NYE 2013

Our New Year's Eve gatherings these days are soooo different then those we attended or hosted 9 or 10 years ago. Oh my..the stories, the fun, the food, the drinks, the guests, the breakfast bakes in the morning but NO KIDS.

These days, well..... we still throw a good party IF you under the age of ten or so.

I could be heard in the kitchen talking to Mark around 4 pm New Year's Eve Day, "Hey honey...Can you please download KidzBop 23 for tonight?" Oh Yes - if you follow me on Facebook, you know it is true.

Anyway, we were taking care of P and M for an overnight, since their mom and dad were traveling overseas for work. We were joined for the evening festivities by the Lyon's crew. Our menu was simple appetizers and finger food - beanie weenies, cheese dip, chips and salsa, olives, the HAM BALLS my aunt delivered to the cities when they were in town, cracker and cheese, Jenny's buffalo chicken dip, and fruit for the kids.

If you were underage, you got a kiddy cocktail with mixed with fruit juices and ginger ale. If you were an adult, Jenny would mix you a Big Gingers! Oh, and the underage set got huge cupcakes for dessert.

Then we had an 8 pm Kiddy Countdown to the New Year.
There was wild, crazy dancing.
There were beads.
There were blowers.
There was silly string.

There were POP Rocks!
There was sparkling Catawba juice in a plastic colored wine glass with your own name across.

If you are a kid at our party.. .You get SUGARED UP!

Then we make the kids snuggle up for a movie downstairs, until they crash.

Then the adults slip across the street for the neighbor's midnight fireworks on the river.
Then it is time for bed and to close out the year gone by.

Like the year's gone by, there is still some sort of "bake" for breakfast.
This year Jenny provided her delicious french toast bake.
Too bad Jeremy and I just weren't up to breakfast.....

Happy New Year's All!