Each year we are invited to a couple of New Year's Eve dinners or parties, but since our children have been teenagers we have to decline. WHY?!! I hear you ask, something contagious? a superstition? no, nothing so ethereal --- it's our barn!
Our barn is big, safe, far enough from the house to be independent yet close enough to keep an eye, and ...... it has seating and a dance floor!! YAY!
So every year at least one of our four children organise a New Year party there. We bring in heating, fancy lights, music, food, drink.... You can see from the pictures that we leave it all pretty basic. Experience has taught me that my ideas on decoration aren't quite the same as theirs, and in any case the lights will be so low that no one will notice!!
We already put a couple of our old sofas in the barn, and the former mangers have been transformed into teenage-party-proof seating.
The old wood burning stove is given its annual dusting off and woken up for the occasion, and we bring in some extra party heating too.
So at my french country home on New Year's Eve you will find a dinner for us with friends in the main house; a teenage party in the barn, and a younger and smaller teenage happening in the guest cottage. Fun? yes, Mad? yes, also, .... but the bit where I would like you to spare me a thought is the next morning, because while our dinner guests will go home at some point in the night, most of the youngsters will be staying here!!! Obviously! No fun at all otherwise!
How many baguettes do you think I should order for breakfast for 30 youngsters? I'm going with 20 baguettes and about 8 litres of hot chocolate and the same of orange juice, but if anyone knows better I'm interested to hear!
Bonne année à vous tous!!
