Favorite New Year's Memories

New Year’s has almost always been a holiday spent at home for our family. After all of the Christmas festivities, it’s nice to have a weekend at home relaxing before going back to work and school. Sometimes we have been joined by friends, and those years have stuck in our memories! Below, we share some of our favorite New Year’s traditions and memories:

Mark—Watching the ball drop with my wonderful bride has to be the best part of New Years. Our second date was on New Year’s Eve, watching the ball drop at a local restaurant, after a dinner of prime rib! Now it usually involves a quiet evening in our living room on the hide-a-bed couch with some chocolates, a good movie, and watching the ball drop on TV.

Betsy—After a very full Christmas with lots of family and friends, we have traditionally had a very low-key, relaxed New Year’s at home. We plan a special dinner and dessert, and have movies ready. One we watch with the children, and usually one after they go to bed. My hubby and I have a tradition of staying the night on the hide-a-bed in the living room, in front of the fire. We usually interrupt our movie to watch the ball drop on Times Square. In the morning, we are always joined on the hide-a-bed by our children, and lounge around until breakfast—Daddy’s Pancake Special!

As much as I enjoy our New Year’s celebration now, I also have great memories of New Year’s Eve as a child. We spent it in church. Shortly before midnight, everybody would make a giant circle around the church, hold hands, and pray and sing. Right at midnight, the trumpet player would blast the trumpet, and there would be hugging and shouting and celebrating! Then, everyone would traipse downstairs to the basement fellowship hall, and enjoy a meal of roast pork, rice and beans, and other Puerto Rican favorites. There would be music, eating, and fellowshipping way into the wee hours. Those are just amazing memories I will always treasure!

Bianca—Probably my best memories of New Year’s Eve revolve around the ones spent with friends! J I enjoyed spending New Year’s Eve 2008 with friends whom we hadn’t seen in several years. It was the first—and so far only—year I got to see the ball drop. Our usual tradition is to watch a movie with special treats on New Year’s Eve. On New Year’s Day, I enjoy cuddling up with all my siblings in the hide-a-bed and watching the Rose Bowl Parade while Daddy makes his annual pancake and sausage breakfast. The rest of the day I enjoy relaxing and reading the books I received for Christmas!

Ben—On New Year’s Eve, I enjoy watching our last Christmas movie. I also have good memories of watching the ball drop with friends a few years ago. On New Year’s morning, I enjoy Daddy’s pancake and sausage breakfast! I also enjoy watching the Rose Bowl Parade and football later in the day. And I like to use the Christmas gifts that I have just gotten! J

Rubia—I like having pancakes for breakfast in the morning (made by Daddy!) I also enjoy sleeping in that morning. J Sometimes on New Year’s Eve we get to stay up for a little while and watch a movie, which is fun!

Roma—I remember a New Year’s Eve when we had friends over and they came in 2008 and stayed until 2009! J I also like getting up in the morning on New Year’s Day and watching a little TV and having pancakes for breakfast. And I like sleeping in and not worrying about school work!

Josiah—I like eating pancakes for breakfast on New Year’s Day. I also enjoyed the year we watched the ball drop with our friends. I also like sleeping on the hide-a-bed in the morning and watching movies!