Lovely friends ringing in 2019 at Re-New Years
Happy New Year! Whether you had the perfect New Year’s Eve, a quiet night in, or active disappointment (hey, it happens - there’s a bunch of NYE pressure) for 2020, I want to encourage you to start a new tradition (or two). To explain what I mean, I’ve got to tell you a story. In 2006, I moved into the Pink Palace, my first home in Austin. I lived in the fabulous 3-story, 7-bedroom, 100+ year old Victorian with 6 amazing roommates who quickly became my community. Many of us had winter travel plans that meant that we would not all be together in Austin for New Year’s Eve, so we crafted our own tradition that we have kept going for more than a decade. We decided that we could (and should!) celebrate New Years whenever it’s convenient for us, and the tradition of Re-New Years was born.
Re-New Years is in many ways a traditional New Years Eve celebration… except it happens sometime in January or February, usually on a Saturday, when folks are available (because I’m wild for logistics, there’s usually a Doodle poll). We get dressed up and head downtown to a couple of fancy bars, almost always going to the Driskill Hotel first. We do a countdown (or two.. just never at midnight), ask the band to play Auld Lang Syne (even though it’s weeks into the calendar year), and generally celebrate each other and the year to come.
After the first year, hats became mandatory, and it’s truly a wonder how much mild-culture jamming happens when 15-20 people walk into a bar all wearing hats. I’m not quite sure what it is, but we get lots of questions, requests for photos, and it’s always a highlight of my Re-New Years to tell people about the tradition.
We are gearing up to celebrate Re-New Year 2020 in a few weeks, and I would heartily encourage you to find ways to start your own traditions this year. Or borrow ours and make it your own. Happy 2020.