I would like a schmoopy new years eve please

November 15, 2011 4:01 AM

My partner and I want to make New Years Eve a special night. We're both in our 30's and the appeal of doing a rowdy alcohol soaked party blowout is wearing off, so instead we're aiming for classy and romantic, just the two of us. What should we do to make it feel more like a vacation rather than a staycation, and what should we do to make the night extra special? We're looking to maximize the romantic schmultz.

We very much want to make this a really special night for a multitude of reasons. Instead of going to a big rowdy party or just staying home and doing what we always do we decided to do it up right. We were thinking of going out of town for the night but the winter weather where we live can be a real problem in terms of travel so instead we reserved a hotel room for New Years Eve in the city we live in. Yesterday reserved a king bed room in a very nice hotel in the city for the night of the 31st and we're now deciding on which restaurant to make reservations for. Our plan is to have a long leisurely romantic supper at a nice restaurant and then back to our room to ring in the new year with champagne.

The question is how to make the very small city we have lived in for many many years and are very familiar with feel like someplace new and make it feel like a proper get away. This city is tiny (though lovely) so it isn't like there are restaurants we haven't been to, areas of the city we aren't familiar with, etc.

I'm also looking for suggestions for things to do to ramp up the romance and schmoopyness. We are both pretty disgusting and schmaltzy so our day to day romance level is pretty high. The only thing i can come up with is to bring a bunch of candles to the hotel room but then I wondered if that is even allowed...

posted by gwenlister to human relations (11 answers total)

Allowed? Do you have any idea what goes on in hotel rooms? I'm sure you can get away with lighting candles! Just be careful and don't start a fire.
posted by thelonius at 4:31 AM on November 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Arrange for flowers/chocolates/a gift basket to be at the hotel waiting for you (either when you check in or upon your return from the restaurant?
posted by Amy NM at 5:15 AM on November 15, 2011

Dress up in a slinky black dress, wear pearls, have him wear a tux, get chocolate covered strawberries and spread rose petals in your hotel room. This is what popped into my head when I first read 'romantic New Years'.
posted by julie_of_the_jungle at 5:17 AM on November 15, 2011 [1 favorite]

Winter romance to me is always about contrast- in color, food, temperature. Pump up the heat in the hotel room and lounge in underthings after an icy walk. Chilled champagne and sharp cheeses with fruit is an oldie-but-goodie. You could even bring in a metal trey and fill it with candles to make your own little fire place. Laying nude on a blanket in front of a "fireplace" or even in front of the fireworks on tv is pretty and intense.

I feel like making something special is all about the prep. You kind of psych yourself up for a night of awesome by getting ready for a night of awesome. I love to spend a couple hours getting ready- baths, hair, lotions. Even gathering "supplies" and packing for your night ends up being part of the experience. You could even bring pretty white flowers to the room before you go to dinner so that you can come back to a fragrant, wintery paradise of your own making.
posted by Blisterlips at 5:20 AM on November 15, 2011 [12 favorites]

I am trying to summon memories of vacation schmaltz and mojo to recreate for you...

Why don't you have wine or cocktails in your room before dinner? (If you can walk or taxi to the restaurant, or limit yourselves to just one). Maybe do a little cheese plate with a couple of cheeses and a baguette. Drink something a little special, like ice wine, or rose champagne. It should already be dark outside, and cozy inside. Light your candles. It should start to feel a little festive. Then...get it on before your romantic meal. I strongly recommend sexing before your meal, remembering tragic instances when the full and bloated after meal feeling destroyed the mojo. If it doesn't...bonus! Do it again afterwards.
posted by Ladysin at 5:20 AM on November 15, 2011 [11 favorites]

I'm totally backing up Ladysin on doin' it before you eat a giant meal or having a few too many cocktails. There is a reason why Thanksgiving isn't a big sexy holiday.
posted by Blisterlips at 5:23 AM on November 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

How about rent a limousine, with the understanding that the limo driver has an hour "break" (a restaurant parking lot, or whatever) to take at some point so that the two of you can have some fun in a limo?
posted by Rodrigo Lamaitre at 5:33 AM on November 15, 2011

If you're truly worried about the candles, check out this site. They have battery operated candles and other things like fairy lights which you could string around the room. If this room is the kind with a jacuzzi tub in the main area, they also do nice floating candles. The bonus is that you can leave things on so it's all pretty when you get back from dinner.
posted by cabingirl at 5:48 AM on November 15, 2011

We usually stay home for New Years, and go to a gourmet grocery and buy every expensive little thing our hearts desire--lobster, pate, caviar, kobe steaks, fancy cheese, fruit, wine. Even when we go ridiculously over the top, it still works out cheaper than going to a restaurant. Can you do something like this? Think of all the (non-cooked) foods you've wanted to try, get them all, and have a decadent meal in bed.
posted by MrMoonPie at 6:00 AM on November 15, 2011 [4 favorites]

To truly get the most out of the hotel experience, you need to shift out of the very polite and reasonable mindset that this is someone else's space which you should treat with respect. The reason hotel rooms are expensive is because all sorts of crap goes down in there and they have to clean up afterwards. Cut loose... or as loose as your polite and reasonable mindset will let you, i.e. no permanent damage.
You wanna light candles? Light candles, just be sure they're not on anything flammable. You wanna lounge around in sexy underthings? Crank up the heat. It gets too close in there with the heat cranked? Open a window and leave the heat cranked. You wanna play loud music? Do it, it's not like you'll be seeing your temporary neighbors ever again. You wanna do things like in the movies with rose petals everywhere? Do it, and don't think about the cleaning service vacuuming up petals from crazy nooks and crannies, just think about them pocketing the healthy tip you'll be leaving them. Get it on in the bathtub? Doesn't matter if the floor gets wet, it's not your floor.
Also, if you've got a few restaurants to choose from, consider making a long night of it: drinks and an appetizer in one place, small dinner in another (go for flavor over size), dessert in a third, or maybe order dessert up to the hotel room.
posted by aimedwander at 7:38 AM on November 15, 2011 [5 favorites]

Does the hotel have a jacuzzi bathtub so you and mr. gwenlister can take a bath together, drink, schmoop it up? I'd ask for the room with one of those.
posted by biscuits at 3:38 PM on November 15, 2011