Can't escape to some exotic destination this New Year's Eve? Don't let that dampen your spirits!
Save yourself the agony of spending the night half-asleep on the couch trying to survive clichéd year-end television specials. Just call your friends over, crank up the music and check out some of our suggestions to help make the arrival of 2006 truly special.
Globetrot with the movies
Do you wish you were in sun-drenched Spain or mysterious Egypt on December 31? Well, as luck would have it you can't be there in person. But hey, why not let your mind's eye journey there. Choose a great selection of foreign films to watch that evening. Make the power of home entertainment work for you.
Get fellow movie buffs together and put together a list of films from across the globe. Our suggestions to start you off:
~ The Sea Inside (Spain)
~ The Motorcycle Diaries (South America)
~ The Spanish Apartment (Spain)
~ Wasabi (France, Japan)
~ Spirited Away (Japan)
~ 3-Iron (South Korea)
~ Oldboy (South Korea)
~ City Of God (Brazil)
(Do make sure the film is appropriate for the audience you've invited. Some of this fare is not suitable for kids.)
What you need: DVDs, mood lighting and your favourite movie snacks.
Tip: Connect your television to your stereo to get some surround sound for the film
Beverage-based party theme
Throwing a house party? Here's a party theme that is a novel take on the saying 'don't mix your drinks' -- pick just one type of alcohol and let it dictate the spirit of the evening.
For example, if your concoction of choice is tequila, go all out and make it a Mexican New Year's party with enchiladas, fried rice, and tacos to eat, Mexican hats for each guest, ponchos as the dress code, and if you're feeling really adventurous, you can even make your own piñata.
~ This can also work if you prefer non-alcoholic drinks. Rustle up some exotic mocktails as your inspiration for the night.
~ To prepare for this get online. Look for information on the drinks you want, the cocktails you can create, and recipes from the region of its origin and other interesting facts.
What you need: Matching food, some cheesy party decorations in keeping with the theme, and a camera to preserve memories of a night when everyone lets their guard down and goes all out for the Silly Show!
Make it a gaming tournament
There's nothing like a little bit of competition to liven up the party. All you need is a gaming console. So, get out your controllers, stock up on the games and let the party begin.
Now, don't a be sexist and have girls compete only with other girls. Throw everyone in there together and let the best man or woman win.
What you need: Try and have a varied selection -- shoot-em-up games (Quake, Half Life 2), racing games (Need For Speed, Project Gotham Racing 3, Burnout 3 Takedown), sports games (Tiger Woods PGA Tour, World Soccer Winning Eleven, NBA Live), combat games (Tekken, Mortal Kombat).
Also important is lots of junk food (it's just for one night, you can eat healthy the rest of the new year). So load up on crisps, bite-sized snacks, pizza and cola.
Capture 2005 in a capsule
If this has been a memorable year in any way, New Year's Eve is the best time to celebrate it. An innovative way to do this is by creating your own time capsule -- capture the spirit of this year and store it away in a sealed box that is to be opened say 5 or 10 years later!
There are several suggestions for what goes in your time capsule -- newspaper clippings of the 31st, photographs from the past year, items of clothing, dried flowers, ticket stubs, invites to special parties you may have attended. Go ahead and improvise -- the point is to fill the box with things that are strong reminders of this time in your life.
As a personal touch, have your friends and family write down, on chits of paper, one wish that they have for their future. When you open the box five or ten years later, it will be amazing to see if those dreams actually did come true or if they changed along the way.
What you need: Scissors, pen, paper, newspapers of the day, a solid waterproof box and tape.
Find a New Year resolution buddy
One tradition that just doesn't seem to detach itself from New Year's Eve is The One With The Resolutions. No matter how hard you try, you can't escape the fact that there is pressure to at least pretend to make promises.
If you really want to keep your resolutions but have never been successful at it, maybe it's time to try a different approach. Pair up with a resolution buddy -- this is a person who is in charge of helping you keep your resolution and vice versa. He or she will be the person that stops you from eating that second helping of dessert, or from calling that ex-boyfriend you promised to forget.
People have found that it helps to actually write your resolution down.
What you need: Pen, paper and a healthy dose of willpower.
Happy New Year!
