New Thing #355--Auld Lang Syne

I've done a variety of things on New Year's Eve. Many years we've gone to dinners, dances, and house parties with friends. When the kids were younger, we took them to our city's First Night. The last several years we've attended a lockin in conjunction with a group Sons Brian and Donald were involved in; there were parallel activities for parents and children, but both groups came together to celebrate midnight and the turning of the year. We wanted to do something different this year, so when I heard about a promotion by Wehrenberg Theaters, we decided to stay close to home and take in a movie. Tonight I welcomed in the new year by going to a movie, but actually celebrated New Years Eve by dancing in the theater parking lot.

The promotion was a good deal; the package included a movie ticket (for any "9:00 hour" movie), refillable popcorn and soda, and a goodie bag with hats and party favors. We purchased our tickets several days ago, to make sure we got our first choice of movies. When we arrived at the theater tonight, the ticket-taker stamped our hand, indicating that we were entitled to all the extras. It was great to not open my wallet again at the concession stand; carrying our sodas and Diet Cokes, we entered the auditorium and picked out seats.

The movie (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) ran for more than 2 1/2 hours, so it was close to midnight when it finished. In the lobby, our hand stamp got us plastic leis, party hats, and bags containing noisemakers, bubbles, streamers, and party poppers. Although the promotion had indicated that "guests are welcome to stay in the lobby to welcome in 2009", the lobby was practically deserted; everyone was leaving after they received their things. We put our hats and leis on, grabbed our bags, and left too.

Tony and I walked to the car, turned on the radio as loud as it would go, and rolled down the car windows. We danced to techno music for a couple of minutes until midnight, then shot our poppers, threw streamers at each other, and blew our noisemakers at the other people who were still in the parking lot.

After a few minutes of revelry, we realized it was cold! We got in the car, closed the windows, turned the radio down to a reasonable level, and drove away. It was a great night.