the one with NYE at the Eden

The past 5 years in a row, the whole crew has spent New Years Eve together at the Reed's house. The "main crew" has pretty much stayed the same and then we have had a few people come and go as we have gotten older and well, as life has happened.
Their house has always been perfect for NYE  because 1-they offer it 2-we don't go to their place as much as its considered to be a little more "out of the way" than everyone elses houses 3-We can sleep there 4-they are the most gracious of hosts 5-they plan, there is booze, food, music, décor.
This year the general consensus was we have had an awesome run there but maybe this year we should switch it up and try something new.
Enter: The Eden Resort and DJ Freez
The Eden hosts two new years eve parties. One which is considered to be the  "older party" where there is a live band and filet mignon... and the "younger party" which includes open bar and a buffet. We decided to go with the "younger party" because there was a DJ and well, it was cheaper at $160.00 per couple. I am the cheapest person ever and $160 is normally something I would never consider to spend on NYE but I mean, food, a dj AND open bar... seemed like a really reasonable price. The next part would be trying to get everyone to commit. That ended up being way easier than I thought it would with the conversation going something like this:
"Hey guys, we were thinking of going the Eden this year for NYE.. $160 a couple for a dj, food and OPEN BAR"
-Friends response- "Ok, where do we get tickets?"
Done. 12 of us. The Eden. Dan, Me, Meg, Ray, Chris, Mad, Jess, Von, Amber, Andy, Lauren, Pete, John, Christine.
When we got there we noticed a two major things.. 1-we were 12 of about 20 people who were under the age of 40 who were there, 2-the DJ was playing "old people" music. We very quickly forgot that we were the only people under the age of 40 there. When you show up to a party with 12 of your best friends, you very quickly forget there is anyone else in the room at all. Also, the DJ was just warming everyone up. He actually did a great job with mixing the music up and had the dance floor packed.
A perk of the party being mostly older: there was not one minute of a wait for a drink. Open bar. All the drinks you wanted, over and over again without waiting. It was fabulous. I am pretty sure we quickly reminded everyone that we were the youngest group of people there. There may have been a glass broken on the dance floor, an "a$$hole" chant and someone may or may not have fallen out of their chair. I wont name names. What I will say is that all of those things were done by different people lol.. open bar, seriously, what more do I say?!
Now onto the mushy part of this post: it was really fun bringing in another year together. When we were all dancing on the dance floor at some point I was looking around at everyone and just thinking ... Dan and I have been together for 7 years, this was the 6th or 7th NYE in a row I have spent with Meg and Ray, Chris and Mad are getting married this year, Lauren is without a doubt the BEST thing I have gotten out of pledging my sorority in college.
We are so lucky to have each other.


Side note: being a mom and being hungover with a toddler is just terrible. Next year, I think a more family friendly NYE will be in order.