How to Have a Laid-back New Year’s Eve
Take the party pressure off and see in 2017 at home in relaxed, low-key style (fireworks not required...)
New Year’s Eve is one of the key party nights of the annual calendar, but that doesn’t mean you’re obliged to dress up, head out and celebrate into the wee small hours. Sometimes, a big bash right after Christmas is the last thing you feel like, so give yourself this year off and instead plan a cosy, relaxed night at home.
Whether you invite friends over or swerve the event entirely, here’s a selection of ideas from which you can pick and choose to put together your most laid-back New Year’s Eve ever.
Whether you invite friends over or swerve the event entirely, here’s a selection of ideas from which you can pick and choose to put together your most laid-back New Year’s Eve ever.
Drink what you like
Don’t fancy spending a fortune on champagne? Not looking forward to the hangover red wine gives you on 1 January? Then take action and drink what you want. It sounds obvious, but tradition, convention and social pressure often mean we overindulge without really enjoying it.
Instead, mix up jugs of tasty juice cocktails or just buy in a few of your favourite craft beers. It’s still a treat, but tailored to your tastes.
Don’t fancy spending a fortune on champagne? Not looking forward to the hangover red wine gives you on 1 January? Then take action and drink what you want. It sounds obvious, but tradition, convention and social pressure often mean we overindulge without really enjoying it.
Instead, mix up jugs of tasty juice cocktails or just buy in a few of your favourite craft beers. It’s still a treat, but tailored to your tastes.
Pamper yourself
Bring a little bit of the spa home this New Year’s Eve. Splash out on a scented bath oil and have a candlelit soak. Paint your nails or persuade a loved one to give you a well-earned shoulder rub. Whatever it is – even just taking a nap – grab half an hour for yourself on New Year’s Eve to restore your energy and treat your senses.
Bring a little bit of the spa home this New Year’s Eve. Splash out on a scented bath oil and have a candlelit soak. Paint your nails or persuade a loved one to give you a well-earned shoulder rub. Whatever it is – even just taking a nap – grab half an hour for yourself on New Year’s Eve to restore your energy and treat your senses.
Potter in the kitchen
Take time during the afternoon to potter quietly in the kitchen. Forget laying on a three-course meal or producing platters of complicated canapés. Instead, go with your appetites and cook whatever you like, whether fancy or simple. Make your favourite dinner or put together a range of little dishes, such as tapas, or even a simple platter of cheeses, chutneys and crusty bread.
Whatever you do, have fun and resist the urge to over-cater or create a complex feast. Play some music, put on your favourite pinny, sip a little warming tipple and enjoy some pressure-free cooking.
Take time during the afternoon to potter quietly in the kitchen. Forget laying on a three-course meal or producing platters of complicated canapés. Instead, go with your appetites and cook whatever you like, whether fancy or simple. Make your favourite dinner or put together a range of little dishes, such as tapas, or even a simple platter of cheeses, chutneys and crusty bread.
Whatever you do, have fun and resist the urge to over-cater or create a complex feast. Play some music, put on your favourite pinny, sip a little warming tipple and enjoy some pressure-free cooking.
Take a twilight walk
In the countryside, it’s simply too dark to go for a walk after about 4pm on 31 December. In towns and cities, meanwhile, the streets can quickly turn into a scene from a Hieronymus Bosch painting after nightfall. So before the darkness and mass drunkenness kick in, take a little walk.
Head out as the day is fading and the lights are sparkling in people’s homes. Enjoy some fresh air, exercise and perhaps, if you’re lucky, a lovely sunset, before diving home again to dodge the worst excesses of New Year’s Eve.
In the countryside, it’s simply too dark to go for a walk after about 4pm on 31 December. In towns and cities, meanwhile, the streets can quickly turn into a scene from a Hieronymus Bosch painting after nightfall. So before the darkness and mass drunkenness kick in, take a little walk.
Head out as the day is fading and the lights are sparkling in people’s homes. Enjoy some fresh air, exercise and perhaps, if you’re lucky, a lovely sunset, before diving home again to dodge the worst excesses of New Year’s Eve.
Schedule a late afternoon movie
After preparing some food, why not relax with a film before friends arrive. Curl up on the sofa and watch an old favourite or new release. If you plan to stay up until midnight, there’s a lot of time ahead in which to be sociable. Now’s your chance to chill!
After preparing some food, why not relax with a film before friends arrive. Curl up on the sofa and watch an old favourite or new release. If you plan to stay up until midnight, there’s a lot of time ahead in which to be sociable. Now’s your chance to chill!
Get the light right
As the daylight fades outside, pay attention to the lighting inside to conjure just the right relaxed mood. With Christmas now done, aim for a cosy vibe that’s more reflective than festive. If you have a fire, light it, then add candles and lamps with low wattage bulbs to create soft, layered lighting.
Browse 9 of the best rustic fireplaces
As the daylight fades outside, pay attention to the lighting inside to conjure just the right relaxed mood. With Christmas now done, aim for a cosy vibe that’s more reflective than festive. If you have a fire, light it, then add candles and lamps with low wattage bulbs to create soft, layered lighting.
Browse 9 of the best rustic fireplaces
Treat yourself to fresh flowers
If your holly is wilting and your tree is bare, why not invest in some non-festive greenery or flowers? Refresh your rooms with a few pretty blooms that will help you look forward to spring rather than remain stuck in the Christmas period.
Discover 10 ways to cosy up your home this winter
If your holly is wilting and your tree is bare, why not invest in some non-festive greenery or flowers? Refresh your rooms with a few pretty blooms that will help you look forward to spring rather than remain stuck in the Christmas period.
Discover 10 ways to cosy up your home this winter
Forget the resolutions
New Year’s resolutions can make you feel guilty by drawing attention to all your bad habits or the tasks you didn’t accomplish last year. So instead, why not visualise how you’d like things to change in 2017?
Rather than saying you’ll lose weight, picture yourself as fit, healthy and energised. Instead of beating yourself up for having a messy home, visualise a clean, pristine bathroom or bedroom and how good it might make you feel. You can pin down how to achieve each goal as you progress into January. For now, though, make New Year’s Eve about imagining alternatives and creating a clear vision for the year ahead.
New Year’s resolutions can make you feel guilty by drawing attention to all your bad habits or the tasks you didn’t accomplish last year. So instead, why not visualise how you’d like things to change in 2017?
Rather than saying you’ll lose weight, picture yourself as fit, healthy and energised. Instead of beating yourself up for having a messy home, visualise a clean, pristine bathroom or bedroom and how good it might make you feel. You can pin down how to achieve each goal as you progress into January. For now, though, make New Year’s Eve about imagining alternatives and creating a clear vision for the year ahead.
Go to bed when you’re ready
You’re not obliged to stay up to see in the New Year and if you’re a fan of early nights, a small hours bedtime may not appeal. So head for the comfort of a cosy bed whenever you’re ready, but maybe invest in good earplugs first, to filter out the fireworks and whooping at midnight.
What’s your recipe for a chilled-out New Year’s Eve? Add your suggestions to the Comments below.
You’re not obliged to stay up to see in the New Year and if you’re a fan of early nights, a small hours bedtime may not appeal. So head for the comfort of a cosy bed whenever you’re ready, but maybe invest in good earplugs first, to filter out the fireworks and whooping at midnight.
What’s your recipe for a chilled-out New Year’s Eve? Add your suggestions to the Comments below.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with spending New Year’s Eve with your immediate family or quietly alone, but if you do plan to entertain, small groups of your dearest friends make for a relaxed gathering. These are people you can loll on the sofa with and don’t have to dress up for. No need to put on a show or be the host with the most! Good friends and not too many of them will help the evening feel refreshingly low-key.