Do you celebrate at midnight?

[Night Elf]

We do not stay up to welcome in the new year. I think one year we stayed up to watch the GA peach drop but we were so tired we thought it was silly. All we did was kiss each other and say good night! Haha! Even our kids never wanted to stay up. I suppose if we had a party or were at a party it would be different. 

 

Are you awake at midnight to bring in the New Year?

[Guinevere]

As long as I can remember, I've always been awake for the New Year. That's not saying much as an adult, though. This night owl is awake to see pretty much each new day roll around, lol.

[EKS]

Definitely not awake!  As far as I'm concerned, the new year comes after I've had my coffee on January 1st.

[Hilltopmom]

Heck no!

But I’ll be woken by the neighbors fireworks.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Pretty much always but I have insomnia, DH works 6pm to 6am, and DD is a night owl.  DS is the only one who wouldn't usually be awake at that time any way (he was a night owl too until he got a job that starts at 7am).

[Annie G]

We did when we lived near family. Mom's birthday was New Year's Eve and my nephew's in Jan 1. So we always did a family party thing and it was fun. But now mom has passed away, and we live 1300 miles from my nephew. We usually stay up until 11 to see the ball drop in New York (yay for living in the central time zone!)  but we don't celebrate.  Just read while the tv is going on in the background and then go to bed shortly after the ball drops. 

 

We're boring people. 

[regentrude]

We did when we lived back home, because there are huge fireworks at midnight. My parents' house is on a hill above the city, and the view is spectacular.

 

Here? Nope. We usually have  party, and everybody is ready to call it a night around 11. There is nothing going on here AT midnight, so no reason to stay up. Last year we toasted midnight EST and everybody went home at 11:10pm.

Edited December 31, 2017 by regentrude

[J-rap]

We always try and stay awake to wish each other a Happy New Year and a Happy Birthday (to my dh), have some bubbly and go to bed.  :)  I think probably three times in my life I've been too tired to do that.  Once, we pretended 10pm was midnight, wished each other a Happy New Year when another part of the country was celebrating and went directly to sleep.

[maize]

Nope.

 

Starting out the new year sleep deprived is not my idea of a good start.

 

We choose a random hour: hurray! It is midnight (somewhere in the world)!!!

 

And go to bed and try to sleep through the fireworks others are setting off.

[Pawz4me]

Nope. I've never understood the hoopla. It's just another day.

[Selkie]

Nope. I get up around 4:30-5:00am, so I'm usually asleep around 10:00pm or so. Dh will probably be asleep, too, but I'm sure my kids will still be awake.

[happi duck]

I'm a night owl since birth. I don't think I've ever missed a countdown.

 

We usually go outside to countdown and shout, throw confetti etc. However, the cold might keep us inside tonight so no confetti!

[Stibalfamily]

No, we don't go anywhere due to drunk drivers and we don't stay up because I am a wet blanket and get moody when I don't get enough sleep. Plus I have a newborn that already keeps me up, I don't need to do it on purpose. 

[Mommyof1]

No, my 5yr old is an early riser.

[Wheres Toto]

I think last year was the first year we stayed up purposely with the kids.  They just weren't interested before that and we are usually in bed by 10.  I do have insomnia so I've been up past midnight quite a bit lately but it's been better the past week or so.  I'm not sure what we'll do, may depend on what sports are on.

[mtomom]

No. I'm a night owl, so I'm up at midnight most nights. My husband and kids will be asleep.

Edited December 31, 2017 by mtomom

[Liz CA]

We are spending it with friends and stay there overnight. We will be up toasting at midnight and then wind down. For some it will be harder to stay up than others. I am up late most nights, I won't have a problem.

Where we are there are the occasional firecracker going off but not big fireworks like on the 4th of July.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Yes we do.  We usually watch the Times Square stuff.  It's going to be particularly "interesting" this year watching crazy ppl freeze their butts off!

 

 

[wintermom]

Nope. We'll be in bed long before then. The people coming over are in the same camp. Socialize, eat, play board games, go home by 10pm. It's perfect for us!

[Zebra]

I like celebrating the new year by being asleep by 10 pm.

[alisoncooks]

Nope and I have no desire to be awake at that time.

 

DH (a night owl) will naturally be awake at midnight -- he usually is. Oldest DD could probably hang with him; she's usually awake til around 11 (despite going to bed around 9:30). Youngest will TOTALLY be asleep...by 9.

[gaillardia]

We almost always have stayed up and beyond that because we are night owls also, or at least I am, dh not so much. I'm sure if I tried to sleep before that, fireworks would prevent it. 

Some years we have taken pots and pans outside and banged them together for about a minute at 12 (this was a new thing for me).

I don't know why we do it either. I think my mom did it, and my dad was usually at work that time of night. We used to watch the NYC ball drop but for a few years now I have no longer felt the need.  

Last year was the first time in a very long time that we went out (to a friend's house, we RSVP'd and one other family showed up). We would rather stay safe and off the roads.

[AnnE-girl]

Dh and I usually do, except for the years we had newborns or sick kids, if I remember correctly. We have a little family celebration (appetizers for dinner and a movie usually) and an early countdown with the kids. One year we went to the celebration at the zoo and counted down at 8:00. That was fun, but very crowded.

 

I would like to let the kids stay up sometime, but I don’t want to start the year with cranky kids. I have plans to get up early to workout and then we have 9:00 mass for a Holy Day of Obligation tomorrow. My New Years resolution not to be late to mass anymore would probably fail miserably if we stay up past midnight.

[J-rap]

Nope. I've never understood the hoopla. It's just another day.

Yes, it's just hoopla, as are a lot of things.  :)  But sometimes those random hoopla traditions are kind of fun, little footnotes to the year.  (But I totally understand your feelings about it!)

[ThisIsTheDay]

I'm awake at midnight on most nights. I don't need much sleep.

 

When my kids were little, we would count down and celebrate at 9:00 p.m., out in the front yard, banging pots and pans, sometimes fireworks. Fun memories!

[Spryte]

Yes. We have a party - kids and adults who want to stay up, do. At midnight we count down and have a balloon drop from our balcony in the foyer. Champagne and sparkling juice for the kids. Poppers and confetti on the driveway.

 

We do activities, watch movies, and eat a ton of food waiting on the new year.

 

All our guests sleep over. It’s our annual “thank goodness the holidays are over†celebration with our real family - our friends.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Spryte

[Spryte]

I'm awake at midnight on most nights. I don't need much sleep.

 

When my kids were little, we would count down and celebrate at 9:00 p.m., out in the front yard, banging pots and pans, sometimes fireworks. Fun memories!

We did that, too! We’d even set our clocks forward to cheat. And watch the ball drop in other time zones. Fun times! The neighbors thought we were nuts.

 

Teens now - there’s no fooling them on the time these days, alas.

[Ausmumof3]

We did this year and watched some distant fireworks. Not every year though.

[creekland]

Yes.  We stay up playing various board games.  Around 11:50pm we turn on the TV to Times Square, pour ourselves some bubbly, and toast the New Year in together.  Immediately afterward we sit in our living room where our Christmas decorations are and share everything remarkable (good and bad) that we can remember from the old year, then move on to things we expect (good or bad) in the new year.  When we can't think of anything more to share, we reluctantly call it a night and head to bed getting up whenever we want in the morning.

 

We absolutely enjoy it.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[Alice]

Nope. We watch a movie as a family and then the kids have a sleepover in the same room. 

 

Our bigger tradition is New Year’s Day. We have a tradition of doing a long walk with a group of friends, going on 15+ years now. We end up at someone’s house for soup and hot drinks. This year it’s our house and so far we’ve heard of about 40 people coming. Should be fun! I love the tradition of starting the New Year with friends. 

[MEmama]

No way. I'll probably be asleep by 9:30.

 

It's been decades since I've wanted to stay up that late.

[BarbecueMom]

It's 3:30pm and I'm already struggling to stay awake.  DS has a hockey game tomorrow morning, so no one will be up late tonight.

[Grover]

we (the adults) don't go to bed until around midnight normally anyway, but it's the one night the kids also stay up with us.  We head to the beach after dinner if the day is warm (southern hemisphere) then get home around 9 - 10 pm and watch a movie. 

[Debbi in Texas]

Some years I stay up and some I don't. I will this year because we have  a late night service at church.

[Rachel]

We have no set tradition. Some years we have a family or two over and watch movies and play board games. Sometimes we go to someone else’s house. Sometimes we go to bed.

 

We’ve had so much company the last couple weeks I think we are planning to go to bed on time. We will watch the Netflix countdown and let the kids have their sparkiling juice first though.

[Lady Florida.]

We celebrate half-heartedly. We do stay awake and watch the Times Square ball drop but we don't really celebrate. We watch movies until about 11:50, then switch to live tv. 

 

When I was young and single I loved going out dancing with a big group of friends but I always hated the strangers kissing strangers at midnight part. I tried to avoid it and stay in my bubble of friends. Dh and I used to go to go out when we first got together then gradually pulled back, first just going to small private parties hosted by friends and eventually staying home together. We both realized we were no longer fans of big NYE parties.

 

From ds' toddler to preschooler years we were in a playgroup and one of the members always hosted a family friendly NYE party for the group. We hired a babysitter for the kids, adults played board games. No one drank more than a glass or two of wine or a couple of beers. We did sparklers with the kids around 10, then everyone went home so we wouldn't have to be on the road after midnight (plus not all of the kids were night owls).

 

The playgroup drifted apart when the kids started school and most went to different schools (we were the only ones who homeschooled), then dh, ds, and I would have a family night. We toasted with sparkling grape juice for ds and sparkling wine for dh and me.

 

These days ds 20 celebrates with friends. One friend's parents host and overnight backyard campout NYE party (yes, outside - this is Florida). The adults are very trustworthy so there's no chance of the teens/young adults under 21 getting alcohol. The parents are the hosts so they supervise closely.

 

Dh and I stay home and toast with a glass of wine (not sparkling), then go to bed. We're so wild and crazy. :D

 

As far as food, I've always followed my mother's NYE tradition of snack food/crudites - cheese and crackers, smoked meats or fish, some fruits and veggies with dip. I don't cook on NYE. My family never had a traditional meal for New Year's Day but dh being a southerner grew up with hoppin' john, so early in our marriage I learned to make it. I'll set the black eyed peas to soaking before we go to bed.

[ashfern]

My youngest is up between 5 and 6 every day. I can't afford to miss the sleep staying up until midnight. 

[Guest]

We kind of do, but I personally think it’s silly. I’m not a night owl and I always feel anti-climatic three minutes after midnight. But my kids like staying up, mostly just to say they did. So i sort of go along with it, but I will only watch the Times Square mayhem for a few minutes right at the top of the hour.

[freesia]

We didn't for years, but then my teens started saying whistful things like--wouldn't it be nice if... they didn't want to stay up alone. So, we are. Tonight they are at a youth group event, but we will pick them up soon and see the ny in as a family. It's making me tired thinking about it.

[maize]

We have decided that we will be celebrating 12:00 Greenland time.

 

Which happens in about ten minutes.

[YaelAldrich]

Sometimes. But this year I think I will be in the ER waiting room. I brought a friend in because she's having an emotional breakdown.

[EMS83]

Not on purpose, but it often happens that way. 

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  to you and your friend, Yael.

[IfIOnly]

Yes, with family members pulling small crackers/poppers starting at 7 and every hour until midnight, and a large confetti popper at 12. Then we toast with Martinellis after. We has a special Indian dinner and Thai iced tea this year too.

[Amira]

I went to bed around 10:30 last night, before anyone else in the family. I’m now enjoying a quiet New Years Day. It’s not a holiday where I live so it’s very easy to go to bed early.

Edited January 1, 2018 by Amira

[Tanaqui]

I'm always up at midnight. It's actually difficult for me to get to bed before 3 most days!

[edelweiss]

We stayed up.  We stay up every year.  I don't remember a New Year's Eve that we went to bed early.  Of course, 11:00 is our normal "bedtime" on school days, so it isn't much of a stretch to stay up until 11:00.  During Christmas break, we rarely go to bed before 11:00.  We will probably go to bed around 1:00 am.  Right now we are all wide awake.  I never realized how early many people go to bed normally!

[Elizabeth86]

If dh is working nights I'm up, if he is on days I sleep. Dh just walked by and said haply new year as I was washing dishes. He is playing a video game and I'm here and I am going to bed soon. We are so lame. I only like holidays that are very family orientated even in my pre kid days. We have never celebrated past saying happy new year.

[Forget-Me-Not]

We are west-coasters so we watch the ball drop at 9 and call it good.

[SanDiegoMom]

Different every year. This year we did, while playing a board game. It was a lot of fun and the kids were happy to stay up!

[happi duck]

It's almost time!