New Years Eve Party 101: Celebrate Responsibly

Don’t Drink and Drive

Ringing in the New Year

I’ll be babysitting the grandkids this year since my oldest daughter and my charming son-in-law will be going out for a night on the town.

When I was younger I always looked forward to New Year’s Eve.  My husband’s family enjoyed partying, and there was many a New Year’s Eve that we would travel from Connecticut to New York City and spend the night.

All the in-laws would stay at the same hotel in the Big Apple.  We’d have dinner in the theater district at Sardi’s or Gallagher’s (where you can see the beef hanging in the window!) or sometimes at Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant on Broadway.  Afterwards we’d take in the scene at Times Square to get a glimpse of the ball.  Later we’d go back to the hotel and take in a show at Rockefeller Center the next day, and stop in at Tavern on the Green.

What was nice about going to NYC was that once we were there, the car was parked and we didn’t have to drive.  We’d take a cab or walk wherever we wanted to go.

Many cities and towns now have First Night celebrations, which is really nice because most family events and are alcohol-free.

During the holidays, everybody looks forward to celebrating with family and friends.  Our mailbox fills up with invitations to Christmas and Hanukkah parties, dinners, and other get-togethers.  Through each exciting gathering we learn to control our eating to avoid those holiday and New Year’s pounds.  Another thing to be aware of is how much alcohol we consume.

Everyone wants to get into the spirit of the occasion.  But good natured frivolity can get us into trouble when we drink without thinking at office parties and other holiday gatherings.  Having a truly good time means handling our alcohol responsibly. 

We need a plan before we even reach the party.

Choose a designated driver. You hear it all the time but that’s because it’s important.  This doesn’t give permission to drink until you can’t stand up but at least when you are ready to go home, someone who is in control of their faculties will be in charge of driving.  To appear fair, rotate the role of designated driver among your circle of friends so everyone gets a chance to participate fully in the party happenings.

Mix your alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic beverages. One or two drinks can have less of an effect on us when drank intermittently with soda.  If you drink only one or two drinks it may be best to hail a taxi rather than risk driving home because you’re unsure whether you’re over the limit or not.

Blood alcohol content is how the police test for the amount of alcohol still circulating in your system.  In the United States, the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.08 percent.  Anything above that is considered breaking the law and will result in a DWI or DUI arrest and possible prosecution.

When someone is stopped by the police, they assess the need to administer a breathalyzer test.  The person blows on the instrument and it registers a blood alcohol level.  The number that appears is admissible in court should it come to that.

But, how did they know to stop you?  Believe it or not, someone under the influence of alcohol tries to rationalize that they are alright to drive.  It’s the ones who are just over the limit that rationalize the most.

They reason that if they drive slower, they’ll make it home safely.  Unfortunately, the body has other plans.  Alcohol slows the reaction time.  As a result, people under the influence of alcohol drive slower so they have less trouble braking if needed.  They brake more often because they are trying not to hit anything.  Forgetting to turn on the headlights isn’t uncommon.

On the other end of the spectrum, someone who is blatantly drunk will drive fast, swerving across the center line and showing a disregard for traffic signals and signs.  Wide turns result in accidents either with stationary objects or another moving vehicle.  When people drink and drive, someone can die.

The bottom line is don’t drink and drive.  The odds are against us that we’ll get away with it.  Don’t bet someone else’s life (or your own) on it.

Happy New Year!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Hot Time Summer in the City ~ Reminiscing About My Best Summer Vacation ~ Orlando

It’s amazing how time passes so quickly. Many of you may be aware that I really like hot, humid weather. My loyal readers know I live in New England, but I really believe I was meant to live down South.

When the kids were 11 and 7, we took them to Orlando in August for a family vacation. It wasn’t as crowded as in the winter months, and many of the children who live down south were already back in school. August was considered “off-season,” so our rates were really reasonable

Reminiscing about what a fantastic time we had taking in all the things to do in Orlando, my oldest daughter is already making suggestions that she would like all of us to take a family vacation next year. By then, my soon-to-be-born grandson will be old enough to be portable, and ‘Lil Moomette will be at a great age to enjoy all the activity. Family vacation includes Charming Son-in-Law’s parents from Vermont.

Now that my daughter’s a married Mom herself, I’m passing the baton, and am going to suggest that she obtain all the online travel guides from Trusted Tours & Attractions and make arrangements for everyone. I’m even going to hint that since I Love New York, I wouldn’t mind her looking into things to do in New York for my Birthday, which is in January and taking some New York City tours.  It would be a terrific opportunity to visit the shopping district and do some serious shopping to stock my eBay store, or spend New Year’s Eve in the Big Apple!

Planning your next vacation? Looking for ideas on what to do?  Sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win a $150 iTunes gift card Offer ends July 31st, 2008.

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Plan Your Next “Wildest Vacation” Win a Chance for a $150 Itunes Card

Recently I’ve been reflecting on what I was up to when I was both of my DD’s ages. When I was single back in the ’70s, one of my future inlaw’s favorite pastimes was wanting to go to NYC. We spent many a wild time there, and sometimes would drive down just for the night. They’d treat the whole family to dinner at Jack Dempsey’s on Times Square and a night on the town.

Sometimes we would go down for New Year’s Eve and stay over. We’d do dinner at some of the most famous haunts, and do a jaunt through Times Square before the ball dropped. My future mother-in-law, father-inlaw, brother & sister-in-laws would all pile into shared cabs. It was great. We knew the City inside out. Those were some wild times.

If you’ve been thinking about visiting the Big Apple, but have never been before, you can plan your trip tour easily through Trusted Tours & Attractions. Sign up and make arrangements for some sightseeing tours of all the well-know attractions, such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Shopping District, Diamond District, Broadway & more!

Trusted Tours and Attractions offers discounted tickets to the best sightseeing tours in 23 cities across America. If you can believe it, DH and I are the only ones in the family who’ve never been to the Left Coast. One of these days I’d like to visit San Francisco . I never did get to visit the Golden Gate City back then!

So are you planning your next vacation? Looking for ideas on what to do? Checking out Things to do in Las Vegas? Sign up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter and enter to win a $150 iTunes gift card.  Offer ends Saturday, May 31st, 2008.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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