The New Ginger Princess

It seems that New Years has become a holiday that revolves almost entirely around excuses, in some form or another. Kids use New Years Eve as an excuse to stay up as long as they can, even if they don't make it all the way to midnight. Many people use it as an excuse to have a party, or attend one, and just be completely carefree. Then there are New Years resolutions, people making excuses for why they didn't accomplish the ones they set the previous year. This leads to the new resolutions that are made as a way of excusing their old habits and starting fresh at midnight.

For some people this isn't technically even a holiday, but it's still cause for some type of celebration, usually in the form of certain snacks and staying up late. There is no real reason not to enjoy the fact that another year has passed without the world being thrown into the apocalypse. This isn't to say that many individuals don't take it a bit too far, but it is one of those times that is easier to overlook and forgive because during this time the population as a whole tends go overboard on everything. There are those who have specific traditions for every year, people who don't really do much of anything, and those who just do whatever they decide is the most fun. 

Austin and Alan have always been the type who see New Years as a night when rules don't apply. As teenagers they would convince their parents to go out and let the two boys have one of their houses to themselves. This wasn't too hard, seeing as Alan has manipulative persuasion nearly mastered and Austin's dad used it as an opportunity to spend an entire 48 hours visiting some old friends. They weren't bad kids, and typically they were good about doing the right thing, but on New Years it was their day to just let go. It never was anything too bad, but they would find a party close that was enough to walk to and stay out as late as they wanted. 

The thing about this year is that they have a daughter, who is only five years old, so finding a party and drinking alcohol are both out of the question. This change from previous years sparks different reactions among the little family. For Marissa this is another new and exciting thing to celebrate with her parents, on top of the general excitement that little kids have for New Years. Austin takes the change as it is, seeing it as part of the parenting experience, which involves finding enjoyment in the happiness of your child. However, Alan decides to pout because for the first time since he was 16 he isn't able to just do whatever he wants without any regard to rules. 

With Marissa already in bed sound asleep, her parents lounge in their room discussing possible plans for New Years, which is about two days away. 

"I have no idea what we are supposed to do, because obviously we can't do what we normally do," Alan says with a scowl.

"Well obviously, but that doesn't mean we can't have any fun, we just have to figure out something that Marissa can enjoy," Austin remarks.

Alan thinks for a minute and replies, "I still think it kinda sucks that we have to do little kid stuff for the whole night. Although, I wouldn't really want to spend that time without Marissa, especially not our first New Years as a family."

Austin smiles lovingly at his husband and says, "It is really good to hear that, and as for doing little kid things all night, if we just watch movies after about 7:30 then she will undoubtedly be fast asleep before 10." 

"True," Alan agrees, thinking about how just a few hours before he carried Marissa to bed because she fell asleep on the couch while they all watched tv.

"Now that you are on board, and no longer pouting, you need to help me think of something we can do," Austin says.

"Well, I have a great plan, and since we are going to be doing this without alcohol you are going to have to make sure we have all of the proper supplies so we can see my plan through."

"Alright, give me a second," Austin says, grabbing his phone and opening a new notes page to make the list. "Okay, tell me the supplies needed for your plan."

"First of all we need food; this means drinks, chips, veggies, fruit, pizza, and maybe cookies. Next, you are going to have to check the garage to find that roll of butcher block paper, because I know we still have it somewhere in there. To go with that we are going to need tape, pencils, colored pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, and old magazines we can cut pictures from. Finally you will gather up all of the blankets, pillows, a few flashlights, the bag of things that go with those, and be prepared to help rearrange the furniture." 

Looking over the list Austin chuckles because he knows exactly what Alan has in mind for New Years and thinks that it is perfect. "I should only have to actually go out and buy the food, then the rest of it is more of a scavenger hunt through the house, and the garage."

"You have two and a half days, so it shouldn't be a problem," Alan concludes as he gets up to actually get ready for bed.

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The next two days have Austin making sure that all of the food is bought and that the rest of the list gets checked off. For most of the things Austin doesn't have to do much searching, already knowing exactly where they are stored. There are a few things that he has to actually go looking for, but even then the things aren't too difficult to locate. To be honest, the thing that took the most time to gather would be the magazines because they were scattered throughout the house. 

When New Years Eve arrives everything from the list has been gathered and, except the food, it is all being kept hidden in the guest room. The morning is relaxed, none of them finding anything worth getting too excited about before lunch.

After lunch the three of them spend time in the backyard enjoying the sun, blowing bubbles, and playing with chalk. Marissa's first choice was having a princess tea party, but her parents were both very excited about the idea of doing something outside instead. This isn't to say that her parents won't ever have tea parties with her, but they try their best to come up with alternatives when they can.

Around three, the family goes back inside and returns to the living room where Marissa sits down on the couch, but Alan pulls Austin to the guest room and asks him to help gather the things for the next activity.

"Alright, so we need the roll of butcher block paper and all of the art supplies you put in here," Alan clarifies as he grabs the box full of art materials and leaves Austin to get the paper.

The box is deposited on the living room floor, Marissa moving to look at what is inside of the box and becoming very excited when she sees all of the art supplies. Alan makes sure the coffee table is clear before tearing off a section of the butcher block paper that is just a bit longer than the table. The overhanging edges are folded under the tabletop and taped in place, making sure that the paper doesn't slide around. Everything from the box is set out on the floor so that they can all see what is available and don't have to dig for things.

"Basically we are all going to create whatever we want on the giant paper, and there is plenty of paper if we need more, but we're sharing the same piece of paper," Alan explains.

"Can we have music?" Marissa asks. It is a very common thing for Marissa to ask, and seeing as both of her parents love music the answer is pretty much always a yes.

Austin goes to pick out some music and connect his phone to the stereo, settling on some music that Marissa really likes, and her parents can actually listen to comfortably. In fact, both of her fathers have actually grown to really enjoy Taylor Swift, but they definitely aren't going to admit it. With music playing through the room the brunette grabs a pair of scissors and some magazines before sitting down on the floor next to Alan.

The paper is quickly filling up with different, completely unrelated images, working inward from their separate corners. Austin's side is a collage of magazine clippings and crayon colored in between the pieces, making it resemble a mosaic of sorts. His husband's side is mostly cats, some of them pets and some of them large wild animals, like tigers. The other part of the paper is Marissa's, decorated with an assortment of people and animals in a couple different settings. 

When the paper has no more room the family decide to just put away the art supplies, not really in the mood to do anymore drawing for the night. The picture is taped to the wall at the very beginning of the hallway, along with other drawings Marissa has done. Alan moves the coffee table out of the way so as to make room for their daughter to dance around the living room. He sits on the couch with his phone out, taking pictures and video, especially when Marissa gets Austin to come dance with her. 

It is about half past four when the craving for some sort of food really strikes. To keep themselves from opening the chips and devouring them all, the dads set out some fruits and veggies for them and their daughter to snack on. The three of them happily graze on the healthy snacks, Austin deciding that he can put the pizzas that he bought into the oven around 5:30. 

For another ten minutes the parents just sit on the couch and watch the little girl have her own dance party in the middle of the living room. As Marissa flops onto the armchair and lays across it, catching her breath, Alan's childishness kicks back in and he has an idea.

Alan leans into Austin and quietly whispers, "I need you to bring out all of the pillows you've collected."

"Do you want all the other stuff brought out too?"

"No, just the pillows for right now," Alan says, kissing his husband on the cheek right before Austin gets up.

Marissa watches in silent curiosity as Austin brings out armfuls of pillows, depositing them in the middle of the floor. When the brunette is done there is a small mountain in the center of the room. Alan is met with two sets of questioning eyes, to which he just motions for them to wait and bounds over to the far corner of the room. In the corner, almost hidden by the Christmas tree, is the large box of present bows that the family got for the holidays which is still three quarters full. Still not providing any explanation, he goes back to the middle of the living room and starts to spread the pillows out across the floor, a few of the pillows getting discarded onto the couch.

Picking up the box of bows from the ground Alan finally begins to voice his idea. "I have decided that we should play a game, and I have come up with an amazing game for us to play. This game doesn't have a name yet, and admittedly I haven't really thought through all of the rules so far, but that's not really important." Alan pauses for a moment before he starts to ponder his wandering thoughts aloud. "Well, I mean technically, it isn't something that I came up with as a whole on my own, but I am the one who came up with the idea for us to play it and I added my own idea to it. Basically we are just going to play 'The Floor is Lava', so I guess it already has a name too."

"That explains the pillows, but not the bows," Austin points out.

Alan turns his attention to the package of bows in his hand, "I did come up with a little twist for the game," he replies with a grin and proceeds to empty the box in his hands. The bows lay scattered among the pillows, and the empty box is given to Austin to set out of the way, allowing the younger to keep his place in the middle of the room. "The idea is to gather as many of the bows that you can and bring them to your designated base. I will have the cushion on the far end of the couch, Austin can have the cushion on the opposite end, and Marissa can have the chair. We all start on our base spots and when the game begins we all try to collect as many of the bows as we can without touching the floor. You can move pillows around if you need to, but if you touch the floor you have to drop any bows in your hand and go back to your base for ten seconds." 

"I think it sounds really fun," the little girl exclaims.

With the rules explained and everyone ready to play they all take their places standing on their individual spots. The parents let Marissa call start, the game is set into motion and three sets of feet begin hopping between pillows while trying to avoid touching the floor. It doesn't take too long to collect all of the bows, ending that round of the game, Austin winning because he has the most bows. They all really enjoy the game and spend over half an hour playing multiple rounds of it, the brunette sitting out one of the rounds to put the pizzas in the oven.

By the time the pizzas are ready to eat the family is tired and decide to end their game, choosing to relax and eat dinner. The three of them sit on the living room floor, the music playing in the background as they enjoy their pizza and lemonade. 

When dinner is through there is just one last thing that Alan has planned. Without saying anything he gets up and gestures for Austin to come along as they go to the guest room to gather the final supplies. The two guys return to the living room with a pile of blankets and a gallon sized zip top bag with the words "Awesomeness Kit" written on it in giant letters. Together the parents rearrange the living room, moving the chair as far back as possible to increase the amount of open floor space, and three of the kitchen chairs are brought into the living room. Marissa stays out of the way and watches as her parents pull multiple pieces of long thin rope and clothespins from the bag, starting to tie the ropes to the chairs. 

The chairs are set up in a sort of large triangle, the backs facing in towards the center with three ropes connecting the chairs to form the sides of the triangle. Another three ropes are tied to create a slight web within the main triangle. Blankets are placed over the ropes, the clothespins holding certain blankets in place, and some blankets and pillows are set on the floor underneath the structure. Upon completion, the parents stand back and show Marissa the fort, letting her arrange the blankets and pillows underneath however she wants. Turning the music off Austin uses his phone to take a picture of the fort before turning the tv back on and setting up Netflix. All three of them make themselves comfortable in the fort and find a movie to watch, the side of the fort facing the tv completely uncovered to provide visibility for watching movies.

As expected Marissa is fast asleep not long into the second movie and her parents spend the rest of the night quietly talking through whatever movie they put on in the background. Around two in the morning the two of them turn off the tv and decide to go to sleep, having had a very fun and tiring day. The only thing needing to be done on New Years Day is to put away all of the Christmas stuff which, both parents agree, can definitely wait until noon.