Staying Home on New Year's Eve? Party's Still On…

Have you met anybody who's been out every New Year's Eve? Neither have we, although people will brag/embellish/outright lie. Everyone has had to sit out, either by choice, or by recent break-up, or by some nasty flu bug, the confetti-iest night of the year. But just because you don't want to face traffic, or late hours, or random strangers planting wet, slobbery kisses all over your face come midnight doesn't mean it can't be festive. Bonus: All of these things can be done in your underwear. Can you do that at a party? Well, we guess it depends on the party...

FOOD: Really, every social event tends to come back to one word: appetizers. As in snackage, as in break-out-the-fondue-pot recreational eating. Do not -- we repeat, do not -- go into New Year's Eve with some dried-up Brie rind at the back of the fridge, and a expired can of beets for dessert. Pick up some convenient, ready-to-heat foods, the ones you eyeball longingly at Julienne in San Marino or Joan's on Third near Beverly Hills but always deny yourself. New Year's Eve is the night to enjoy that cheesy, meaty, olive-oil-y lasagna. Buy two.

ENTERTAINMENT: The television is rife with shows featuring ball drops, people mugging for the camera and young-thing pop stars; those are diverting, especially when you need the exact countdown. We like a sappy New Year's Eve movie, like "When Harry Met Sally" (okay, it is at the very end, but it is a big moment). Or amuse yourself by calling/texting faraway friends as it reaches midnight in their time zones (we can do this, living as we do so far West). Just make sure they haven't called it a night early. Oh boy. Hate to start off the new year with a sore friend.

FRIPPERY: Frippery is very important to feeling festive when you're alone, or with a roommate or boyfriend/girlfriend. What do we mean here? Frippery=the party horns, the hats, the beads. Buy a pack at the grocery store and see if your evening doesn't improve. If you're sick, you might want to skip the party horns, because they'll sound nasally and bleaty and a tad sad. You can even stage a balloon drop, if you're with a friend. Blow up a few, and take turns standing over one another dropping them. If you admit to anyone you actually did this after the fact, they may take your temperature. No matter. It's to-tal-ly hilarious, and something to pass the time to midnight.

RESOLUTIONS: Forget 'em. Is there any more lasagna left? How about merlot? We drank *all* the merlot???

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