Celebrate New Year's Eve sustainably

Due to the current pandemic situation, this year's New Year's Eve party will be a bit smaller for many. No more hours of queuing outside your favorite club, over-the-top house parties, or firecracker slalom through the city center. The fireworks ban is a first step toward protecting animals and the environment. In this article, we'll tell you how you can make the turn of the year even more sustainable and celebrate New Year's Eve sustainably !

As beautiful as the colorful lights in the sky are with which we welcome the New Year, fireworks, rockets and firecrackers are unfortunately not good for the environment. According to calculations, around 2,050 tons of fine dust are released into the air every year on December 31st, contributing to the high levels of particulate matter in inner cities. This particulate matter is not only harmful to our health but also pollutes the climate. Furthermore, the loud bangs are a major burden for many wild and domestic animals. But people who have undergone traumatic experiences, such as war refugees, also suffer particularly on this day of the year. You can find out more about why we should rethink the fireworks tradition in general in our article from last year.

We prove to you that it doesn't always have to be firecrackers and rockets with which we welcome the New Year with this firework replacement :

• Confetti is a wonderful way to start the new year. Simply use some scrap paper and a hole punch to make your own eco-friendly confetti. Even better, though, is seed confetti , which you can use to help new wildflowers and plants grow in no time.
• If you don't want to miss out on the wonderful lights that come with fireworks, we have a few wonderful tips for you. Simply place lanterns in colorful glasses around the house and torches in the garden. A bonfire, a fire barrel, a so-called Swedish fire, or a fire bowl also create a wonderful atmosphere outdoors. A great idea: everyone writes their wish for the coming year on a piece of paper and together you throw it into the blazing flames (hoping, of course, that their wish will come true).
• The idea of ​​using firecrackers to chase away last year's evil spirits can also be implemented in a more environmentally friendly way. Simply grab a few pots, pans, and wooden spoons and drive them away with a lot of noise at midnight. Of course, be mindful of your neighbors and pets.
• The money saved on fireworks and the like can also be put to good use. A great option is the "Bread Not Firecrackers" initiative from the organization Bread for the World, where you can donate money to people in need.
• Another alternative is the " Trees instead of firecrackers" initiative. Instead of investing in New Year's Eve fireworks, you can invest in forest shares and thus support the development of so-called climate forests.

But besides fireworks, there are a few other things that can be done more sustainably on New Year's Eve . We've listed them below, along with some of the sustainability alternatives.

Of course, it's nice to decorate your home appropriately and get into the festive spirit. But you can safely avoid the temptations of current decorating trends in retail stores, and disposable decorations like plastic streamers, marzipan pigs, and balloons aren't necessary. Instead, simply craft your own eco-friendly festive decorations ! You can make fantastic streamers and garlands from recycled paper, and tea lights, as well as natural elements like natural stone, pine cones, and plants, add the perfect touch.

After decorating the table appropriately for this special evening, it's time to enjoy a delicious meal! Unfortunately, New Year's Eve classics like raclette or cheese or meat fondue aren't at all environmentally friendly. With a few simple tips, you can easily make these dishes sustainable.

• Skip the meat, fish, and sausage on New Year's Eve and prepare a vegetarian raclette with delicious vegetables. Make it vegan with a vegan cheese substitute.
• Ideally, look for organic, regional and seasonal products.
• There are now also wonderful vegan alternatives to cheese. You can find a recipe for a delicious vegan cheese fondue here .
• You can also buy organic drinks to accompany your meal , whether it's beer, wine, or soda.
• The sparkling wine for toasting doesn't necessarily have to come from France. There are also wonderful regional sparkling wines from Germany. Make sure to use a cork stopper instead of a plastic one.
• Avoid using plastic or paper dishes for your New Year's Eve dinner. If you don't have enough at home, simply ask your guests to bring their own dishes and glasses.
• Instead of using plastic straws, opt for sustainable reusable drinking straws made of glass, bamboo, or stainless steel.
• Disposable napkins can also be wonderfully replaced with chic cloth napkins .

Okay, so the food and decorations are already taken care of, and we've already found plenty of alternatives for the fireworks. Now the only question is how to spend the time until midnight. But we also have some great ideas for your New Year's Eve!

Lead pouring has long been considered questionable. The fumes that arise when the lead is melted are harmful to health and can impair the central nervous system and intelligence. In 2018, the maximum permitted lead content was set at 0.3 percent. Previously, it was up to 71 percent! But lead pouring isn't a hit on the environment. A more sustainable alternative is candle wax pouring . You can simply melt down candle remnants and interpret the resulting figures. Reading coffee grounds is also a good way to predict what the next year will hold for you. Simply boil some coffee and put the coffee grounds on a saucer. You can then read the future from the various figures on the inside of the cup.

Homemade fortune cookies are also a great and sustainable way to use oracles. Baking them is super easy. All you need is:

• 90 milliliters of water
• 100 grams of flour
• 20 grams of soy flour
• 140 grams of powdered sugar
• a pinch of salt
• some ground vanilla
• Sayings or messages on small pieces of paper

Blend the ingredients into a smooth batter and then place circular blobs onto the baking paper or silicone baking mat. Bake the baking sheet in the oven at 150°C (300°F) for about 15 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. Place the note with the personalized message in the center of the circles and carefully fold the still-soft cookies in half. Use the rim of a glass to press the ends of the cookies together to give them their typical shape. Let the cookies harden completely, then distribute them, and enjoy the reactions!

New Year's Eve doesn't always have to be a big party. Especially this year, when social gatherings are limited to a maximum of ten households and the pandemic situation is still very tense. So simply spend the last evening of the year at home with a few friends and host a delicious meal . Everyone specializes in one course. Another option is an open buffet , where everyone simply prepares their own specialty and you can snack on it all evening.

Of course, New Year's Eve can also be celebrated in an even smaller group with family. Why not try out the games you received for Christmas, classics like Taboo, or a thrilling murder mystery dinner?

Spend a romantic evening with your partner! Prepare a delicious dinner, turn up the music, or snuggle up to your favorite movie. Starting the new year like this can sometimes feel quite calm and relaxed.

The ultimate challenge: spending New Year's Eve alone. While most people have been planning for weeks, you can simply make a conscious decision to spend the New Year with yourself . This will relieve you of the stress and pressure of making this evening something truly special. Just approach New Year's Eve in a relaxed manner, eat a delicious meal, wear a mask, run a bath, and read an exciting book. To prepare for the new year, you can also simply think about your resolutions for 2022. You can find some ideas for sustainable New Year's resolutions here .

Many people are also spending this New Year's Eve involuntarily alone at home in quarantine . But that's no reason to despair! You can still spend a lovely evening with your loved ones at another time. However, it's best to avoid getting lost in Instagram stories on New Year's Eve and dejectedly following other people's experiences. Look forward to the evening in a relaxed manner, make yourself comfortable at home, and arrange a relaxing video call with your loved ones.

You can find more great international traditions for your New Year's Eve in this article here . How about, for example, a Spanish-style New Year's Eve, where you eat a grape every twelve strokes of midnight. If you manage to do that, you'll have a year full of luck, and we could all probably use that. A sustainable form of fortune-telling is also celebrated in the Czech Republic. There, people cut an apple in half and read the future from the apple's shell. A shell in the shape of a star represents good luck, while a cross-shaped shell unfortunately brings bad luck for the new year.

No matter how you spend New Year's Eve this year, try to be environmentally friendly and try out some more sustainable and often cheaper alternatives. Maybe you can even start Veganuary right on January 1st! Of course, be sure to follow applicable hygiene rules at your party, dinner, or cozy evening, and play it safe instead of starting the new year in quarantine.

With these words, we wish you all a happy new year!