Some of my favorite memories from when I was a kid are centered on New Year’s Eve and Day with my family.
My parents were never ones to host any sort of crazy “invite everyone you know to the house” New Year’s parties. In fact, as far as I can remember, New Year’s was more or less the decompression holiday for us to celebrate together as a family in the wake of all the chaos surrounding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I’m happy to say that same tradition is one my wife and I continue to carry over into our home to this day.
Mom spent the better part of the morning prepping the homemade pizza, cocktail dogs wrapped in leftover dough, pizza fritas, and homemade zeppoles. For dessert we’d have homemade chocolate chip cookies, her signature peanut butter and jelly cookies, and whatever else managed to actually survive that one-week span between Christmas and New Year’s.
New Year’s, to me, will always be synonymous with Twilight Zone marathons. It’s kind of funny how a kid growing up in the 90s could share a love for a show with his father, a guy who grew up at a time when the show originally aired. There was always something nostalgic about that, as if my dad’s fandom was passed down to me. In between episodes we’d bust out some board games, Taboo, Monopoly, Clue, and Poker being among the favorites.
(Top three episodes of Twilight Zone, by the way: The Howling Man, Eye of the Beholder, and Time Enough at Last)
Looking back, I can still vividly remember where everyone sat in our living room from one year to the next when the ball dropped in Times Square. The many recliners the came a went over the years, couches, blankets, and how much we all grew as a family and as individuals.
From the time when I was younger, struggling to stay awake until midnight, to the time when I was older, and my parents were the ones trying to keep their eyes open, New Year’s, to me, holds a special place in my heart.
Happy New Year! May 2020 bring you health and happiness.