New year plans fell apart? Forgot to plan a party? Here are some lovable last-minute new year celebration ideas – with family, friends and even just yourself!
So, after some deep thinking I realized that we need to wind up this year either by spending more time with our loved ones or by doing things we love the most.
So, we have curated a few cool and unique new year celebration ideas. If you’re not up for a night out partying or going out to a lavish gala, try these simple ways to make your new year’s eve as special as possible.
As we ring in the new year with more happiness and hope, here are some unique new year celebration ideas!
New Year Celebration Ideas with Family
We fantasize materialistic stuff and forget to value relationships. Over the years, I have realized it’s important to give time for myself and people who love me more.
1. Shopping with Your Family
You’re welcoming the new year and it’s the best time to buy gifts. So, shop along with your parents, partner and siblings to gift each other. You can make most out of the new year sales in stores.
2. Indoor Activities or Game Night
Relive your childhood by taking out all the card and board games. Play scrabble with your family members.
3.Hot Chocolate Making Competition
Instead of an alcoholic celebration, you can even opt for something different this year. Indulge in some hot chocolate as most people love them. (My mouth’s watering! Slurp!). Everyone in the family can make their own recipe of hot chocolate. Then pour it into different shot glasses for tasting sessions. The one with the best hot chocolate wins. The loser does the dishes!! I gave you a fun-filled activity with an evil twist!
4. Relive Your Old Memories
Relive your memories by checking out old photo albums and videos. This can be a great activity as everyone can laugh looking at old silly photos!
5. Recreate a Cafe Ambiance at Home
Restaurants are usually full or booked prior. So, you can recreate a cafe ambiance right in your place with aromatherapy candles, string lights and cushions. You can play music and show each other your silliest dance moves!
New Year Celebration Ideas with Friends
Partying in a club or planning for a dinner in a lavish restaurant can be done in any time of the year. But spending time with yourself or celebrating with your dear ones can be more special.
Here are some budget-friendly new year celebration ideas for you and your friends!
6. Wine/ Beer Tasting Sessions
Have a wine or beer tasting session at your home. Everyone can bring their favorite bottle (set a budget limit). Guests can taste and choose the winning selection!
7. Play Dress Up with Your Girl Gang
Dress up along with your girls and try new makeup tutorials you watched online. Decorate a small corner in your living space and click pictures. Let your contour and highlighting be on fleek in your Instagram account. You can try all sorts of ridiculous or unique trends like glitter lips, lip art, nail art and fur nails. You can try all the latest makeup looks.
8. Order Food and Watch Chick Flicks
Chill with your besties by ordering your favorite food and have a movie marathon of chick flicks like Bridesmaids, Bride Wars, Pretty Woman and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
9. Have a Potluck
You can have a potluck with your friends. Each of you can cook starters like stuffed olives or chicken wings or fried pickles. Let them know the bar menu in advance and challenge them to cook tasty pairing and tid-bits. The guest with the tastiest appetizer gets a wine bottle!
Also read: How to throw a Fabulous House Party
New Year Celebration Ideas With Your Partner
If both of you are workaholics and have no plans on new year’s eve night, then some perfect ways to relax and have a romantic date together.
10. Cook an Exotic Meal With Your Partner
There’s nothing more romantic than being away from the gadgets and just talking, especially with food. So, try a new cuisine and get cooking with your partner. Later, you can have an intimate candle light dinner at home with romantic music. Sipping wine while a risotto simmers can be a great way to dive into childhood stories and get to know each other more!
11. Go For a Long Drive
After dinner, you can take off in your car for a long drive. At midnight, you can go to a beach and welcome the new year while watching the waves.
12. DIY Photoshoot
Everyone will be busy posting selfies with #newyearselfie on Instagram. You can have your own album filled with selfies. Decorate a romantic space with string lights in your home and click selfies and you will have enough memories made to cherish. Or go out in the snow and click some memorable festive pics!
13. Watch Holiday Movies
Watch romantic, comedy and holiday movies to motivate yourself for next year’s travel goals. Bring some wine or beer and enjoy your movie marathon.
14. Wishlist for New Year
Make a wish list for each other like making breakfast on the bed, writing a love letter or a kiss every hour. Write down all these sweet little things and put it into a basket. Pull a wish out for each other, and the wishes need to be fulfilled by you on the new year. Try some out-of-the-box ideas, too!
New Year Celebration Ideas with Yourself
If you’re away from family and all your friends have made plans, your new year’s eve doesn’t have to be sad and boring! You too, can have some ‘me-time’, explore your inner self and do some fun stuff, too!
Here’s how best to celebrate new year if you’re alone.
15. Have a Gadget-Free Day
Our lives are starting to get controlled by our gadgets. Throw them away! Not literally, though! Have a gadget-free day and indulge in some recreational activities like an adult coloring book. Do things you love the most like sing, dance or write.
You can have a candle-lit bath for rejuvenation or create some art with ink or origami!
16. Cook for Yourself
16. Cook for Yourself
Cook for yourself and experiment with unique recipes. No one cares even if the house is on fire as you’re alone! (Although, I’d keep a fire-extinguisher handy!) Or make comfort food like noodles or fries.
17. Stargaze on Your Terrace
How long has it been since you gazed at stars in the sky? Internet and smartphones keep us from enjoying the beauty of the night sky! Take a blanket up to your terrace with a mug of hot chocolate and do some stargazing. If you have a pet then cuddle with it, too! Wow! That sounds like such a beautiful new year’s eve, all by yourself. I would play some light music, too! Great time for self-reflection and thought-gathering.
18. Read a Book
Read some books that give you hope and a new meaning to life. A book which can make you smile through the end of it like Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott or Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Curl up under your blanket with some hot cocoa or masala chai tea (my preference!) and feel refreshed.
19. Make a Scrapbook
New years bring resolutions and new year resolutions bring stress and anxiety. We tend to worry about the coming year and miss out on the positivity. So, make a list of your achievements and learnings of the year. Collect the best moments and pictures of that year and stick them together in a cute scrapbook or on your blog. When the clock strikes 12, you can capture the happy, hopeful moment by clicking a selfie and voila! You could cherish this memory in the coming years!
If you don’t want to ring in the new year just like any other year then you should try one of these ideas for sure!
How and with whom are you celebrating the new year? Is it family, friends or with yourself? Which new year celebration ideas will you try? Do let us know!
Happy New Year in advance!!
Sahana is a Senior Staff Writer at ShilpaAhuja.com. With an experience in fashion and lifestyle writing, Sahana is responsible for Indian and international fashion week coverage every year, and is developing an expertise in apparel trend forecasting. She also writes about health and fitness, having pursued yoga for 6 years now. She’s not a gym person at all but is all for “running in the park” and is an amateur cyclist. Books and coffee are her other passions. She’s also an amateur photographer. She’s a hardcore Bollywood fan and she loves to cover the nostalgic topics on the same. From fashion trends to famous characters, she can make anyone love Bollywood! Her best article has been 90s Bollywood fashion, a readers’ favorite so far! Prior to her experience with ShilpaAhuja.com, Sahana has written as a freelance author for online magazine, Mashup Corner, and interned at EventsHigh as a content writer. Her blogs on basic fashion, makeup, fitness and city’s food joints that gave her a chance to experiment with her writing. She also has voiced her opinions about feminism and equal rights for men and women at PolkaCafe journals and after quitting her job, she decided to take up writing as her full time career.
Sahana is an engineering graduate and has worked in an MNC, Tesco, for more than a year as an Operations Support. It was her sheer love for fashion that made her quit the monotonous 9 to 5 job to pursue a career in the fashion industry. She’s originally from Bangalore and is currently settled in Chennai (she’s loving the city)! For any queries and discussions, contact her at [email protected]. You can also tweet her at https://twitter.com/Sahana_17