Surviving Times Square on New Year's Eve in New York City: 101

There are some basic tips that I would recommend for surviving what might be your first AND last New Year's Eve in New York City. For those of you who enjoy sitting at home on your comfy couch with potato chips and hot chocolate in hand, might I just say that, indeed, you most likely have better seats than the people in attendance. In fact, that's just it. YOU HAVE SEATS. The people there DON'T. As you will soon find out from reading this post, the entertainment is for the viewer at home, NOT for the viewer who is live and in person.

Tip #1: Go early. We went around 3:00 and had a fairly good standing area, but we didn't get to be near Ryan Seacrest and other major reporters for Dick Clark's New Year's Eve show. We saw some (such as Anderson Cooper) from a distance on the stage. We also didn't get to be near the buildings where the confetti was thrown. That's right - the confetti is literally thrown by people from the nearby buildings. It was reported we made it onto CBS, but not the other shows. I would like to check out the footage to see if our area was at least remotely on television. Which brings me to another important tip...

Tip#2: Wear something that will make you stand out. Everyone will have New Year's hats and glasses. I would have had my lobster hat, but I forgot him at home. I nearly bought another one and really should have. Folks at home will be trying to find you, and if you have something crazy on, the cameras are more likely to love you and you'll be more easily spotted amongst the thousands of people. With something like a crazy hat, there should be no mistaking it is you.

Tip #3: Keep in mind that the entertainment is not for you. Why? I'm not sure really, since you're the one who is standing in the cold and damp for hours on end to see the ball drop. The performers will perform live; however, they will not perform to the crowd, but to the cameras. In fact, you will get to hear them do their sound checks and dances a few times before performing live. If you're lucky, you might see one of them climbing the steps to the stage and acknowledge the crowd as we did with J-Lo's husband Marc Anthony, but apart from that, you have to hope you have a good view of one of the few screens that is showing what is being filmed. That's right - one of the few screens. Only a couple screens show the footage while the others continue to flash their advertisements. Unless you're near Ryan Seacrest, you really won't know much of what is going on. They'll play some music for you in between the sound checks and live performances and try to get you rowled up with balloons, but after awhile, the balloons get old. Instead of waving them, you'll may want to make balloon animals.

Tip#4: Be prepared to stand for hours with no seating room. We stood for 9-10 hours and were exhausted by the end of it which brings me to...

Tip#5: Steer clear of fluids. Once you are herded into a pen of people, you will not get to go to the bathroom for the next 9-10 or however many hours you are there. You can try and find a nearby restaurant, but the odds of you making it back to your friends are slim. There are also long lines into the nearby restaurants. It has been said that some people wear "Depends." We actually saw a water bottle filled with urine that someone (obviously had to be male) peed in. Since I have no desire to wear "Depends" or pee in a bottle, I opted to not drink much for the majority of the day. If you do take fluids, save them for the last hour or so. Now, there is a possibility that had we been able to make it near the "Charmin" area we would have had bathroom access. Charmin sets up a bathroom area and makes it entertaining for people We saw it in the distance, but since we were caged in we could not make it there.

Tip#6: Pack food. We didn't pack food because we were told they wouldn't let us take food into the Square. Our trip was also in some ways a last minute ordeal. We just weren't thinking! Since you will be standing for a long time, you will miss meals and will be very hungry. McDonald's may come around with Big Macs, but they will cost you at least $6.00 for just the burger!

Tip #7: Wear layers. It could be very cold and damp. Umbrellas are not convenient for a large crowd - they block people's view - so pack a poncho if need be. Heat packs would come in handy too in case your feet get cold. We were fortunate that although it was damp, it wasn't as cold as it could have been; however, better to be dressed really warm and have to shed layers than wishing you had more layers to put on.

Tip #8: Go with a group of people who are ready to have fun and meet new people. Standing for so long can make you feel crazy, and thus, you want to be with people who won't complain and who are in it for the long haul. Our group had a blast. In fact, we were the only ones (apart from a few Canadians next to us and some intoxicated people behind us) who were moving a lot to the music. The movement helped keep us warm and helped pass the time. We had a lot of laughs during the process while meeting the people around us. In fact, our group enabled other people to laugh and have a good time as well while standing for so long.

So there you have it. These are just a few of the tips I have from my limited experience. At the beginning of the process I remember thinking, "I can't believe people come out into this madness every year." In the middle of the process I remember thinking, "This is crazy. WE are crazy." At the end of it I remember thinking, "This is so surreal!!" and then, "Well that was anti climatic. I thought there would be more fireworks." After walking away from the experience in the midst of the mayhem of New York City (the streets were literally lined with people trying to leave Time's Square), I remember thinking "That was awesome, but I will NEVER do that again." Then, after Ben and I somewhat recovered we were thinking... "You know what. In another 10 years it might be fun to do that again." I guess we shall see...only if there is a next time, I'll be prepared - snacks, poncho, lobster hat and all! Perhaps you'll want to join us for the madness!