Normal? Hardly.

My house was full of people New Year's Eve, and I think a discussion even came up at some point during the evening about how we all weren't exactly normal...but then, what is normal? :D Not my party, that's for sure.

I mean, there was the usual making sure people had food and drink, and making introductions, and taking coats, etc. But start with a game of Catchphrase (guaranteed to go slightly awkward at some point, with my group), try to keep the noise to a level quiet people can bear, connect various people's technology to the network, arrange and explain games, and handle the verbal sparring brought on by several guests who let no misspoken word slip by, and I had my hands full. Throw in a little counseling, mediation, and distribution of Advil to people recovering from frisbee pains and headaches...and you have a party that I'm not sure any hostess book would have all the etiquette tips for.

But, all that is exactly why it was awesome, and I loved every bit of it! :) My friends and I are all admittedly white and nerdy and probably 2/3 of us were homeschooled, so geeky references and reactions were abundant. A nerf war broke out at one point. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised there was no sword-fighting, either real or pretend. And there was a lot of caffeine...which affected some of us more than others.

The NYE countdown app on my iPod worked splendidly...I simply handed it to the tallest person once we went outside, and stood back so as not to be deafened by everyone's noisemakers. It certainly worked better than last year's sitting-on-the-remote debacle... :P And of course a few people took a celebratory run down the street and jogged back up blowing horns. (We have yet to hear complaints from my grandparents next door....but then, we haven't talked to them since Saturday...) Several of us also finished out the night at about one o'clock with a bit of swing dancing on the patio. (Next time I shall have to plan ahead: speakers and a playlist, for example.)

All in all, I think everyone had a good time, it was even better than last year (perhaps because there were twice as many people!), and barring unforeseen circumstances...next year should be great too. ;)

The December quote from my Jane Austen calendar: "One cannot have too large a party. A large party secures its own amusement." -Mr. Weston in Emma 
I think I agree.