5 Resolutions to make New Years Eve fun again!

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NYE SparklerI’ve never actually enjoyed New Years Eve.

A few years ago, I finally admitted it!

Then something amazing happened…I started to like it!

Once I gave up the NYE fantasy, I began to create a NYE reality that turned out to actually be a lot of fun. So, I now share my 5 rules to making a New Years Eve that’s enjoyable for a mom of young children. 

1. I will not get a babysitter.

Texting, calling, emailing sitters, then waiting to hear back while plans hang tentatively in the air…all of it just stresses me out! And that’s on a normal evening! Having to ask a high school or college girl to give up her New Years Eve somehow makes me feel like I’m asking someone for a kidney. Technically, they’ll be okay missing it, but it just seems like too much to ask! (Oh, and if you are able to pull off the miraculous feat of finding a sitter, you should probably pay her double!)

2. I will not go out.

Staying in on New Years Eve does not mean I am “officially old” or  “officially boring”. It means I don’t like crowds, waiting for tables, or fighting for taxis. I’d much rather enjoy an evening out on some random Saturday in March than having to deal with the New Years Eve Madness!

3. I will celebrate with the people I love the most.

I just don’t see the joy in celebrating a special moment surrounded by strangers (If you were able to find a sitter, your best friend probably didn’t. And let’s be honest, it’s because you took her’s!) Instead, I’m choosing to surround myself with the people who truly bring me the most joy in life: my children and my husband (and possibly, a few good friends who have agreed to keep the holiday as casual as possible.)

4. I will make it a “New York New Years”

Forget standing outside Times Square in the freezing cold,  I’m talking time-zones people! Staying up till midnight is hardly fun when you have a baby who may or may not need a bottle at 3am and a preschooler who will be undoubtedly be hopping in your bed at 6:45 with some sort of exceedingly important question like “How many more days until Santa Comes Back?”  So instead, we will celebrate on Eastern Standard Time. My children will stay up 1 hour past their bed time, enjoy watching the live ball drop in New York City, scream and cheer, kiss each-other on the cheek, and head off to bed! A fun-filled holiday all wrapped up before 9:15.

 5. I will revel in the guilt-free simplicity of the holiday!

If you think about it New Years Eve really should be a mom’s favorite holiday. There are no costumes to make, exhaustive menus to cook, presents to buy, cards to send, religious truth to convey, eggs to hide, elves to move, cookies to eat, love notes to send, or foods to dye green. Enjoy the ease of this holiday before Pinterest finds a way to make more work for you!  Right now, this entire holiday still just revolves around me sipping champagne, counting backwards from 10, and kissing my husband! When I put it like that, I think this could be my new favorite night of the year.  Enjoy it!