Richardson family hosts third annual family-friendly New Year’s Eve party

Midnight in Rio was conceived three years ago because we didn’t want to leave our young children with a sitter on New Year’s Eve. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice,’ we thought, ‘to stay home before a warm fire with a few friends from Our Father’s Kids, our adult Bible class at The Heights.’

Since most of our children are elementary age or younger, we decided to celebrate the New Year with a balloon drop at 8 p.m. CST (midnight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) so the youngest could have fun and still be in bed at a reasonable hour. 

Our simple concept blossomed into a riotous affair. This year, we hosted more than 60 people … a good two-thirds of them younger than 12. Don’t mistake this statistic as regret. We had a blast! Everyone from the youngest toddler to the teens (who undoubtedly thought they had outgrown our juvenile antics) were whooping and hollering and blowing horns as balloons dropped from our second floor into the family room.

Of course, the size of the crowd is not the only thing that has grown. What began with a few chips, dips and desserts has evolved into ThanksChristmasNew-feast-tacular. One last decadent repast before diet and exercise mania sweep our households. I only wish I’d asked Santa for an elastic waistband in those new slacks.

Our modest tradition of letting the kids drop a few“poppers” on the sidewalk morphed into an odd assortment of (perfectly legal) party cracklers, confetti cannons and sparklers. While dispatched with more whooping and hollering than a boatload of sailors on shore leave, the ruckus occurred early enough that not a single porch light came on in our normally tranquil neighborhood.

Even after Glenn Graves took the kids on a hayride around the neighborhood (it’s really just a four-wheeler pulling a utility wagon, but don’t tell the kids or Glenn), and then returning for a ginger ale toast, most of our guests were gone before 11 p.m.

So, like a lot of homebodies, we channel-surfed between televised extravaganzas, and raucously proved we could still count down from 10 even after our sugar buzzes wore off. Shortly after midnight in Richardson, all our guests were gone and our sons were tucked safely in bed. We wore them out enough that they slept ‘til noon.

Still, my wife Carolyn says we’re done entertaining. After what she called the Trifecta: hosting her family for Thanksgiving; mine for Christmas; and our church family for New Year’s Eve, she needs a break. So, if anyone wants to host a playoff party, please, be my guest. She’ll be ready to jump in the fray after a little time on the sidelines. Meanwhile, we hope you are surrounded by good friends and blessed with echoes of laughter throughout the New Year. It is going to be spectacular.

Our Father’s Kids adult Bible fellowship meets Sundays at 9:15 a.m. The Heights Baptist Church, 201 W. Renner Road at US-75. More information at www.theheights.org.