Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Flip

Original poster

What do people do on New Year's Eve?

19 replies

mrsm123 · 24/10/2011 19:27

the reason im asking is cause we have 3 kids (1 teen, a 6 yr old and a 3 yr old) and every year we end up just putting the wee ones to bed as normal and staying up with the teen til about 10 past 12. its so rubbish! me and hubby used to be party animals but with kids it just doesnt feel right dragging them to a party til all hours. we would consider having a party ourselves this year but dont know who would want to come! ha ha. so, anyone want to share their fun new year traditions? or is it tea and Jools Holland from here on in?

OP posts:

headfairy · 24/10/2011 19:31

currently, drop in to bed at 5 past midnight, but that'll have to change soon, dd's birthday is New Years Eve so she's going to expect some kind of party/celebration.

When I was a child we used to go to a friends house every NYE, they had a beautiful 9 bedroom manor house in the cotswolds. It was so fabulous, they had a huuuuge flag stone floored kitchen, a massive living room with the most ginormous inglenook fireplace with seats at the side, and a huuuuge dining room that could seat 20 easily. I used to absolutely love that house, in fact if I won the lottery I would offer the current owners whatever they wanted for it. Sadly my parents friends lost the house when they went bankrupt. The husband was a bit of a wheeler dealer, always starting some new dodgy business none of which survived the last recession :(

headfairy · 24/10/2011 19:32

Its been a fantasy of mine to try and recreate those new years eves, especially more so now given dd's birth date. One year I've promised myself we'll get together with a load of other families and hire a huge manor house.

Original poster

mrsm123 · 24/10/2011 19:39

sounds great headfairy. im thinkin somethin like that myself - but on a far smaller scale - like small 3 bed detached scale.

OP posts:

jamandposterpaint · 24/10/2011 19:39

We have tried and tried to find the 'perfect' NY eve with family but it just didn't ever work. We were all always fed up and ready for home at 10.30.

A couple of years ago we gave up and decided to do something on our own. We booked a lane at the bowling alley and then went to F and B's for tea. Youngest dd was 18mo. It was great!

We've done the same ever since.

cupofteaplease · 24/10/2011 19:46

Last year we went to my sister's house and stayed over. We all had lots to drink and played silly board games. But I was still in bed by half midnight! I can't do late nights anymore.

This year as dd3 is a newborn, I imagine we will stay at home and have some friends come to stay with their dc. Or maybe even my mum. Or, it will just be us and we'll be in bed for midnight!

Original poster

mrsm123 · 24/10/2011 19:49

jam - my kids would love that too. thats a strong possibility. but i would need the champers and jools later then about 11. a mixture of kids fun then adult fun.

OP posts:

headfairy · 24/10/2011 19:50

Oh God it was so lovely. I'm sure my parents grumbled massively about it at the time. The couple were friends of my dad's really. The husband went to school with my dad, and their children were a bit younger than my sister and I. Another old friend (my dad's old girlfriend ) went along with her dd who was about a year younger than me, and various other regulars. I think my mum hated it all, because the wife was very nouveau as my mum put it (yes, her of old landed gentry - not!) and was always done up to the nines. I remember touching her hair once, it crunched! :o

I have so many memories of those new years eves... we kids used to go wild for three days, running around the long corridors of that ancient house til all hours while the adults got roaring drunk. We were pretty much left to it, I remember not being able to reach the toaster across their huge kitchen counter so we all got some bread and took it to the fireplace in the living room which was still glowing and cooked it there. I was about 6

peeriebear · 24/10/2011 19:53

Never been bothered with it really. All everyone does round these parts is go out in town where the pubs all decide to charge for entry to their 'party'. People get all psyched up for a tremendous, fun, memorable night, then it's just like any other night out and everyone goes home disappointed. We just stay in now!

Original poster

mrsm123 · 24/10/2011 19:55

cup of tea - weve been on our own for about 6 or 7 years now. dont get me wrong, we made the most of it and had some lovely times. but i feel now that the kids are a bit older (ie not babies) and alot more fun, i could imagine them enjoying it all more now. having said all that, i cant stand hangovers so wouldnt want anything too late or wild now anyway.

OP posts:

smartyparts · 24/10/2011 19:56

We are really lucky as we have some great, incredibly hospitable friends who have a big house and they have 4 or 5 families for NY eve and they can put up all of us comfortably.

We've been doing it since we had tiny babies/were pg and it's the highlight of the festive season for the adults and (the now numerous) kids. Each family brings something ie we usually do loads of nibbly hot starters, hosts do main, someone else brings puddings and one family bring cocktail ingredients. Another family will do a cooked breakfast the next day. Everyone brings copious quantities of wine and champagne too.

Somehow, we manage to stay up respectably late and now the kids are trying to do the same, but we get the real littlies in bed early.

We have an absolute ball.

Original poster

mrsm123 · 24/10/2011 19:59

peerie - what do you do when you stay in though? like do you cook a particular meal, watch something in partic, kids stay up?

dont worry, ill let it go in a minute, i just wanted some ideas before i invite people - and then regret it!

OP posts:

Original poster

mrsm123 · 24/10/2011 20:03

oh wow smarty, that sounds fun!

OP posts:

ENormaSnob · 24/10/2011 20:53

We had a party at ours last

Everyone brought a dish and we did a hot buffet.

We had cocktails, music, food and fireworks.

Twas great.

We are at a wedding this year.

gregssausageroll · 24/10/2011 21:05

I hate NYE. I love NYD though and usually have a load of people round for lunch.

We've not been out on NYE for a few years and we don't mind. I hate the feeling of having to have a good time! I'd rather be at home with champers and have an early night!

Thefoxsbrush · 24/10/2011 21:20

We used to take it in turns to have family over for a buffet and drinks but our family is too big for that now!

The last 2 years (and this year) Its just been us staying in at home, i let the kids (aged 1, 2 and 5) stay up a bit later. We get a nice buffet from m&s, I make a nice big gateaux that we put indoor sparklers in, we pull crackers and watch a family movie then when kids are in bed me and DH share a bottle of champers.

This year, my in-laws are very kindly having the children over for a sleepover on new years day so we can join our friend in the pub then! (new years day is busier than new years eve where we live)

girlywhirly · 25/10/2011 07:46

I can't say that I like NYE in terms of going out, quite happy to stay at home with a good meal and wine. One year a friend up the road decided to have a dinner party for whoever was around, as most years she and her DP go away, but that year it wasn't possible. That was quite fun.

DooinMeCleanin · 25/10/2011 07:51

SIL or one of SILs friends usually has a fancy dress party. They all have children around the same age as ours, so we get there, dc bugger off to wherever the children's part of the party is (usually a conservatory) We don't see them again until around 11:45pm when dd1 comes to see if she is allowed a small wine because her cousin is. After that we don't see them again until it's time to get a taxi.

WomanwiththeYellowHat · 25/10/2011 08:58

We are recreating NYEs from my childhood . We have tried all the ususal things (dinner a deux with parents babysitting, parties at friends etc) and this year we will be having three other families round for a party at ouur house. We have extra spare rooms, so two families are staying over and the other family is our neighbours, who will roll home on foot at some point in the small hours!

I am really hoping it works, as some of my best New Year memories were spent with my parents' friends and their kids in our house, staying up late and with everyone quite drunk (not the kids of course but we were just wild with excitement at being awake so late!).

I think spending it with friends with kids is definitely the way forward

Original poster

mrsm123 · 25/10/2011 09:50

yeah, new years day has been a bigger deal for us in the last 6/7 years than nys eve. it was almost like christmas day again in that we had in laws over for a big traditional steakpie dinner, drinks and tv.

but i am definately ready to get back in the "new years eve party" game.
we do have a small bunch of very good friends who would maybe be up for a get together at ours. one of them suggested it last year but it never happened.

dooinmacleanin and dorasbackpack - thats exactly what im talking about! sounds great.

OP posts:

Flip