I stay home. With my cat, and I look after my neighbors cats, who are terrified when the noise starts.
Different each time.
Sometimes I’m on a redeye home from a Christmas trip.
Sometimes I go into the city crowds to watch fireworks from the street.
Sometimes a small party.
Sometimes a big splashy society party.
Sometimes TV with the kids and a bowl of popcorn.
Sometimes, like this year, when nobody is home but me,* I just ignore it.*
I’ve never gone out for New Year’s. This year I’m going to a party with friends. I’ll be taking it easy. I guess that makes me a party pooper.
Not being a fan of large, drunken crowds, I stay at home and watch television.
It’s kind of funny… my first reaction was to reply “Party Pooper”, because in general, I’m not a huge partier during most of the year.
During college, I didn’t get to many NYE parties, because my parents’ house wasn’t near any of my friends, although one year I did go with some high school friends.
After college, which would be 96-97 and afterward, I think I stayed home for the first four New Year’s Eves- I lived away from most of my friends again.
After moving to the DFW area (where most of my friends live), I’ve either gone to parties, or tried to go to parties ever since. With the exception of one year where it got really icy, I don’t think I’ve ever got home before 4:30 or 5 am, and have had some strange adventures- weird after parties, strange sex escapades with ex-girlfriends, etc…
So I suppose count me in the Party Hearty crowd.
I did the public gathering thing… once. I spent too much time being jammed in and worrying about pickpockets to really relax and have fun. Mostly I ignore it, and maybe watch it on TV.
But I have a question for the OP: are “party hearty” or “party pooper” the only choices? I thought “party pooper” meant someone who not only doesn’t want to have fun, but who ruins the fun for others.
The choice of a lot of people in this thread, “no party”, would seem to be different.
I mix it up in a sort of every-other-year fashion - one year stay in, next year go out. This year, I am exchanging what would be a wild New Year’s Eve out for a wild bachelorette party this evening. I’m solo hosting and as such, have not had to deal with any one else’s input. It’s almost exactly the party that I would have planned for myself, except that I went for the “business suit” stripper for tonight instead of the “nerd”.
That said, New Year’s Eve will be spent eating Chinese food with friends, watching horror movies, and making as much noise as possible at midnight.
I stay home because I’m still under my parents’ thumb.
I was in Israel for the last one. Interestingly, of the ten days I spent there, New Year’s Eve was the only night that I didn’t drink massive amounts of alcohol and party hard. I was just too tired that night and slept early. I more than made up for it before and after, believe me.
I’ve done the going out thing and because I lack patience I find it really, really annoying. It’s just not worth the hassle anymore. Yes, I’m old.
Since the Rose Parade is now on the 2nd instead of the 1st (stupid Pasadena “no parades on Sunday” rules), I had to change my NYE plan. We were going to walk among the floats that night and look at them before the parade, but since the floats won’t be lining up until the night of the 1st, plans have changed. Now, I plan to stay in with a friend; we’ll cook dinner (okay, we’ll open Trader Joe’s boxes and containers and call it “cooking”) and watch old movies.