As Bill Vaughn once said, "Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve.  Middle age is when you're forced to."  Some students from The Potter's School kindly shared what they generally do on New Year's Eve with me, as well as their favorite memory from this night.

Jocelyn Anderson said: “Lots of different relatives come and hang out in the house, which, of course, makes it packed. We usually start off the New Year's Eve party with a movie. We always have a hat competition. Everyone makes a hat and then parades in it in front of the judges, selected people who do not feel like making a hat. The judges then say who the winner is and the hat goes up for display for next year. As the countdown begins, the TV is turned on and we watch the ball drop. Then, we make a toast with sparkling grape juice. It's fun, really.

John Brooks said: “Usually, we rent a movie to watch. For supper, we have corn dogs and rotel dip. After supper, we play cards. Then, we go downstairs and watch our movie. After the movie, we come upstairs, where we have rootbeer floats. Then we play more cards. By this time, it's about 11:00, at which point Mom and Adam (my younger brother) go to bed. Then, I, my older sister Lisa, and my Dad fiddle around until 12:00. (Usually, though not always, we have a huge army soldier battle.) At midnight, we yell loud enough to wake Mom and Adam up, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!" and shoot off party poppers. Then, we go to bed. Unknown to the others, I have my own New Year tradition: Every year, I go into the bathroom and read a book until exactly 1:00, at which point I go to bed.”

Alicia York said: “My friends come over on New Year's Eve, and we stay up playing pool, ping-pong, and air hockey. We talk and eat lots of food, play outside on my trampoline in the pitch blackness of night, and, when the clock strikes twelve, we go crazy with our silly string and scream at the top of our voices outside. It's insane!”

AdrianneA said: “I do 'celebrate' on New Year's Eve. We usually do something with my youth group or my school. Roasting marshmallows has become a small tradition for some reason. We also go overboard on junk food and soda. At one of my friends' house, we will watch the fireworks from their huge balcony that overlooks most of the city. Then, at midnight, we will scream as loudly as we can! We also shoot off Roman candles and throw down firecrackers.

Ani Vinz said: “We stay up 'till midnight, watch the countdown, drink sparkling grape juice for added effects, then go to bed.  I know that's not very interesting, but that's it, and we've been doing it for more than 7 years.”

LindseyW said: “We watch the countdown, and then our family goes outside and bangs pots and pans at midnight. Sometimes we set off fireworks, too."

Breanne Williams said: “We usually have a party on New Year's Eve.  We invite family and friends.  When the clock strikes twelve, we all go running around the court screaming and making noise.”

Karli Brittain said: “I always watch the ball drop. What kind of New Year's would it be if you didn't? (Just kidding!) It used to be really hard to stay awake long enough, but, now, it's no problem. My favorite New Year's Eve probably would have been two years ago. A friend of mine and her dad took us to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. We went shopping for a couple of hours (most of the stores we got kicked out of because they were closing), and then went to get ice cream. It was kind of creepy being the only people out and about, but we had fun.

Margot Brose said: “We like to go down to watch fireworks at midnight downtown. The only problem with this is that it gets well below zero degrees where I live, but it is still awesome to watch.”

Daniela Deuel said: “Each year, the things that we do on New Year's vary. Normally, we will have a special dinner (complete with sparkling cider in wine glasses).  We then proceed to go outside and light sparklers and chase each other around with them. Next, we will have a family devotion and pray for the new year. After that, we will either read, hang out, or watch a movie. I like having a smaller New Year's because it is a nice change after my usually hectic Christmas season. My family never stays up and watches the ball drop in Times Square. It's too late, and, normally, we have something going on the next day. The best New Year's Eve that I ever had was when my sister had her friend Bridget over and we ate a big dinner, prayed over the new year, lit sparklers (and chased each other around with them!), and then watched Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Victoria Baird said: “We watch the ball drop every year, and we count down to the new year; it's rather loud! Probably my favorite New Year's Eve was several years back. I was about six or seven years old, and we had my mom's parents over for New Year's Eve. We had a cheese fondue and a chocolate fondue, and what I remember most was camping out in the family room all night watching movies. That was the first New Year's Eve that I remember watching the ball drop in New York City!”

EmilyM2 said: “Most New Year's Eves, my family and I play a big game of Monopoly.  It’s always fun, and we have a few themes to play from.  We play Disney, Star Wars, or the original game.  Sometimes, we stay up late and watch the ball drop on TV.  When we don’t play monopoly, we watch a movie series.  A few years ago we watched Lord of the Rings.  This year (if all goes as planned), we’re going to watch Star Wars.  Of course, we have to start it early in the day.  We always have fun, though, and eat a lot of popcorn.

Although my family and I live close to the city, we have never watched the ball drop.  That’s probably because my younger siblings would be cranky that late at night.  And we can’t leave them at home on NEW YEAR'S!!  My daddy says that, when my youngest brother (who is three now) is ten, we may go and watch the ball drop.  For now, we just have to be content with watching it on TV.

My favorite New Year's Eve was the year 2000.  I was seven at the time.  My little brother Matt (5) and I were finally allowed to watch the ball drop!  I was so proud.  Matt was, too.  It was my first time playing Monopoly, as well.  My normal bedtime was 8:30.  You can imagine how excited I was!  By 10:00, I could hardly sit still as Dad and Mom tried to show me how to work with the money in Monopoly.  As 11:30 rolled by, I was beginning to get tired.  My little seven-year-old eyes were using all of their strength to stay open.  Matt was smarter than I was.  He trusted his eyes and fell asleep at the table.  Dad picked him up and put him on the couch.  11:59; I was so excited.  Mom turned on the TV.  I was jumping up and down!  “Wake up, Matt!  Wake up!” I nearly shouted in Matt’s ear.  If there’s one thing that my brother’s very good at, it’s sleeping.  He could sleep through a thunderstorm.  I spent all of my time trying to wake up my little brother and almost missed the ball dropping.  To my relief, Matt woke up just before the ball dropped.  We saw it together and then went to bed.  Sadly, Matt’s little “nap” had refreshed him, and now he was up for some talking. I fell asleep listening to Matt chatter about everything. 

I don’t know why this is my favorite New Year's Eve.  It just seems to stand out.  I’m not sure if Matt remembers this, but I do.  I think that the reason why it stood out is probably because it was my first time watching the ball drop on TV.  I know that I’ll always remember it, though.”