3 Festive Ways to Ring in the New Year by Yourself This Year
Are you sheltering alone and facing down the New Year with dread or trepidation? Not at all interested in trying to celebrate with folks on Zoom? Just because you are on your own this year doesn’t mean there aren’t some ways to both honor and celebrate the occasion. Usually, for those who choose to celebrate, we are looking forward to an excuse to be festive and fun. This year, more than any other, we are all looking forward to simply having 2020 finally over and holding on to the promise that 2021 will be better. So, doing something to mark that occasion is in order. And there is no better place to start than with food.
If you will be spending the holiday on your own, there are amazing ways to focus inward that can be really rewarding, and many of them start right in your own kitchen and pantry. Here are three of our favorite options for having a solo New Year’s to remember.
1. Start by treating yourself.
For starters, food and self-care doesn’t only have to be about eating and drinking. There are amazing treatments for body, skin, and hair that come right out of your pantry, and what better way to gear up for a “New Year New You” moment than an avocado mask, an olive oil deep conditioner, a full body sugar scrub, or a milk and oatmeal bath to feel pampered? If you love a good spa experience, and want to indulge at home, look up some great treatments online and turn your bathroom into a luxurious relaxation chamber.
2. Try an herbal smudge for your home.
Smudging, or burning herbs for a cleansing smoke, in your home is an ancient process. And whether you believe in the ritual associated with using herbal smoke to clear negative energies from your home, or just like the aromatherapy aspect, it is easy to buy a smudge stick online or make your own custom version with herbs from your garden, window box, or the grocery store. Look up the combination of herbs that best suit your purposes: Sage is traditional, but rosemary, bay leaves, and thyme are all lovely, as are combinations. If you are making your own, be sure to make it at least a week or so in advance so that it has time to dry out before use.
3. Have a feast for good luck.
Different cultures eat different foods to bring them good luck in the new year. Whether it is the trinity of “pennies, dollars, and gold” represented by black-eyed peas, greens and cornbread from Southern traditions, to eating twelve grapes at midnight from Mexican and Spanish cultures to bring good luck for twelve months, it is easy to pull together a menu of all good luck foods! And couldn’t we all need all the good luck help we can get going into 2021? Choose your own adventure! Noodles for longevity, or rice for wealth. Pomegranate seeds for fertility, lentils for luck. Pork for prosperity, or fish for abundance. Finish with a round cake or other round dessert to symbolize the circle of life.