed and how perfect a “quiet night in” sounds at this stage of my life, especially if no cooking is involved. Ah.
We are actually headed to a party with a couple of other families this year, kids invited, too. It keeps the alcohol consumption from becoming inordinate. 🙂 Our kids are now old enough to disappear upstairs and leave us alone – and yet still young enough to PLAY. We don’t have to worry about closed doors yet. 😉 Ah, the perfect age.
SO glad you didn’t almost die this year. Good times.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
Jen
Do you know what I love about you, Beck?
…sounds like the ideal end to a year that was certainly not perfect but that was more than good enough.
THAT’S what I love about you. You are inclined to see the glass as half-full. It’s a wonderful trait.
The longer you have kids, the more appealing staying at home and playing games and eating easy food sounds. We are going to play with all the games the kids got–Wii games, dartboard, pictionary man game, legos, watch an insane amount of TV shows stored on the Tivo and nosh on finger food. If anyone is still awake at midnight, we will pop crackers. Can’t wait!
2008 was a great year for us.
New Year’s Eve will be very quiet. All our kids are gone till the end of the week, camping, out of town playing gigs, working hard at their after-college jobs, stuff like that.
So we are alone. Hmmmmm. We’ll probably rent a movie, go out for a bowl of soup, and be in bed before it turns midnight even in London.
We’re apparently older than we look 🙂
My plans for New Years Eve always involve not getting killed by a drunk driver. Hence no driving. Hence a night much like yours! And then: waking up alive the next day! How joyous!
With the exception of some rather bad news a couple weeks ago, 2008 was pretty decent and 2009 is threatening to knock the socks off any other year I’ve ever lived so we’ll see what happens. (the blog will keep you posted.)
We made a beer/smoked swiss/cheddar fondue for Christmas Eve – it was on the salty side but otherwise AMAZING. Happy fonduing. We’ll probably be asleep by the time you eat it. 🙂
At the rate I am going, I will STILL BE PREGNANT on New Year’s Eve. Which means little celebrating. But maybe the cheese fondue and champagne would kick start labor? My due day (one of them, anyway) is January 1. So that might be a good thing. And from then on until eternity New Year’s Eve would be this child’s birthday celebration. Which he might think is cool.
We are having some friends over (with their kids) and having a dual party. Letting the children play freely while the adults talk and ring in the New Year. Since I cannot drink this New Years, I may end up the designated driver if anyone chooses to drink.
Happy New Year!
I feel like I may have told you this somewhere before, but fondue is a family tradition on New Year’s for us. Since I can’t find my fondue pot (argh!), we’ll probably take in the other traditional NYE food of cheese and crackers, play a few games (if some friends stop by, all the merrier), and watch the ball drop on TV. I’m aghast that I am content with this. I remember my first nothing-to-do NYE in 1999. I was SO bummed that I didn’t have any parties to go to and friends to hang out with. Now…I relish the thought of ringing in the new year at home. It really is peculiar how that happens.
I’m with you. Only it’ll be movies instead of Mario Kart.
We are so not New Year’s partyers. I’ve had enough gathering by that time and if not for the kids I’d be snoozing on the couch waiting for the big ball to drop in Time’s Square. But we’ll probably do our usual and go to my sis’s and eat junk food, play games and watch a movie. Definitely no big dinner plans.
I never guessed last year at this time what a year of big changes 2008 would be for us. Namely, our daughter met a guy last March, and married him in August. Whew!
In the middle of all that, we had some extended family tensions leaving my husband and me hugely stressed out; also some health issues, ditto. But things are looking better, we’re feeling better, daughter’s new husband is a great addition to the family– we are warily optimistic about 2009.
And to celebrate the transition, we are having a reunion of a group of special friends New Year’s Eve, which we are ridiculously excited about.
This year has been a little bit wild for us. A lot of things happened this year that I would never have imagined would be a part of my life, but that isn’t to say it was a BAD year (there was more than enough good), just a crazy one.
The past couple of years we’ve tucked the kids in and had our best (childless) friends over or board game playing. This year, instead of exchanging Christmas gifts, we decided to spend that money on a New Year’s Eve trip to Jillian’s (grown-up arcade/pool hall/bowling alley place).
Hmmm….it was an interesting year for us. Another international move, still not settled after 4 months, the year my mother broke her hip. We are inviting people over, I’m making a huge stack of little mince and coconut pies and mini quiches and mulled wine, and we’re all about 2009, although I agree that it’s a freaky futuristic year. 😉