Fakeaways and Zoom parties: How to celebrate New Year’s Eve at home as public told to stay indoors

From virtual murder mystery parties to luxury takeaway meals, Emily Cope shares the best ways to ring in 2021 lockdown-style

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It’s going to be a different New Year’s Eve than most tonight. With three quarters of England in either tier 3 or tier 4, the government has urged the country to avoid parties or meeting with other households because “covid loves a crowd".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock expressed the importance of remaining at home on 31 December, saying: “With our NHS under pressure we must all take personal responsibility this New Year's Eve and stay at home.

“Now more than ever, we need to pull together to save lives and protect our NHS. If we continue to do our bit by staying at home, we can get through this together," he added.

Pubs across the country are closed - with only a handful in the Isles of Scilly (tier 1) able to remain open - and police forces have issued warnings that parties “should not happen". Areas that normally attract crowds, like Trafalgar Square in London, have been fenced off to prevent gatherings. 

However just because many of us will be celebrating the end of 2020 away from friends and family, it doesn’t mean we can’t ring in the New Year with a bang.

Here are some ideas to enjoy the start of 2021.

Join a virtual event

While pubs, theatres and travel might be off the cards, it doesn’t mean all of our favourite New Year’s Eve events have been cancelled – many have gone virtual.

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Choose from virtual firework displays in London or the Times Square ball drop, a live performance from Jean Michel Jarre at the Notre-Dame in Paris, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay or an evening of laughs with a live comedy event at Just the Tonic, with performances from Al Murray and Romesh Ranganathan.

Supercharge your Zoom party

If 2020 has proved anything, it’s that Zoom can do a pretty good job of replicating social situations (even if you do have to keep reminding people to unmute themselves).  

Over half of Britons have said they will celebrate New Year with loved ones online this year, with the average person set to attend two separate video calls over the one evening.

Party planner Mindy Weiss, who counts the Kardashian family amongst her A-list clients, suggests mixing up your regular Zoom party by hosting a fancy dress party, digital disco or a virtual scavenger hunt.

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She told The Independent: “The host should pre-pick 10 household items that the guests will have to go find in their homes. The first one back with the item wins a point, and the person with the most points at the end of the game wins a virtual gift card.

“Involving the environment that surrounds you and your personal belongings is a great way to feel more connected those you can’t spend time with in person.”

While The Digital Murder Mystery Co. –which was founded during lockdown - is offering virtual murder mystery packages.

The experiences are all themed (such as 1920s Paris and Vintage Circus) and come with PDFs explaining each character’s backstory as well as fancy dress tips, a playlist of themed music, meal and cocktail suggestions.

Enjoy a fakeaway

Can’t head to your favourite restaurant this year? Not to worry, many eateries have released the recipes to some of their most popular dishes.

Whip up your own Wagamamas Katsu Curry, tuck into a homemade Nandos grilled peri-peri wings or test out your pizza-making skills with Pizza Express’ iconic margherita recipe.

If you’re more of a dessert fan, indulge your sweet tooth by mixing up a batch of Pret a Manger’s vegan dark chocolate cookies.

Lots of your favourite restaurants, including Pizza Pilgrims and Patty & Bun are also selling DIY meal kits, here.

While others, like Dishoom or Nobu, are doing luxury takeaways so you can feel like you’re at your favourite restaurant, here.

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Become a master mixologist

DIY cocktail kits have become all the rage during lockdown.

Test out your mixing skills with an online recipe or – if you haven’t had time to pop to the shop for ingredients – then head to makemeacocktail.com.  

Here you can add in all of the ingredients you have in your home and they’ll show you all of the cocktails you can make.

If you fancy bar quality cocktails without too much fuss, then All Shook Up offer ready-made very berry brambles, strawberry daiquiris and passionfruit martinis, and are available to buy from Tesco and Amazon.

Keep it simple

If you’re tired of Zoom calls and fancy recipes, then take the opportunity to relax and recharge your batteries ahead of the New Year.

Switch on a film, take a bath or play a board game, and wake up on New Year’s Day feeling rested and ready for 2021.