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by ALEXIS MORILLO
Although 2020 is coming to a close, it’s more important than ever to continue being vigilant about COVID-19 safety practices like social distancing, wearing face masks, and limiting person to person contact as much as possible. The Centers for Disease Control recently announced their official holiday guidelines, with the main theme being that individuals should limit their gatherings to include direct households only in order to lower the risk of COVID-19 spread. That means your New Year’s Eve plans should include staying at home. But that doesn’t mean your New Year’s Eve plans have to be boring! There are so many fun and creative ways to mark the end of 2020 at home. Enjoy some of these new traditions.
1 Dress up!
Who said you can’t dress up just to sit on the couch? If you typically pull out your best outfit for NYE, there’s no need to change that tradition this year. Plus, you can get great photo opps at home, too. Dressing fancy calls for some fancy hors d’oeuvres to match the vibe, don’t you think?
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2 Make a festive cocktail.
Your NYE celebration is only as good as the drink you choose to toast with at midnight, so it’s only right you make something really special for the occasion. These confetti champagne sippers are a good place to start!
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3 Host a video call with loved ones.
Zoom calls and Google Meet have become a staple for holiday celebrations this year, and they’re a great way to gather all of your loved ones virtually to ring in the New Year.
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4 Watch Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
It’s not New Year’s Eve without watching the ball drop in Times Square, and although the in-person event is cancelled this year, Ryan Seacrest will still be celebrating the day with various celebrity guests. Be sure to tune in.
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5 Have an appetizer cook-off.
There’s no year like this year to start a new tradition. Since you’ll be staying awake through midnight, you’ll want enough snacks and bites to graze on for the entire night. You can even make things interesting and host an appetizer cook-off between everyone in your household. Each person makes their own appetizer to share and then you crown one person the reigning winner…until next year.
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6 Plan a virtual toast with your friends.
Despite the challenges, it’s important to acknowledge all of the good parts of the year, and you can easily do so with a thoughtful virtual toast. Plan a time to call up your friends and loved ones so you can all raise a glass to getting through 2020.
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7 Watch movies all night long.
Maybe extravagant holiday celebrations aren’t your thing, and that’s totally okay. Staying up all night watching movies is a great way to welcome in 2021, so make sure that streaming queue is on point!
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8 Have a dance party.
Let loose and dance around your home with your roommates or family members. You can always add a competitive aspect and turn it into a lip sync battle if you want to up the stakes.
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9 Make a charcuterie board.
Besides sourdough and banana bread, charcuterie boards have become insanely popular this year. Try your hand at the trend for New Year’s Eve and make it your excuse to buy all of those fancy cheeses at the grocery store that you’ve always been curious about.
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10 Pop confetti at midnight.
When the clock strikes twelve, you might as well make the most of it! Even if your celebration is more low-key than usual you can still absolutely use all the noisemakers, confetti poppers, or sparklers you want.
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