How to not make your New Year’s Eve miserable?

KAKALI DAS

It’s the last Saturday of 2024! For the world, this is your final chance to embrace the cringe. The New Year’s Eve vibes are officially here!

Let’s be real for a moment—if there were an award for the most overrated night of the year, New Year’s Eve would win hands down.

Think about it: too much pressure to have an amazing time, too many decisions to make—should you drink or not? Go out or stay in? It’s a lot, and we’re sure you might agree.

How to not make your New Year’s Eve miserable?

Should you focus on manifesting wellness or push and shove your way to the best view of the fireworks? Should you slide in for a quick Irish goodbye or opt for the classic South Asian goodbye, lingering by the door for another hour?

New Year’s Eve is brimming with promise and excitement, but it also brings along built-in pressure, relentless FOMO, and an overwhelming amount of traffic.

New Year’s Eve is just days away, but the build-up is already visible—quite literally. In India, an expressway recently witnessed a 12-kilometer-long traffic jam, with vehicles stuck bumper-to-bumper for hours. Major hill stations are seeing roads choked with tourists, and hotel occupancy has already surged by 50%. In the coming days, it’s expected to climb to 80%.

“You can attend that party and have a great time, or find a quiet corner to reflect on 2024. You could even host your own party and build a tower of water instead of champagne glasses—sending good vibes into 2025 by hydrating the drunk crowd. Or, if you prefer, you can watch the world unfold and crack that classic “see you next year” joke. You can stay in, smash plates, eat grapes, watch Netflix, spend time with loved ones, or enjoy some solitude—whatever you choose. Just do what feels right for you, not what social media, rom-coms, Bollywood, or Hollywood tells you to do. Greet 2025 on your terms, because there’s no better or best way to start the new year.”

India isn’t an isolated case. In the Netherlands, traffic jams have risen by 8%—a significant figure by Dutch standards. Meanwhile, in the US, around 120 million people are expected to travel, marking a five-year high.

Meanwhile, Rome is anticipating 32 million visitors as this New Year coincides with the 2025 Jubilee—a year dedicated to faith and forgiveness.

What’s difficult to forgive, though, is this: New Year’s Eve is one of the few holidays where your personal effort rarely pays off. The end result often feels underwhelming, and studies back it up. No matter how much you plan, New Year’s Eve tends to be disappointing—and the harder people try to make it fun, the more dissatisfied they usually feel. The data doesn’t lie.

So, how can you make it less stressful? How can you create your ideal New Year’s Eve this year?

As per the research, here are three tips for you: First, lower your expectations—the lower, the better. Because here’s the thing: forcing yourself to be happy is the quickest route to misery. So, if you assume that New Year’s Eve won’t be the best time, it takes off the pressure. And if you do end up having a great time, it feels even better.

Secondly, remember that New Year’s Eve isn’t all that significant. January 1^st is just another number, and around the world, people celebrate on different dates.

In China, the new year begins on January 29^th; in Ethiopia, it’s September 11^th; for Muslims, it falls in June. And in India, you get at least nine opportunities to celebrate the New Year, thanks to its cultural diversity. Not just the dates, but the ways of ushering in the New Year also vary.

In India, many of us light lamps to celebrate. In South Africa, people throw unwanted items out of windows. In Denmark, they smash plates. In the US, people drop things—famously, the ball drop in Times Square. In Indiana, it’s watermelons. In some countries, the focus is on food: in Spain, it’s grapes; in Brazil, lentils. Meanwhile, the Danish continue their smashing tradition.

New Year China — In China, the new year begins on January 29^th

So, you get the idea, and this brings us to the third tip: there’s no one perfect way to ring in the New Year. You can attend that party and have a great time, or find a quiet corner to reflect on 2024.

You could even host your own party and build a tower of water instead of champagne glasses—sending good vibes into 2025 by hydrating the drunk crowd. Or, if you prefer, you can watch the world unfold and crack that classic “see you next year” joke.

You can stay in, smash plates, eat grapes, watch Netflix, spend time with loved ones, or enjoy some solitude—whatever you choose. Just do what feels right for you, not what social media, rom-coms, Bollywood, or Hollywood tells you to do. Greet 2025 on your terms, because there’s no better or best way to start the new year.

New Year Rome — Rome is anticipating 32 million visitors as this New Year coincides with the 2025 Jubilee

28-12-2024

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