9 Tips How to celebrate new year’s eve 2021 at home during lockdown
9 Tips on how to celebrate new year’s eve at home during lockdown. And why it will be the best new years eve yet if you plan accordingly!
Okay, so this probably won’t be the new years eve we all wanted. I know it’s sure not the one I wanted. Instead of being packed into over crowded bars knocking back espresso martinis and kissing strangers, we are instead locked in our own homes looking at the same blank wall we have been staring at all year.
However, that doesn’t mean this has to be a bad new year's eve, just because you’re spending it with your two cats. Granted, this year has been one of the worst years on record and New years eve is supposed to be the time we go out and party. So the fact we are going to be locked in seems like it’s going to be a terrible new year's eve.
But I would argue that this new year's eve could be the best new years eve you have ever had. That is if you stop looking at it with such despair…
So stop thinking woe is me and oh this is going to be terrible. And start planning the best new years eve you have ever had.
Why Conventional New Years Eve Is Terrible
In order to reassure you more that this new year's eve is going to be awesome and not a total disaster. I’ve kindly put together some top pros on the matter.
Cheaper
Not only do you pay an absolute fortune on champagne and cocktails throughout the night on new years eve, you also have to pay to get into places! Whether its a ticketed New Years eve event or not. There's normally a small fortune to pay before you even get your first drink in.
Travel fee for getting to town, entry fee for a bar, then the necessary cloak room fee all before you even get a sip of a drink
Dreaded queues!
New Years eve is the busy time of the year for bars. Which means the queues are so damn long.
You queue up for 40 minutes to get in a bar just for the bouncers to tell you that you don’t have the correct shoes on. So you repeat the whole process again, another 40 minute queue up and you finally get into a bar. Hurray! You don’t like the music and the menu doesn’t look great but there’s not a chance you’re having another 40 minute queue!
So you suck it up and deal with it. The subpar bar is now where you will be spending the rest of the night.
There’s no tables available so it looks like you’re standing all night. God forbid you spend money on the £5 - one coat cloak room, so you and your friends stay standing around a pile of now dirty coats on the floor.
Then as if it couldn’t get any worse you now have to queue for 30 minutes just to get a drink.
Everybody pushing in around you arguing about who gets served first, its a fight just to get your first round in. By the time you get back to your mates you’ve finished your drink and are back queuing up for round two.
90% of your night is spent being pushed around and elbowed in the face whilst queuing up and the other 10% is asking people to repeat what they said.
No control over music
In theory, dancing your new year away in a sweaty bar is actually pretty fun. But the main part of that is music. Something out of your control. Sure you can pile around the DJ shouting your song requests which he will likely just ignore.
Meaning you’re stuck with what you get. You might get lucky and love the music being played, but more than likely it's going to be 5 songs in a row you have never heard before, which you pretend to know because everyone else seems to know it que the awkward smiling and lip syncing whilst pretending to be excited. Then 2 songs in a row you hate and finally. FINALLY a song you love… Which the DJ will play for 20 seconds before remixing it into a song you hate then the cycle continues.
Comfort
Lets face it, there's nothing comfy about you and your 5 mates crammed around the smallest sliver of something that you consider a table but what you really know is a skirting board at best.
Then there's the pinnacle moment where one person starts throwing up and passing out on a dirty disabled bathroom floor. Were they spiked or did they just over do it on the tequila? Who's to say. What we can say though, is that someone has to take them home.
Waiting for a taxi is difficult enough on New Year's Eve not to mention you need to find one that will accept your drunk friend.
At home you would just save on the taxi fare and put them upstairs in a bed with a glass of water and loaf of bread whilst you continue to party it up downstairs.
The Downside Of A Lockdown New Years eve
I may speak highly on the upsides of this New Year's eve at home. But that doesn’t mean there aren't any downsides. Of course there are downsides, however it's how you think about those downsides and treat them that can make or break your lockdown new years eve.
The main point to this is not seeing your friends and family. Spending new years eve at home is great when you’re surrounded by your friends and family. When you live alone however, it’s a lot more difficult to motivate yourself to do anything.
Luckily, in today's tech forward world seeing your friends and family is made easy with the likes of zoom and live chat. Which is the home new year's eve 2020 point I will start with…
How to celebrate new years eve 2020 In lockdown
Host a virtual party
This has been made super easy with the likes of zoom. Simply book a party in with your friends or family and celebrate new years eve over webcam.
If you are going to do this however, make sure you put the effort in. Have everyone decorate their background with new year eve decorations, get dressed up and have a plan. Don’t just plan to drink and talk. You can plan to all make the same cocktail, have a dance off, play a virtual new year eves quiz. All sorts.
Plan a full itinerary of new year eve virtual fun to get the most out of it.
And when you’re bored, simply pretend you have a bad internet connection and hang up. Easy.
2. Get dressed up
Getting dressed up immediately makes us feel better. Don’t think just because you’re not going out or nobody is going to see you that you shouldn’t dress up. Dressing up will instantly make you feel more festive.
Being in our pajamas is great. You may think it’s the staying at home which is making us feel less like new year's eve celebrations. But if you were to go out, would you be wearing your Spongebob pajamas? I think not. So dress like it’s new years eve even just to sit and watch a movie.
Think about it like this, those beautiful heels you love but hate to wear will be perfect for your home new years eve party since you won’t be walking anywhere.
I want to see bow ties and blazers, sparkly dresses and 6 inch heels. Let’s finish the year in style. Don’t forget to take plenty of photos! It’s the perfect excuse for a home photoshoot.
3. Create cocktails
For a lot of us, new years eve is all about smashing back cocktails. Bellinis, mimosas and most importantly those espresso martinis.
Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean you still can’t have those cocktails. Make it fun and have a home cocktail masterclass. Get your best cocktail glasses out and anything to shake a cocktail in; a jar, a coffee cup, tupperware! Whatever you can and shake the living daylight out of some homemade cocktails.
I’ve got plenty of cocktail recipes all over smartblend. This is a food and drink blog afterall! So scroll through my drink recipes here to find one that you like. Or check out some of the below which are easy to make from home, and super tasty.
4. Cook a meal fit for celebration
It’s the last day before your likely healthy new year's resolutions kick in so you want to get all your eating in. Once again, luckily for you I have plenty of food recipes right here that you can scroll through.
I want to see banquets, Michelin star meals for one, cheese boards so big they would bring a tear to a mouse's eye and buffet food to fill a small wedding.
Check out some delicious recipes below.
5. Decorate
Turn your flat or house into a New Year's eve extravaganza by decorating it head to toe in gold balloons, fringe and sparklers.
It’ll make the perfect backdrop for however you decide to spend your new year’s eve and get you in the new year’s eve spirit!
6. Home virtual events
There are plenty of virtual events happening all of which you can take part from the comfort of your own home. Most of which are free to “attend”. This is the perfect time to get involved in events that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to attend due to travel expensive and hotel bills.
From virtual fireworks to concerts, so many virtual concerts! Just do a quick google search for “new years eve virtual events” and you will surely find something that you can get involved in.
7. Movie night
Movie nights aren't something specifically out of the ordinary but if you make it an event, then it can be one of the best ways to celebrate the new years. Which includes doing some of the above such as dressing up and decorating.
Netflix has endless movie options or you could splurge out and actually pay for a movie.
It makes the event even more festive when your movie is based around or involves NYE.
Top picks for new years eve movies
Sex and the city
The holiday
Phantom Thread
About time
Bridget jones diary
Snowpiercer
New years eve
Oceans 11
High school musical
Mermaids
Boogie nights
Ghostbusters II
8. Home dance party
Don’t let the fact you're at home or on your own stop you from dancing the night away. If you’re watching a virtual NYE party then there will be plenty of music to dance to, you could also take the time to learn a new dance.
Get yourself on Youtube and learn the Charleston. You can do it on your own and there will be no one around to laugh at how terrible you might be.
Or simply just stick the radio on and make up your own dance!
9. Play a game
The best thing about a party are the games. So make sure you have done your research and have plenty to choose from! If you’re on your own and having a virtual party then do a quick search for virtual party games and you will find damn near hundreds to choose from.
Even if you’re completely on your own you can still find one player games online to get involved with or look around Facebook and forums for another lonely soul to message and play games with. Who knows, maybe a friendship or romance might grow from it.
Don’t worry about being on your own too much. Remember there's plenty of people in the same position so simply by reaching out online you will be able to find someone to connect with. Then you can spend new years eve with someone just as alone as you.
A great go to for new years eve games has to be the classic quiz. You can find virtual quizzes like Jay's virtual pub quiz on Youtube which you can get involved with on your own.
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