Ringing in 2010

(yes, a real photograph taken by a real human. Most New Years photos compliments Josh Montgomery!) 

Guess what? Auld Lang Syne was written in Scotland. By the noble and much beloved Scottish poet Robert Burns, in 1788. Or, if not written, adapted/collected by him.  Of the lyrics, he said, “The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man".

So. We found ourselves celebrating New Years Eve in the home of the most famous New Year song. Not bad! Robin and I had the pleasure of welcoming our siblings for the holiday. My sister Courtney, her (our) friend Stenise, Robin's brother Matt, and his (our) friend Josh all descended upon Edinburgh on December 31st.

We decided that our very special visitors were a perfect opportunity to throw our first house party. Our party was awesome, and here are some reasons why:

1. Let's talk Food display. Courtney and Stenise recently quit their jobs in the hospitality/restaurant industry. They assured me that pulling together this type of arrangement was fun for them when they weren't on the clock. Here is the spread:

Add expensive bottles of malt whisky, plenty of cheap champagne, and wine mulling in the kitchen, and you are in good shape for the New Years Eve revelers.

2. Decor: We re-arranged the living room - Fun!

3. Musique. I tried to make a "Best of the 2000s" playlist but realized that most of my music is from another decade... so it became a Spotify mix, put together by our techno team Matt and Josh. 

4. (duh) The Guests. Robin and I pulled off a crowd of engaged, engaging, dynamic, diverse party guests. From lots of different places. There was a wall chart growing organically and convolutedly all night, describing the way we knew one another which is a kind of fun idea for any party.

Around 22:30 we left the house for the Hogmanay Street Party. I still don't exactly know what Hogmanay is. Really, no idea. But we had fun among the crowds of people with our flasks of whisky and toe warmers compliments of our Japanese friends. 

All of the Americans thought the fireworks show sucked, but that's because Americans are exceptionally good at fireworks, so we are spoiled.

We continued the party back at home and managed to get to bed just before sunrise. The next day was all IRN BRU, hiking/falling up Calton Hill in the ice and snow, a solid game of charades, and packing packing packing for winter break travels to Eastern Europe.  

For Auld Lang Syne, my dears, for Auld Lang Syne: Happy 2010.