Here's 15 ways to celebrate the New Year . Since I'm 2,500 miles from New York, I won't be watching the ball drop, but I do have the exquisite opportunity to see the potato drop this year. It's no moon pie or possum, but it is appropriate. What are you doing this New Year's Eve? I'm going to forgo the excitement of the potato, and just stay home and listen to the neighbors shoot off their shotguns at midnight--one of the many benefits of living in the rural West. Here's a bit of history on the Time's Square ball. (The Boise potato is this year's russet, and there's not a whole lot of history yet.)