Sincerely, Saskia

New Year’s Eve has garnered itself quite the reputation as the holiday to beat. We dress to the nines, scramble to make plans, pay through the nose and queue for clubs we didn’t even know existed.

Most of the time I refuse to partake in any such rituals, instead opting for something more off the beaten path. However, with 2024 being so good to us (personally not societally), my best friend and I decided to say goodbye to the year in style – albeit lowkey. Yes, we dressed to the nines, but we kept it simple: dinner at an intimate Soho restaurant and then off to Lambeth Bridge to scream into the Thames at midnight and watch the fireworks go off. Home by 2 AM easy.

Why spend New Year’s Eve screaming into the Thames?

One year we stayed in a cabin built into a cliff in Cornwall and when the clock struck midnight, we screamed into the ocean all the things we wanted to leave behind that year. If you’ve never done it, I highly recommend it, the catharsis is a thing of beauty.

As pure as our lowkey intentions were, we failed to consider the other three million people in London, who for some reason all had the same idea of scrambling into central, roaming the streets and getting in our merry way.

As we started walking to Lambeth in the freezing wind – making it a struggle – things started to take a bit of a turn. The rowdiness of New Year’s Eve – something I hadn’t experienced in years – hits different when you have absolutely no intention of talking to anyone that isn’t the person you came with.

Suddenly every guy who walked past was looking for someone to kiss at midnight and decided to use my breasts as a conversation starter. People were getting less patient with the people walking slowly in front of them. The groups of police on the street were getting larger and that bloody wind was getting louder and more forceful that I could have sworn at one point that I took flight – but then again, that could have been the Tequila.

Suddenly, it dawned on us. We don’t actually have to be here and we most certainly didn’t have to put up with being followed by a guy, holding my boa as hostage until I gave him my number – which I absolutely did not in case you were wondering.

We had a gorgeous meal, a lively walk around central and basked in our own hilarity and love for one another. Plus, if we’re being honest, with the amount of seafood we ate we were ready to go home before the cheque even came.

We were on the train by 11:13 PM in the company of everyone else who decided they wanted to start the new year as they meant to go on, and for many, that did not include freezing their arse off in Lambeth, getting elbowed from every angle in the crowd and then pouring themselves into a cramped and sweaty night tube with a bunch of drunks.

Which, is reasonable if you ask me.

As my best friend was half falling asleep on my shoulder on the train, it made me realise that moments like this are more important than ever. As we grow older and step into our own, we need to be able to say no, to not be disappointed by our choices but instead to embrace them, regardless of what it looks like from the outside.

New Year’s Eve emits this pressure to make it fabulous and insta-worthy and memorable. Of course, it doesn’t have to be that deep – outside of divine intervention, we have plenty of new years to celebrate in whatever way we see fit. The pressure of New Year’s Eve, however, has the ability to make us feel like we have to ‘do it for the plot’ or for the crazy photos or the memories that you’ll spend the next week desperately trying to forget. Truth is, you can make it home before the clock hits midnight, toast your friends and family and still feel like you ended the new year on a high note.

Relieving yourself of the pressure to impress or join in with the forced fun is liberating, and something we could all see to put into practice more in all aspects of our lives.

However you chose to spend your New Year’s Eve, I hope you’re spending the first day of 2025 practicing gratitude for the things you love in your life, going easy on yourself and instead of making those dreaded New Year’s resolutions that you’re making plans to get the most out of what’s to come – whatever that may be.

Happy New Year, everyone!