We’re living in a renaissance of fancy sheets and cutting-edge mattresses. Nearly every hour of entertainment ever recorded is streamable. New Year’s Eve is a day away, and between scented candle culture and smoke alarms, it’s easier than ever to light a fire inside your house without risking death. Coziness is queen.
As the last days of 2019 are upon us, the question is not “Should you stay home on New Year’s Eve?” but rather—Why does anyone ever go out on New Year’s Eve?
In the coldest, darkest time of the year, humans feel compelled to manufacture light. We set off fireworks, string twinkle lights, light candles, build bonfires, throw sparklers, hang disco balls, and peer into each other’s eyes. Everything in nature is dead, but we’re not, and we want physical proof that we’re vital and alive and staring down another year together.
We go to parties, bars and clubs on December 31 seeking that feeling of the relief and ecstasy at being alive. But the sense comfort, safety, and joy that come from staying in on New Year’s Eve is just as fitting. The main activities of New Year’s Eve: drinking, thinking about stuff, and waiting, actually do not demand that you leave your house. You can, of course. But just know—you don’t have to.
Inside: radiators, candles, blankets, $12.99 wine from Trader Joe’s.
Outside: Seventeen-dollar mixed drinks, a sticky-looking man-boy named Kyle who sidles up to you and says, “You seem feisty!”
Inside: People you invited, music you chose, toilets whose cleanliness you can vouch for personally.
Outside: A woman in a sequined mini sits on a curb sobbing, pausing to hiccup.
“I actually usually stay at home because I find the expectation of the night too overwhelming,” says Nicole, a 29-year-old who lives in the UK. “The fact that everybody is out and trying to find the perfect party is really anxiety inducing for me.” Instead, she’ll drink, dance, and watch the ball drop at home, with family. “Sounds boring maybe, but at least I know I won’t be fighting my anxiety in overcrowded spaces,” she says. “And at the end of the day I am spending it with people I love in a chill way.”
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