8 ideas how to celebrate the New Year without alcohol

Alcohol often leads to sad consequences, from domestic quarrels and shameful acts to injuries, frostbite and firework burns.

If you feel like you've grown out of alcohol parties and the thought of homemade libations with salads doesn't inspire joyful anticipation, try celebrating this New Year in a new way.

1. Throw a gourmet dinner

If you like good food and don't want to go somewhere for the New Year, arrange an evening of gourmet cuisine. Choose a few complex dishes that you have never tried, stock up on all the ingredients in advance, and start cooking in the late afternoon.

Here are some options:

• Try the dishes of other nations. For example, assemble a New Year's table from traditional dishes of a particular cuisine, or try different options, as if you went on a trip around the world.
• Make Christmas cookies. For example, try baking gingerbread cookies and then color them as a family.
• Experiment with desserts.
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  For example, bake an Italian Christmas cookies, cook chocolate mousse or biscuit mango cake.
• Try non-alcoholic cocktails. Drinks with juice, tea, cream and spices are a great alternative to alcohol. Try juice with caramel and cream spicy smoothie from apples and nuts, dutch hot chocolate or other drinks.

Take care of the table setting, and arrange a feast on New Year's Eve.

2. Celebrate the New Year in the forest

If you live near the forest, and they don’t promise severe frosts for the New Year, try spending the holiday on nature. Kindle a fire, fry kebabs, take plenty of hot tea in a thermos.

The winter forest is stunningly beautiful, so you will surely have a lot of positive memories. Just prepare for the celebration in advance:

1. Decide on a place. Find a clearing where you will celebrate the New Year. Prepare firewood and kindle for a fire.
2. Think about possible emergencies. If you are driving, check if it can overcome snowdrifts. If you are not sure, think about how you will get out of the snowdrifts and who you can call to get you out.
3. Dress warmly. Do not rely on a fire, especially if you will get to the place on foot. If it's windy outside, you can easily get frostbite on your face or fingers or toes, so just in case, bring a scarf or buff with you, be sure get dressed layered and take mittens.

3. Take a trip

Another option for those who do not like to stay at home. Even with a modest budget for the New Year, you can go on a mini-trip to the next city, walk along the decorated streets and discover new locations. Just take care of accommodation in advance - on New Year's Eve prices for rented apartments skyrocket.

You can also find a New Year's tour of beautiful places in Russia. Sea options: the Ural mountains, Altai, the Caucasus, a trip to Baikal, to Kamchatka. As a rule, in such tours they settle in a camp site, and the meeting of the New Year itself is left to the discretion of travelers.

Of course, it will cost much more - the cost varies from 40-50 to 100 thousand rubles or more, depending on the place and duration of the trip.

4. Revisit your favorite films

Surely you have a list of favorite films that you can watch endlessly. Perhaps these are several parts of some saga like The Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, a season of your favorite series or the work of a particular director.

If you do not know what to see, look for options in our selection of films to create a New Year's mood. Prepare delicious drinks and snacks and celebrate the holiday with your favorite characters.

5. Have an active holiday

Find out if there is an opportunity in your city to celebrate the New Year on a ski slope or in a festively decorated park. Maybe not far from home ravine, where you can go tubing, or an open-air skating rink that does not close at night.

In any case, you always have the opportunity to arrange a snow battle in the courtyard of the house - and watch the fireworks and have fun from the heart.

6. Play board games

If you have a whole company going to your house, you can play Mafia, Monopoly or Jenga. Better yet, try something new.

There are a lot of options: strategy and city building, games for reaction and attentiveness, as well as the ability to build associations and tell stories. You will find several good options Here.

It is quite possible that thanks to the board game you will spend the New Year really fun for the first time, never quarrel and discover in your loved ones or yourself talents that you were not aware of.

7. Engage in the development of awareness

It is customary to celebrate the New Year in a company or family circle, but if the noise is tiring, you don’t like a late dinner and attempts to rejoice from scratch, why not spend this time alone?

Reflect on how the year went, remember all the good times and think about or write down what you would like to experience in the future. Take a bath, listen to music, do yoga - pay attention to your body and mind.

If you are practicing meditation, perhaps, not to find a better activity for the New Year. Focus on your feelings and thoughts, stay "here and now" and enjoy every breath, movement, taste or sound.

Start the year with awareness and maybe you will be able to live it with a great sense of satisfaction.

8. Put on a show

If you have children, organize a home theater. You can play a scene from your favorite movie or cartoon, choose the right play, arrange a musical or a concert.

Learn roles and make costumes. You can pick up musical accompaniment and buy children's microphones that change the voice. They are inexpensive and can add realism to some character with a rough bass or, conversely, a gentle voice.

Show the performance to guests or film it for the family archive.