25 Things To Do On New Year's Eve That Don't Involve Going To The Club

For everyone who thinks parties are soooo overrated.

1. Do a 1,000 piece puzzle.

FOX

Or any number of pieces you want! Puzzles are a great New Year's Eve activity because you can work on them alone, or with one more people; you can listen to music or a podcast or a movie while you work on them; you can drink while you do them; and if you finish one on or around midnight, you'll start the new year feeling all accomplished and shiz!

Get some great puzzle ideas here.

2. Start binging a new TV show.

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Surely there's something that was on in 2017 that you just didn't find time to watch, so now's the time to get into it. I'm not saying you should kick off your year by watching Black Mirror, not I'm also not not saying you should. Actually, New Year's Eve is a particularly good time to start that TV show you've wanted to watch forever, but have been intimidated by how many episodes and seasons there are. (Think: Game of Thrones or The Sopranos.)

Some other shows you could start: The Good Place, The Crown, Glow, Better Call Saul, The Real Housewives of Dallas (fight me), Insecure, and The Handmaid's Tale. And if you start watching any of these at 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve and then commit to spending New Year's Day watching it too, you can finish the whole first season by the time the holiday’s over.

3. Host or go to a game night.

MTV

Look, I'm guessing if you don't want to go to the clurb or spend $100+ on a bar cover fee, you probably have a favorite board game. So why not rustle up some friends and/or work associates and kiss 2017 goodbye by whooping their asses at Balderdash? If you don't have a favorite board game (which is fine, it's fine), then the time is ripe to go to a game night and discover what it is. Then, you can spend all of 2018 and beyond becoming a master at it, and that, my friend, is the key to a good new year.

4. Make and then listen to a playlist of all of your favorite songs.

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Spotify makes a playlist of your most-played songs at the end of each year, but if you don't use Spotify or just want a specific mood, make your own!

5. Or just do that thing where you play a song just before midnight, so that the best part plays right at 12 a.m. on Jan. 1.

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You know what I mean.

6. Clean your home.

20th Century Fox

Honestly, is there a better feeling than waking up on Jan. 1 to a spotless house? I think not. Plus, when else are you going to dust your crown moldings? Halloween? Actually, that's not a bad idea.

7. Or if that's too daunting, do your laundry.

Disney

If you go to a laundromat — provided that it's open — this is the perfect time to have all of the machines to yourself. Either way, having a closet full of clean clothes on the first day of a new year is the greatest gift you can give to yourself.

8. Learn the choreography to Justin Bieber's "Sorry."

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Or whatever song you'd love to be able to break out the dance moves to at your next wedding/party/family reunion.

9. Get Chinese takeout and watch Planet Earth 2 or another documentary.

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TBH, you can sub in any type of food and documentary to this equation and still get the same results, which is a very happy, contented New Year's Eve just doing you. You can even multiply it by adding in friends or a significant other! Math, it's a skill.

10. Make a list of all of your personal wins and best moments from the year.

Disney

Make New Year's Eve a time for productive reflection, and write out everything you're proud of from the past year. Think about what you were grateful for, what you accomplished, and what you put a shit ton of effort into. It's nice, we promise!

11. Try getting your email inbox down to zero, if that's something you've been wanting to do.

Nickelodeon

Inbox zero is a noble, albeit difficult, pursuit. If you take the time to do it on the eve of Dec. 31, you'll not only feel liberated from the tyranny of a stuffed inbox, but you'll also get to revisit all of your old emails from the past year — and, let's be honest, beyond.

12. If you're not interested in that, then unsubscribe from all those mailing lists that keep spamming your inbox.

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Wouldn't it feel great to have a whole year without weekly emails about Benihana's drink specials? I think so.

13. Take a nice, long bath with some salts or bubbles.

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If you don't like baths, I'm not going to try to convince you this is a good thing to do, because it's been a long year and I'm tired. But if you do like baths, then you know that this is a really, really great way to spend your time, whether you're watching a show or reading while in the tub, or just spacing out in a watery womb of your own making.

14. Eat some fun and delicious cheese.

Aardman Animations

Make a cheese plate! Go to the grocery store, or whatever your favorite dairy purveyor is, get a variety of cheeses and some crackers and/or spreads if that's your thing, and go wild! (Maybe also pick up some Lactaid if you want your gut to have a good New Year's Eve, too.)

15. Make that Pinterest recipe you’ve had saved all year.

Pinterest

Now is the time to make those cheesy southwest chicken lasagna rolls or whatever else you salivated over when you saw it.

16. Say "fuck it" to staying up until midnight and go to bed early.

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Ahh, a good night's sleep. What a treat!

17. Catch up on all the articles you wanted to read, but never got around to.

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Whether they're wordy thinkpieces your dad sent to your family email chain or that one story eeeveryone shared on Facebook, those things are probably worth really reading, and it'll take you less time to do it than reading a whole book.

18. Although, if you want to start or read a book, now's also a good time to do it.

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Pick up a book, any book will do. But if you really want to up the ante, actually finish that book! Yes, in one night! (Or just between December 31 and January 1.)

19. Finally download that damn update for your computer.

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Stop hitting "not now" or "remind me tomorrow" and just do it!

20. The same goes for your phone.

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It wants to start 2018 with the shiny new operating system — let it!

21. Get the tattoo or piercing you've been thinking about getting.

20th Century Fox

Why not?

22. Go see a midnight screening of a movie.

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Or any time screening, for that matter. Chances are, the theater will be relatively empty.

23. Write letters to your friends.

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So, you didn't get around to sending holiday cards. No big deal! Cap off your year by putting pen to paper and writing something, anything, to your pals, even the ones that live near you. You could tell them about your year and recount memories you had together, you could discuss plans for the next year, or, really, whatever strikes you in the moment! Sending them out will give your friends an unexpected treat in the post-gifting month of January.

24. Write a letter to yourself.

FOX

If you liked that last one but were like, ugh, but with the price of STAMPS these days, have I got an idea for you. Again, what you write is entirely your call, but when you're done, either mail it to yourself, or put it in a place where you won't forget it so you can read it on the next New Year's Eve.

25. Treat it like you would the the last day of any other month, and do...whatever.

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Do nothing. Do everything. Basically, do what you want. Make it a time to do the thing you never allow yourself to do, or make it a time to transform into a human log and not move for 12 hours. Either way, be good to yourself. You deserve it.