NEW YEAR’S EVE IN ITALY: 9 ALTERNATIVE IDEAS

PARTIES, FOOD AND SOME TIPS FOR 2021 RESOLUTIONS

This year, the year of the global pandemic caused by the spread of Covid 19, we need a good dose of nostalgia as well as hope to be able to talk about end-of-year celebrations.

In fact, it will not be possible to celebrate as usual with parties, trips and big events.

However let’s see how we usually celebrate New Year’s Eve in Italy and what are the possible alternatives that we have thought for you to greet this weird year and welcome the new one.

NEW YEAR’S EVE AT THE ITALIAN “PIAZZA”

Whether you plan it a month before or at the very last minute, every Italian loves to celebrate the New Year's Eve holding a flute of Prosecco wine waiting for the countdown.

New Year’s Eve is an opportunity to meet up with friends and family, go to restaurants and go dancing. That's the time of the year when we love to dress up for the party and allow ourselves an extra glass of excellent wine.

After Christmas dinner, many people decide to wait until midnight at the local piazza (square) and almost every Italian city organizes live music and entertainment for the young and the old. Each square decorated with Christmas lights, becomes the gathering place to be.

At the stroke of midnight the usual ritual with toasts and fireworks to welcome the new year starts.

Music, dancing and fireworks are the pillars of New Year’s Eve at the local piazza, a truly Italian ritual.

THE NEW YEAR’S TABLE

The table of the Italian New Year deserves a separate discussion. December 31 is in fact one of the most anticipated moments of the year to taste special dishes and gourmet served on wonderful sparkling tables.

Whether at home or at the restaurant, the menus can range from fish (the most popular) to meat or vegetarian choices. Despite the different traditions of each Italian family, in the north as in the south, we can note the six recurring culinary symbols for the last day of the year:

• Lentils. They are a Symbol of prosperity and good luck for the new year, lentils are accompanied with meat or as a side dish for other main courses
• Tortellini the typical hand made pasta filled with meat or veg and cooked in meat broth
• Cotechino it's a kind of preboiled pork sausage  In northern Italy they use to offer it as a gift at Christmas time

• The gastronomic panettone, a semi-sweet brioche bread, divided into different layers and filled with shrimp cream, salmon cream, asparagus cream and goat cheese
• Fish, whether shrimps in pink sauce, scallops in their shells or lobster. A touch of fish on the table makes New Year’s Eve very chic
• The Italian sparkling wine or the French champagne and just make a toast with nice bubbles.

Did we inspire you for a new menu?

NEW YEAR: 9 NEW IDEAS

New Year's Eve 2021 will look a lot different than last year's celebration. Instead of heading out for a night in town, many of us will be settling in for an evening on the couch.

Nevertheless the spirit of the Italians is full of hope and joy and we discovered alternative solutions to celebrate that we would like to share with you

1.  Dinner at home, but with a twist of class: prepare a nice menu that looks great! We also recommend lots of cozy candles lights

2.  Fireworks and candles: to feel united with others despite the distance

3. Dress up well: dress up and make up is a way to give value and increase the sense of well-being

4. Sharing is caring: helping people in need is good for everyone indeed!

5. Creative children: those who have children can develop creativity and relaxation with manual activities such as drawing, painting, collage and of course the kitchen!

6.New Year resolutions: it is the ideal time to burn the old and what we no longer want, and at the same time create space and time for new better habits. Writing a list of resolutions and dreams to come true at the beginning of the year helps to increase energy! A SMALL TIP: PLANNING YOUR NEXT SUMMER HOLIDAYS will keep your energy high!

7. In the mood for books: a good book can become your best friend or a good investment.

8. Bed times: "To rest is useful to work better" is a good affirmation for many people, even better if this mantra is combined with anti-stress cuddles

9.Nature powers: spend more time in nature, maybe having a walk or a yoga session, even in the park in the backyard. Why don’t you raise your glasses under a tree?

That’s how we roll this new year.

And now we are curious to know about how you celebrate this coming New Year’s Eve.

Which traditions are inevitable on the last day of the year?

Meanwhile we are waiting for you in one of our locations to enjoy the italian good life all year round and as always you can follow us with the hashtag #isulavibes on Instagram and Facebook