While I love the freshness of a new year, New Year’s Eve has always made me a little anxious.
When I was growing up in Hawaii, illegal fireworks were abundantly available, so our neighborhood was full of smoke and noise all night long. We grew up celebrating the cultures in equal parts, and we took on the Chinese tradition of setting off a long string of fireworks at the stroke of midnight. The red paper fireworks were the size of hardcover books, which my dad strung together to make a single, eight foot long firecracker that he hung from a pole over our (wooden) mailbox. All of our neighbors in the cul-de-sac did the same. The loud popping and crackling must have lasted only ten minutes at most, but it felt like an eternity as I watched from inside a car while wearing headphones.
Afterward, the streets were covered in red paper, which we cleaned up with bamboo rakes; the closest we ever came to fall leaves.
As an adult, New Year’s Eve always seemed like a crowded, drunken, wild time involving lost cars or fights on the Tube or T.
And living in New England, there are a million things I’d rather do than stand outside in freezing temperatures to watch the fireworks.
Gretchen Rubin of the Happiness Project talks about how a tenant of happiness is being okay with not liking things that you feel you’re supposed to like. One of my goals this year is to have more fun, so I thought about what I’d actually want the night to look like rather than what I didn’t want to happen. A few hours later, I’d booked a hotel room and emailed James a goofy PowerPoint presentation to let him in on the surprise.
The hotel is just a few blocks from his office, so I spent the morning in a nearby cafe and then checked in for an afternoon that included a bubble bath and several hours with a book. We had lucked out with a room overlooking the Charles, so when we ordered Thai food from Brown Sugar Cafe, we ate near the window while looking out at the water. We spent hours dreaming up our escape from winter.
And then, to our surprise, we ended up with a perfect view of the fireworks from within our warm hotel room. We popped the tiny bottle of champagne from the mini fridge and toasted to the best New Year’s Eve party we’d ever been to. If this past Monday was any indication of the year to come, it’s going to be a fantastic one.
How did you celebrate the New Year? I’d love to hear about your festivities!
{Image Credit: Crush Cul de Sac)
Such a great post, Joy!! Glad you had a good New Years with a view of fireworks
Sounds like a wonderful New Year! We stayed home and enjoyed a bottle of rose sparkling wine. We have a territorial view, so during New Year’s and 4th of July we can see all of the illegal fireworks going off across the horizon line.
Have a great weekend, Joy!
Yahoo! I love the idea of being warm and cozy and away from the noise and crowds. Dad did poppers on the four corners of our house since firecrackers were nowhere to be found. He says he felt silly and was glad no neighbors were around to see him. But the job needs to be done!
That sounds like a perfect start off to 2013! I told my boyfriend on new year’s eve this year, after raucous party that didn’t end until the wee hours of the morning that next year we’re getting a hotel room and having a quiet one. I’m glad it worked well for you! Happy New Year!
That sounds absolutely perfect, Joy! Good for you for seizing the moment and running with your idea. I always get a little anxious in big crowds – especially rowdy and drunken crowds – so the way you spent New Year’s Eve would be exactly the way I would want to spend it. Magical!
We headed over to a good friend’s house, along with seven other families with children. We rang in the New Year on East Coast time and then called it a night. Surrounding ourselves with people we adore in a safe, fun environment is a pretty perfect way to spend NYE, as well. Happy 2013!