So this year, for the first time since Ellie was born, we found ourselves childless on New Years Eve. What to do?

"Lets go into Philly and go out to dinner," I wildly suggested.
"Lets go to New York," my crazy husband said.
{Yes, my husband is nuts. But I knew that when I married him.}

So on New Years Eve, I found myself on a train to New York's Penn Station on my way to Times Square. After years of watching it on television and saying, "People must be CRAZY to go there!" I was there! This year, we were the ones who were actually crazy enough to go to TIMES SQUARE on NEW YEARS EVE!

It was even more crazy as it looks on TV. Except much louder, smellier and with more people. At one point we were in such a crazy crowd that people pressed up to us on every side and when someone moved next to me, I was actually lifted off the ground – that's how tightly we were packed into this street! Not super fun.

 
We really did it right – we had a hotel right in Times Square. You could actually see the ball from our hotel room window! See?

So we had a place to get away from the crowd and warm up and – most importantly – a bathroom. (There are NO bathrooms in Times Square! DUH!) And we of course needed a place to sip champagne

We can cross Times Square on New Years Eve off our bucket lists – and now we never, ever have to go again!
 
Some tips if you ever go:

• The people you see on TV who are in the front of the lines and watching those concerts probably arrived in Times Square around 9am. Unless you plan to arrive then, you will be way in the back or on a side street.
• There are no bathrooms. Most of the restaurants are closed. Once you get your spot, you canNOT leave it. Plan fluid intake accordingly. Pack a snack.
• You can't bring backpacks or purses into Times Square, so make sure you have lots of pockets.
• You are in Times Square. On NEW YEARS EVE. Do not complain about the crowds. You would not believe how many people were doing  this. DUH! What did you expect?
• I would NEVER bring my kids. My husband and I got separated a few times because of the crowd. There's just so many people and they are all pushing and not looking where they're going…  I would be FREAKING out if I was trying to keep track of little kids!
• Get a hotel. There are over 1 million people who have worked their way into Times Square over the course of the day. And they are all trying to leave at around 12:15. The roads are closed, so there are no cabs or buses nearby. That means one million people walking or trying to get the subway. People were still waiting to get a train out of Penn Station at 7am.
• Speaking of that, the 7am train out of the city the next morning is a little scary.Yikes.