Spending New Year’s Eve alone? Expert reveals why it’s the perfect start to your best year yet…
Spending New Year’s Eve alone can feel like something to avoid at all costs. But according to Chris Pleines, dating expert and founder of Datingscout.co.uk, embracing solitude this holiday could give you the best and most empowering start to 2025.
For those of us who are single, Christmas and New Year – holidays awash with romantic relationships, engagement announcements on social media, and an overhyped expectation of happiness – can be a challenging time. Chris Pleines sets out five, empowering ways to celebrate solo on New Year’s Eve – and take control of the year ahead.
1). Accept it – and plan your night
First things first – let go of the negative assumptions! Despite the well-worn Bridget Jones stereotypes, there is nothing negative about spending New Year’s eve alone or single, nor does it say anything about your worth. In a society that is obsessed with idolising love and romance, we can feel that the only way to have a meaningful New Year’s Eve is to be in a couple – but that’s simply not true.
Chris Pleines says that one of the best things you can do is plan your night alone. Rather than letting the evening simply happen to you, you take the steering wheel. Write down a list of exactly how you want to celebrate, if that’s your thing. Maybe you want to watch a couple of your favourite movies, take an indulgent bubble bath, journal, or get out and volunteer at a homeless shelter or food pantry. If the thought of a structured routine is too stressful, write down 5-10 ideas on pieces of paper and pull one or two out of a hat on the night, to surprise yourself.
2). Date yourself
Chris Pleines says that one of the most valuable things about singleness is the opportunity to pour energy back into yourself. Romantic love starts with valuing yourself first as a human being. You are your own dream date for the night – so act like it.
Put in as much effort for the night as you would if you would if you were spending it with a romantic partner. Book your favourite restaurant, and take yourself out to dine – it’s a real power move. Order your beverage of choice, buy yourself flowers, and get dessert. Or, if you choose to spend the night in, make sure you lay the table, light some candles, and set things up so that you feel really special.
Make sure you dress up in an outfit that makes you feel really good – even if you’re having a night at home. Dressing carefully and accessorising in a way that is meaningful to you will help rewire your brain to realise that time alone is special and to be savoured.
Get a bottle of something, and don’t forget to toast yourself, and ring in the New Year at midnight. Remember that celebrating yourself is just as important as celebrating with others. When we invest in our own wellbeing and grow our sense of value within ourselves, rather than relying on the external validation of other people, we create space for healthier friendships, relationships and opportunities in the future.
3). Reflect on the past year and set personal goals
People tend to assume that New Year’s Eve has to mean a whole night of excessive drinking and loud partying, but using it as a night of reflection is seriously underrated. Pleines recommends carving out space in your solo New Year’s Eve to think about the highs and lows of the past year and set some personal goals to improve your mental, physical and emotional health for 2025.
A session of quiet and calm goal-setting on New Year’s Eve helps you get ahead and take control of the year to come, rather than starting your first day of 2025 with a splitting headache and painful hangover.
The ‘five in, five out’ method is an excellent form of goal-setting in 2025. Simply choose five things you want ‘out’ of your life next year – for example, texting your ex or drinking that extra bottle of wine every week – and five things that you want ‘in’ – for example, going for a 15 minute walk every day, or journaling. Thinking about which toxic or harmful behaviours you want to remove from your life is much more freeing and attainable, rather than just adding a bunch of extra expectations.
4). Indulge in self-care
If you’re spending New Year’s Eve alone, make sure you commit at least part of the evening to indulging in serious self-care. Run a hot bubble bath, use your favourite moisturizer and light your most decadent candle. Put on a face mask or a foot pack, and really relax.
In deliberately taking the time to care for yourself on New Year’s Eve, you are setting a tone of self-focus and self-priority for 2025, ensuring that you intersperse much needed rest and relaxation with your ambitions for the year.
4). Make a fun-only New Year’s Resolution list
There can be a lot of pressure with New Year’s Resolutions, and while it’s good to set some goals for personal improvement, you don’t want to be stuck with a heavy list of to-dos that just feels like a drag during one of the coldest and bleakest months of the year.
Fun New Year’s Resolutions that boost your sense of happiness are just as important as your more serious goals, and will remind you of the value of prioritising joy. Maybe there are some movies you’ve always wanted to set aside time to watch? Why not write a list of 12 movies, perhaps with friends, and commit to a fun movie night once a month? Or, commit to learning one fun new skill every month or two months? Cooking, dancing, photography or sewing. These will boost your mental health, as well as remind you of the small joys in life.
