Alternative New Year's Eve Ideas: How To Have A Great Night In

New Year's Eve out is a ticket, a queue, a flat pint and a forty-minute wait for a taxi at half one. New Year's Eve in, done properly, is better and costs about a fifth of it.

Here are the plans worth making, from a themed dinner for six to something quiet for two.

Plans for a group at home

• A murder mystery dinner. Everyone in character from eight, the reveal just before midnight. The At Home Murder Mystery box handles the plot so the host isn't working all night.
• A games night with a tournament bracket - Articulate, Wavelength and a final round of charades, with a ridiculous trophy.
• A quiz of the year: news, music, telly and 'what happened to us' rounds written by the group.
• A come dine with me evening where each household brings a course.
• A decade party - pick 1999, dress for it, and play nothing recorded after that year.
• A film marathon with a themed drink per film and a firm 11.45 stop.

Quieter nights in

• A tasting night for two: cheese, whisky or chocolate, with scorecards.
• Takeaway and the good plates, then a jigsaw with the fire on.
• A long bath, an early film and the fireworks on iPlayer. Nobody is checking.
• A walk at eleven to wherever you can see the sky, then home for the countdown.

Food that suits the night

• Grazing all evening beats a sit-down meal - a big board, refilled twice.
• A fondue or raclette set, if you've got one. It keeps people at the table for hours.
• Something hot at half eleven: sausage rolls, a curry, chips. It is the single most appreciated thing you can do.
• One good bottle at midnight rather than four cheap ones all night.

Midnight and traditions

• First footing: a dark-haired visitor over the threshold with coal, bread and a coin.
• Everyone writes one thing to leave behind and burns it in the fire pit at ten to twelve.
• Auld Lang Syne, arms crossed, properly.
• A letter to yourselves to open next New Year's Eve, sealed and taped to the back of a cupboard.
• A group photo at 12.01 every year, same spot. In ten years it's the best thing you own.

Keeping it cheap

• Bring a bottle and a dish. Nobody minds, and it halves the host's bill.
• Use what's in the Christmas cupboard - a New Year party is mostly leftover cheese and crackers.
• Decorations: swap red and green for anything metallic you already own.
• Skip the taxi entirely, which is where the money actually goes.

Shop party supplies

How to write it so it lands

• Decide the plan by mid-December. New Year's Eve gets ruined by indecision, not by staying in.
• Start the main activity by eight. Anything launched after ten never gets finished.
• Line up the countdown on something with no advert break.

Where to shop next

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Frequently asked questions

What can you do instead of going out on New Year's Eve?

Host something with a shape to it: a murder mystery dinner, a games tournament, a quiz of the year or a themed decade party. A night in only feels flat when there's no plan beyond the telly.

What's a good New Year's Eve activity for a small group?

A murder mystery game or a games tournament. Both give the evening a beginning, middle and end, which is exactly what a long night at home needs.

How do you make New Year's Eve at home feel special?

Dress up anyway, eat late, serve something hot just before midnight, and keep one tradition - a photo, a letter, a burnt list - that you repeat every year.

What food should you serve on New Year's Eve?

Grazing food all evening rather than a formal meal, then something hot at around half eleven. Nobody ever regrets sausage rolls at 11.30pm.

Do you sell board games or murder mystery kits?

No. We make greeting cards, art prints, pin badges and party bits in the UK, so the games here are simply what we'd recommend to a friend. Some links go to other shops and may earn us a small commission, at no extra cost to you.