Today I'm taking part in a New Years Blog Hop. Here's how it works: I share a favorite New Years memory in this post, and everyone who comments will be entered in a random drawing. There are two fantastic prizes: a Kindle Fire and a $80 Amazon gift card. Yeah, I know - awesome! :) Plus, by commenting on this specific post, you'll be entered in a drawing for a copy of one of my books (your choice). Just be sure to leave your e-mail address or some method of contact in your comment so that you can be contacted if you win one of the prizes.
And after you read my tale of forbidden alcoholic fumes, don't forget to check out the directory of participating authors so you can visit their posts too. (The more comments you leave, the more entries you get in the Kindle / gift card drawing.)
Now for my New Years memory...
This happened a few years ago at a family New Years gathering. My younger brother was 16, and I was just old enough to escape our mom's holiday interference. Unfortunately for him, he was not.
As midnight approached, our aunt made the rounds with a bottle of champagne, pouring a modest amount into all our cups - just enough to toast in the New Year with. A mouse could have chugged one of those portions and still have been completely sober. Which is why it may come to a surprise to anyone who doesn't know my mom (and my aunt - her twin) that my aunt suddenly paused just as the champagne was about to flow into my brother's cup. "Suzie*, is it all right if he has some?" she asked, facing my mother with a look of genuine concern plastered across her face.
My mom actually thought about it. As my brother looked on with an expression of disbelief, our mother pondered the question before she reluctantly consented that he could have "just a little bit". (Meanwhile, our 12 year old girl-cousin is crowing in the background over her centimeter of holiday champagne.)
And so, my sixteen year old brother was demasculated by just a few words from our mom, in front of more than a dozen of our family members - definitely not his preferred way to begin the new year. He was so disgusted that he refused to drink any champagne and left the room, claiming that he couldn't be in close proximity to the champagne bottle, lest breathing a whiff of the alcoholic fumes cause him to become intoxicated.
Of course, being the good sister that I am, I tease him about fumes every New Year, and we all laugh. And we still don't drink champagne (which certainly isn't to say that there isn't any drinking at all).
***
*I called my mom 'Suzie', figuring she wouldn't want to be mentioned on this blog by her actual name. lol
***
What about you - any favorite New Years memories you'd like to share? Thanks for stopping by, and good luck in the drawing. ;)
HAHA, your poor brother! I had a cousin that used to give us wine coolers behind our parents' back...just one and we swore we were drunk!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a favorite memory but I have a favorite tradition. Every year my family as a New Year's party. The adults break out the wine and we crank up the music and the kids dance and have a good time. My family is very close knit, so if there's an excuse to get together and eat...we're taking it!
Oh, and even though I know u know how to contact me, I suppose I should follow the contest rules huh?
ReplyDeleteemail: welise86@yahoo.com
=)
I remember having my first taste of Champange on New years. it tasted like sun and the Bubbles remindeed me of the feeling of the bubbles in the ocean surf popping on my skin.
ReplyDeleteLadystyx @ spatialfrustration.com
Elise - that sounds like fun! I always get together with my family at New Years too. :)
ReplyDeleteLadystyx - your champagne experience sounds so much more pleasant than my brother's! LOL
Does you brother still speak with your aunt? I can see a 16 year old being upset and carrying a grudge for a while.
ReplyDeleteMine are quiet, home, family, movies, good eats. Not a big champagne person, but a glass of something bubbly is a must.
acm05atjuno.com
My brother is usually very nice and laid back - he laughs about the champagne thing now, but at the time found it deeply insulting. LOL :)
ReplyDeleteI remember using plastic champagne glasses and 7-Up with my brother to toast the New Year and we were so tired and giddy we thought we were drunk. Oh to be little again.
ReplyDeletemusicalfrog at comcast.net
Sounds like fun, Patti. I think as a little kid I put ginger ale in a champagne glass. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember when I was in high school many, many years ago. My mom let me stay up until midnight and I had my first sip of champagne. I loved how the bubbles tickled my nose.
ReplyDeletee.balinski(at)att(dot)net
Oh that is too funny! lol My grandparents would always give me a little wine when I was a teenager. I always felt so grown up ;) For New Years we shoot fireworks at night. Ewe and aah over the big ones we have, then stay up til midnight watching the ball drop on tv. Thanks for the giveaway. christina_92 at yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteFunny and a great memory to share with any neices or nephews you have acquired.
ReplyDeletelinze_e at hotmail.com
The poor guy! My mom once bought us a bottle of Ariel. For those who may not know, it's non-alcoholic. She played it off as if it was actual alcohol. Well, we figured it out instantly, but decided to spin the joke on her, by acting outlandishly drunk, stumbling around, acting all panicky like we didn't know what was wrong with us. I remember her checking, double checking, and triple checking that bottle to make sure there really wasn't any alcohol in it. ;) richnkathy718 (at) msn (dot) com
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your soon-to-be-released title :D
ReplyDeleteHappy new year!
mihoxli at gmail dot com
Sounds like everyone has much better champagne memories than my brother! LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks Miho Li for the congrats. :)
My Mom would perform an old German custom that she learned from her mom. What you do is have a glass of champagne in one hand and a piece of pickled herring in another. At the count of midnight you eat the herring (ugh!) and chase it with the champagne. This is supposed to bring luck and prosperity in the following year.
ReplyDeleteShe swears this old wives tale works.
mcv111 at hotmail (dot) com.
Mine is when I was in the Navy and we had a huge party before we shipped out to Iraq
ReplyDeleteteressaoliver at gmail dot com
Loved the story Ranae. Just finished Hot Ink and loved it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite memory is working almost ever new years and seeing everyone else drunk and making fools of themselves.
Thanks for the chance to win.
christinebails@yahoo.com
MCV - Wow, that custom had better work, if you have to go through all that. LOL :)
ReplyDeleteTeressa - I imagine you'd need a huge party before that...and hopefully after you returned, too! :)
Chris - That definitely sounds amusing! Thanks so much for letting me know that you enjoyed Hot Ink. :)
Any New Years spent be able to kiss my husband when the ball drops is a great memory to me :)
ReplyDeleteDprissypunk(at)gmail(dot)com
Oh I bet that's a funny story to retell all the time :) As for me nothing too memorable, but good times anyway...I have spent pretty much all my NYE with my family, we just watch the countdown on tv, eat snacks and play games.
ReplyDeleteEva
evitap67(at)gmail(dot)com
I spend every new years with my family, so they are all pretty much the same, except in 2005 My husband and I officially started dating :)
ReplyDeletebrandon_savannah@yahoo.com
i have a new years memory from my childhood. it was 1989 and my sister and my cousins were all in the living room, coloring in huge coloring books under the lights of the christmas tree, waiting for midnight so we could celebrate the first day of the last decade of the 20th century.
ReplyDeletepinkdrama@gmail.com
I spend most of my New Years with my family watching TV. This year I stayed home reading. I wasn't in the mood to be around a lot of people even family.
ReplyDeletesstrode at scrtc dot com
What a funny story. Glad you brother can laugh about it now. Most New Years are spent quietly now in our house.
ReplyDeleteskpetal at hotmail dot com
Any new year spent with family or friends is the best.
ReplyDeleteJennifer
wocaworld @ gmail.com
Lol - your poor brother! I spend New Years Eve with family and depending on how we all feel, we either get a bottle of Asti Spumanti (champagne is too dry for us) or sparkling grape juice...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway!
ringpop2010 at gmail dot com
My favorite New Years Eve will always be special since it was the night my hubby proposed. After 35 years together, so glad I said yes.
ReplyDeletecaity_mack at yahoo dot com
My favorite New Year's Eve is the first year my DH of 38 years and I were married. We had a really fun party of relatives and friends. I can remember we had a Golden Retriever and I kept finding her water dish empty and kept filling it. Come to find out, our guests were putting beer in her dish and she was drinking it. Poor thing had a hangover the next day.
ReplyDeletekscathy@yahoo.com
I think everyone should give him a bottle of champaign for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is the year we moved into our house, no one else had built yet and we could see the fireworks from the the water park down the road
fkmcg@yahoo.com
ROFL! Your poor brother! Those moments in time where the clock slows to almost a stop, hahahaha! I love them (yes, even when I am the butt of the joke).
ReplyDeleteMy favorite way to ring in the new year is with my favorite (at the moment) fictional boyfriend in my hands, lol.
Thank you for participating in this hop and for the giveaway chance!
I hope 2012 brings you every happiness!
Gena Robertson
robertsongena@hotmail.com
Your poor brother. My favorite New Year's memories are all of spending the evenings with family, generally watching either movies or TV. This year I spent it with my sister & 2 of her kids watching a zombie marathon on TV.
ReplyDeleteJune
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
Every year, my best friend and her husband throw a massive NYE party. After almost everyone leaves, I sit around with some of my best friends, (we don't see each other nearly as much as we'd like to),and we just talk about the year just past, good memories -- it's just a wonderful way to celebrate, and we've made it an annual ritual.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway and have a Happy New Year!
elizabeth @ bookattict . com
My favorite New Years memories involve playing cards and board games at my brother's house on New Year's eve.
ReplyDeleteCrystal816[at]hotmail[dot]com
I've always spent NYE inside with family and friends! Making those that maybe drank a little too much spend the night...I'm a little afraid about d&d, better safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteWould LOVE to ready your book, Hot Ink! Happy 2012!
barbbattaglia@yahoo.com
My favorite NYE memory was my first one in Chicago. The fireworks downtown were gorgeous especially when they were reflected in Lake Michigan.
ReplyDeletegeishasmom73 AT yahoo DOT com
Well my birthdays New Years eve so I could tell tons of stories from that! LOL But one of my most memorable would probably have to be last year just for how funny it was. My friend was 9months pregnant. Due any time and she decided that she wanted to play 'Just Dance' on my wii. So she seriously got into it. It was insane watching her dance with her big belly. I have it on video. Probably the funniest thing I've ever seen. :) Thanks!
ReplyDelete-Amber
goodblinknpark@yahoo.com
well i did not do more this year and then i
ReplyDeletedid the blog hops yes
desi the blonde@ msn.com
My best new years memory was from about three years ago. I spent it with my best friend and her family and we just hung out and drank champange.
ReplyDeletecharmed_sphere_mage69@hotmail.com
My favorite NYE memory is ice skating with old friends and toasting in the new year with hot chocolate.
ReplyDeletecirae47@yahoo.com
My birthday is NYE and one of my sisters is NYD so we have a combined birthday party at midnight.
ReplyDeletesnulfers at hotmail dot com
So mine starts off a little odd. I was working as a waitress and I ended up working a double shift from open to close without more than a two minute break periodically. I was pretty mad about that because I'd scheduled time off to be with my then boyfriend. Anyway so I worked all day and while the tips were great the people not so much, especially after about 9. So anyway we closed early that night and I got how around 11pm. I took a shower and climbed into bed and just as I was falling asleep my phone rings. I'm cussing up a storm and questioning the parentage of the person on the other end and it turns out it's the boyfriend. He waits for my little rant to end and then before I can start up again blurts out "Will you marry me." I'm so tired my brain doesn't seem to understand him and I go "what?" so he politely repeats himself and then tells me to get my ass outside. I dropped my phone and ran out the front door to him standing there with two dozen of my favorite flowers on one knee :) Best New Year's EVER! We'll have been married three years this may. I don't know if we kissed in time to ring in the new year but it was still pretty epic.
ReplyDeletea_breen87@yahoo(dot)com
i don't like celebrate that much, so I usually have dinner with friends, but I loved NY when I was a kid because i could stay up late, sip champagne and watch fireworks!
ReplyDeletealiasgirl at libero dot it
thank you so much for being part of this giveaway!!! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteyankeedragon4 at gmail dotcom
I like to play cards with the family & eat good food. Funny story, by the way. Thanks for the giveaway! Gloria
ReplyDeletegeschumann at live dot com
This new years was my favorite. My family stayed home and watched movies. We had tons of fun! We ate snacks and toasted the new year. It was great! Thank you for sharing! Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteshadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com
Too funny! I'd never let my siling live that down either!! We stay home with the family and have friends over. Eat, play games, drink a little and have a ton of laughs. Makes for great memories!
ReplyDeletemnjcarter@charter.net
My mom would make shirley temples and snacks for new years eve celebration- loved it!
ReplyDeletemconnolley(at)yahoo(dot)com
So many sweet, funny and romantic New Years stories! (Especially Cherry Blossom Rain's proposal story.)
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for sharing - I've really been enjoying reading all your answers. I may have to heed that suggestion and give my brother a bottle of champagne! LOL
Best memory is hanging out with friends and family drinking champagne and orange juice mimosa's
ReplyDeletetwo things... in 1998 new years eve... took possesion of first home and this year... got a new dog... I love new on new years eve.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite NYE memory is the one I spend with my now husband. We went out with my best friend and her (then) husband. It was horrible. They fought the whole night but at one point during all that craziness he leaned over and told me that he loved me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great giveaway!
areeths at new dot rr dot com
Juliana
ReplyDeleteShooting champagne out of my nose the first time I accidentally tasted it when I was 10! Thanks for being part of the blog hop! Happy New Year!
OceanAkers@aol.com
My favorite New Year's memory is when I was around 7 year's old and my best friend and I stayed up through the New Year all the way up until around 4am. We were the happiest 7 year old's ever! Our parents were too wasted to even notice! lol
ReplyDeleteIshanie.Sanchez@gmail.com
http://thealteregotracy.blogspot.com
Thanks for sharing your memory
ReplyDeleteelaing8(at)netscape(dot)net
Spending the time with family. Always special because you never know how long you'll be able to get together. You are a new to me author I just added some of your books to my wish list! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeletesuz2@cox.net
Hey, at least ya'll had a chance at the flavor on ya tongues as youth! Ours was either grape juice of grape soda, lol
ReplyDeletebrbalways(at)yahoo(dot)com
I got married on New Year's Day (1988) so that was my most memorable New Year--by far!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
catherinelee100[at]gmail[dot]com
@capefearlibn
I relalyd ont have a fav memory they are alls pecial in their own way ty for sharing yours!
ReplyDeletemortalsinn(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
My favorite new years was when I had a fun and crazy party with friends last year, the champagne was literally flowing everywhere since one of my friends tried to make a champagne fountain but it turned into a river instead!
ReplyDeletelilazncutie1215[at]yahoo[dot]com
No big special memories. I usually have a drink and a quiet evening to ring in the new year :)
ReplyDeletechristinetoney (at) hotmail.com
I stayed home spent New Years eve with my Mom watched movies! Thank you so much for taking part in this fun blog hop! Great giveaway and Happy New Year too year!
ReplyDeleteLatisha D
tishajean@ charter.net
It’s not really a “memory,” but it’s a tradition that I still follow from back in my home country of Brazil. For New Years, the color of your clothing represents what you want for the new year. For example, many Brazilians wear white for peace and inner calm, but you see a few wearing red for passion or pink for love, some wear green in hopes of earning more that year as well. Every year i’m excited to see what colors people decide to wear on New Years, and I love getting together at the end of the year to see if their wishes came true.
ReplyDeleteLOL What a great story! Thanks for sharing your memory! Brothers....haha....I have three!! ;) And amazingly....not a single New Years memory with any of them!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and yours!
thewildtwo @ sbcglobal (dot) net
Thanks for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
ainfinger@comcastDOTnet
My best NYE - We had a party for our friends and family. We could see the high school fireworks from our backyard. We all had a great time being together. Almost all the food was gone and the drinks...well there weren't any left..lol Those who needed to spend the night found a piece of floor and blankets and we had breakfast the next morning...some not so much LOL
ReplyDeleteGreat Blog Hop. Hope you will blog at KP sometime.
Mary Keith
mary@keithpublications.come
www.keithpublications.com
thank you for the chance at such a great giveaway.
ReplyDeletemy favorite memory is the year my husband asked me to marry him.
tammy ramey
trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com