The infant: by that time 5 months old
we: both foreigners, no family in the neighborhood 
Provided you have little kids, what do you do on that day? I am not looking for the replies that say: We leave the kiddo with the grandparents.
We cant leave it anywhere, so we are going to celebrate together. Do you know any places where families gather to celebrate a New Year?
Or since you have a kid you are sentenced to sit in at home?
It really is not a sentence. Last year, we were out at a friends place with a good view of 101, a good bunch of people and a great potluck dinner and dessert. If you want to be out and about with the kiddo, you have to bear in mind, that traffic gets super crazy and slow that night and if it gets rainy and cold, you don’t wanna be outside. Kid or no Kid. All the dancing parties are a big no no for the infant due to the noise and smoke
I’d recommend you to stay indoors at your home or a friends’ where the baby is comfortably asleep and you can enjoy ushering in the new year. Again, having the kid was a choice we made, so staying at home didn’t feel like a punishment.
Happy New Year!!
The only trouble I had with my new baby at CNY was all the noise from fireworks. He kept being jolted awake and frightened–he was still just tiny. But we stayed home, anyway, because that was the year of SARS. It wasn’t so bad, really. We also didn’t have family around, (and didn’t want them around) and just stayed home and tried to make our own NienGao. The “year cake” didn’t really work out, but the new year still came 'round. Not a big deal.
Oh, maybe you mean western New Year? Well, that would be about the same, minus the year cake. You may as well settle in as parents now. Get comfy, it can be a wild and wonderful ride!
New Year’s Eve out and about is a pain in the ass. Never mind the increased pressure to have a good time, you’re going to pay a little more than you usually do, the places you’ll want to hang out in are going to be crowded, and traffic is going to be lousy. Even getting a taxi is more difficult.
We started a new tradition: we stay at home, cook a nice dinner, and at midnight go up on the roof with baby, sleeping or not, and watch the fireworks off of Taipei 101 from a distance. We smooch a little, and then go downstairs to snuggle on the sofa. No mind-blowing excitement (well maybe on my wife’s part - I am an excellent kisser, natch), but a satisfying, non-stressful, inexpensive way to end the year.
Thanks for your replies! In fact I am not into crowds and big dancing parties, not a all. We always were meeting in a circle of friends, but now most of our “have babies” friends drop the little ones with in-laws and go to the places that are unfriendly to kids.
We dont mind spending some time just in three, absolutely not.
I was just wondering, whether nowadays anyone thinks of families with kids during such celebrations. Whether there are some places (indoor playgrounds, etc.) where parents and children can celebrate together.
I guess there are not, that’s why I said that if you have a kid you are sentenced to a certain kind of entertainment. I bet there are some parents that won’t mind hanging out with little ones at the place, where you have a room for feeding, changing diaper and preparing food. At the same time you can meet a lot of parents with children and have fun.
This year we will gladly celebrate the New Year at home and watch the fireworks from our window (at our rooftop it is too cold: 19th floor) 
[quote=“Maoman”]New Year’s Eve out and about is a pain in the ass. Never mind the increased pressure to have a good time, you’re going to pay a little more than you usually do, the places you’ll want to hang out in are going to be crowded, and traffic is going to be lousy. Even getting a taxi is more difficult.
We started a new tradition: we stay at home, cook a nice dinner, and at midnight go up on the roof with baby, sleeping or not, and watch the fireworks off of Taipei 101 from a distance. We smooch a little, and then go downstairs to snuggle on the sofa. No mind-lowing excitement (well maybe on my wife’s part - I am an excellent kisser, natch), but a satisfying, non-stressful, inexpensive way to end the year.[/quote]
This is pretty much what we do now too…stay home, invite a few friends over, and enjoy ringing in the New Year in a mellow way while the kids are happily sleeping in bed! A lot less stressful that way. We may bring the kids to the roof to watch the 101 fireworks this year…we will see what the weather is like.
Last year we were in Hong Kong, and hubby decided to take our 4-year-old to the Harbour to watch the fireworks while I stayed at the hotel with the baby (it was way too cold to keep the baby out that night, and I was way too tired to stay up and ring in the New Year anyway!). They had a really great time until it was time to home–NO transport options at all due to the crazy crowds! They ended up walking the 1.5 miles back to the hotel. Well, hubby walked, and our son rode on his back most of the way so he wouldn’t get trampled by the crowds. Pretty exhausting evening, and though they had fun, hubby decided he didn’t want to try that again until the kiddos were quite a bit older.
Seconded. Ever since I was about 14, I’ve found that New Year crowds in the street have a vaguely desperate air of needing to be seen to be having a good time rather than actually enjoying themselves. Kind of pathetic.
I DID have a very good one a couple of years ago at the Songren Alleycat’s, right up the street from 101 but far enough away that the hicks didn’t spoil things. But getting home was a complete pain in my arse. Never again. I’ll probably hike up Hemeishan with the baby and the wife and watch the fireworks from there with a couple of beers.
Maybe folks with little ones should do a pot luck get together . I would have volunteered my place 'xcept no view of the 101. So what else is there to do if you can’t see the fireworks??? Although my hard drive would be grateful to me for not housing another 200 pics of the same exploding building 3 years in a row!
I’d agree that NYE is basically amateurs night.
I think having no plans usually works out best.
I usually go camping ans will bring whatever kids wanting to go.
That included my son right before he turned 2. Nice way of starting a new year.
When in DK, options where kids are more than welcome are plentiful, so no worries.
If you have any friends with small kids, look them up and see what they say.
erm isn’t this 4 months too late or 8 months too early? 
Maybe, however being prepared is never a bad idea.
I personally went from trying to get rid of the kids new years eve to bringing them everywhere. I now foresee a time when they will go with friends, and the old ones will be at home lamenting them not being there. (Not that I cared when I was younger.)
You have no idea the places I take them…I judged a dance competition last year hosted by the Taipei shenme shenme Association with a baby on my breast 
You have no idea the places I take them…I judged a dance competition last year hosted by the Taipei shenme shenme Association with a baby on my breast [/quote]
That I have not done.