Friend annoyed with me over NYE plans

So you were rude and blanked them. I can see why they are upset.
It's fine that you don't want to have to be fixed in seeing them every new year, but you do need to use your words and tell your friends that.
Leaving it and not saying anything for them to then find out you do something with other friends does seem to be a direct snub to them when you have been happy with their company previously.

Sounds like you were too chicken to say anything, hoping it would go away.
Prob that would annoy me too, less about meeting up on NYE. Hey ho.

I think it was a bit mean of you to be honest and I’d be upset too

that's absolutely shit. You presumably knew they'd be alone and didn't have the simple decency t otell them you had other plans.

May your sleeves always get wet when you wash your hands

With friends like you….

I thought that, you could invite other people surely.

If every couple on the group asked to bring other people that they'd celebrated with in the past, it would soon get ridiculous, so I don't think OP is being unreasonable not to invite the other couple (which she could only do with the approval of the rest of the new group anyway).
But what is entirely unreasonable was to not inform the old friends of their unavailability as soon as they'd accepted the group's invitation. By not doing so she deprived then if the chance to make their own alternative plans. It was really cowardly.

Ouch.
So you didn't reply or let them know. Very rude. If they knew you had different plans earlier, perhaps they could have arranged to see others. Just not replying is very rude.

@TraitorsSandwich

Wow what shit so-called "friends" you two are. No wonder your old friend is hurt and upset. I would be too.

I hope your shiny new friends find out what you're like before next NYE and dump you then you'll know what it feels like.

I hope your old friends dump you too. I'm sure they can find better friends (that shouldn't be difficult) and quite frankly life is too short to be bothering with sneaky disloyal arseholes.

You know you're in the wrong simply by your lack of replies. You said you felt awkward and didn't bring it up, so presumably youve left it late to say you'd had a better offer. Shitty thing to do.

don’t agree that we should be forced into seeing them every NYs

You don’t sound very nice OP. What you did to your friends was really mean. I hope your new friends ditch you in the same way.

I doubt op is coming back as the response hasn’t been what she expected but I’ll add my thoughts.

I’d have been disappointed and a bit hurt if friends had ditched us in favour of new friends but I’d have got over it. But I’d have been really upset that said friends just didn’t bother to tell me that they’d made different plans this year. It’s cowardly and thoughtless and it would signal the end of the friendship.

If this has been an arrangement for several years, then def rude to go off to new friends without mentioning it and why not just invite them as well - I’d be pretty upset and feel I’d been sidelined…

When did your old friends find about the change in plans OP?

Did you ever actually tell them before NYE or did they find out by seeing pics with your new friends on social media?

ETA - Not that either makes you reasonable; I'm just trying to gauge how unreasonable and unkind you were.

Harsh...or reverse/troll post

wow.

Why not?

So, you spent NYE with your shiny new group of friends, and didn't even ASK the two (old) friends who you always celebrate it with?

You could not be more unreasonable if you tried @TraitorsSandwich I can't believe you even have to ask.

Appalling behaviour. I hope your two (old) friends never speak to you again. Don't bother with them again actually. They deserve better.

I agree with other posters... Very apt username.

No reason on earth you couldn't have included them. You're just making excuses. At least own it.

No but they don't have to be immature and rude.

This is a reverse, surely?

That's poor of you and your DH. Is it how you'd want to be treated by people you considered friends?

This makes absolutely no sense. It's probably easier to introduce a couple to a larger group as what difference does an extra 2 persons make rather than introduce 1 couple to another where it's a smaller group and things are more likely to be awkward if both sides don't get along well.

In addition to being unnecessarily cowardly about making alternate plans, you're not even willing to admit you didn't want to include them, not that you couldn't.

This is such unkind behaviour and I hope your friend realises that she is deserving of friends who won't exclude her just because they have shiny, new friends.

This.

You can do whatever you personally want on NYE,
BUT

They invited you and you kind of ghosted them by ignoring the invite/changing the subject and not contacting them about your annual get together.

You left them hanging on waiting to hear from you and they didn't press you as they got the message. But its not a kind way to deliver it really. You've left it up to them to wonder if its because you don't really like them, or find them boring... when in fact its simply that you wanted to do NYE differently.

That's poor.

You don't have to see them every NYE or dump them... There are alternatives. You could arrange another meetup to celebrate... even if its later in January or earlier in December and it could be at a different venue if you are bored of just being at homes with them. If they are good company, its worth hanging on to them and just introducing some variety and not fixing everyone's expectations on one evening.

You are free to do other things with other people. It is the way you handled it that was extraordinarily rude. Surely you must know that.

You weren’t clear with them about your NYE traditio
not being a tradition Anymore. Cowardly really.