10 unique New Year’s Eve ideas for couples
Treehouse, igloo, night train or an all-white living room: ten places to celebrate as a couple, and a game for each.
What can you do on New Year’s Eve as a couple?
Pick a place out of the ordinary, or transform your living room. Plan the evening in a few steps, from dinner to the countdown. Then play until midnight: one phone set down between you is all you need.
New Year’s Eve is the dinner and the party on the evening of 31 December, until the new year begins at midnight; in Scotland, it’s Hogmanay. For two, it needs no crowd and no big table: a place, a plan and a game.
For the other nights of the year: our romantic date night at home ideas.
The top 10
10 unusual places to spend New Year’s Eve as a couple
Most guides tell you where to go. This one also tells you what to do once you’re there: a tip, and a game to take along.
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A treehouse in the woods
A ladder, a wooden door, and the forest all to yourselves. On the 31st, night falls early: the evening starts by lamplight, under the branches.
Good to know
Arrive before nightfall, so you don’t have to climb the ladder in the dark with your bags.
The game to take along
It’s played on a single phone, no table needed: two choices, one debate.
Play Would You Rather -
A bubble dome under the stars
A bed, a clear wall, and the sky for a ceiling. At midnight, you count down the seconds with your heads in the stars.
Good to know
Give your eyes at least 15 minutes to adjust to the dark, away from any screen: play first, then switch off and look up.
Source: Royal Museums Greenwich
The game to take along
Side by side under the sky, you talk: one question about your year, then the screen goes dark.
Draw a question -
A night in a dark sky park
In 2009, Galloway Forest Park, in Scotland, became one of the world’s first International Dark Sky Parks: on a clear night, over 7,000 stars and planets can be seen with the naked eye. Starting the year under that sky is a story you’ll keep telling.
Good to know
A winter night outdoors takes some preparation: several thinner layers can keep you warmer than one thick one.
Source: Forestry and Land Scotland; UK Health Security Agency
The game to take along
The sky does the rest: romantic questions, drawn one at a time.
Couple questions -
An igloo or an ice hotel room
Walls of snow, a blue light and the deep silence of the mountains. The kind of night you’ll still be talking about ten years from now.
Good to know
Wear several thin layers, and keep the phone for the game close to your body: the cold drains its battery faster.
Source: UK Health Security Agency
The game to take along
To warm up: dares that bring you closer, truths to tell under the blanket.
Play Truth or Dare -
A mountain hut
A door you push open after the walk, a stove, a wooden table and peaks all around. Midnight comes in the silence, far from everything.
Good to know
Before you set off, read the local avalanche forecast: in Scotland, the Scottish Avalanche Information Service, run by sportscotland, gives a daily forecast for six of the most popular mountain areas. There may be no signal on the way, and our online games need a connection.
The game to take along
It fills a whole evening: a board, a die, hearts to win, and a Long game made to last “all night long”.
Play Lovely Party
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A lighthouse keeper’s cottage
The beam sweeping the sea, the wind against the windows, and the two of you at the end of the world. The lighthouse keeps watch; you play.
Good to know
If the way there crosses a causeway or a beach, check the tide times first: rising water can quickly cut you off, HM Coastguard warns.
Source: HM Coastguard
The game to take along
In a few questions, you find out what kind of duo you are, and the result suggests an idea for the evening.
Take the couple quiz -
A narrowboat or a houseboat
Water lapping under the floor, lights along the bank, and a deck to watch the city’s fireworks from.
Good to know
Ask first whether the boat will be cruising or staying moored for the night.
The game to take along
Your two names on the wheel, dares that heat up gently, and a joker to skip one.
Spin the wheel -
A night train
Midnight on the move: stations slip by, the berth sways, and you see in the new year between two cities.
Good to know
From London, sleeper trains run to Scotland (the Caledonian Sleeper) and to Cornwall (the Night Riviera): check that yours runs on the night of the 31st, and set an alarm for 11:59pm. There may be no signal on the way, and our online games need a connection.
Source: National Rail
The game to take along
You tap “Me” or “You” without waking the whole train.
Play Most Likely To -
A yurt or a shepherd’s hut
A crackling stove, rugs, wood or canvas all around: the warmest party of the year, in a single room.
Good to know
You can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, so you can’t tell it’s there: keep the room well ventilated, check for a carbon monoxide alarm, and never use a barbecue or camping stove inside.
Source: NHS
The game to take along
By the stove, questions that go from sweet to spicy.
Spicy questions -
At home, transformed
Your living room, Copacabana-style: the two of you in white, as on Rio’s beach, twelve grapes for the twelve chimes, as in Madrid, and arms crossed for “Auld Lang Syne”, as in Scotland.
Good to know
Pull the twelve grapes off the bunch before midnight, so you’re not hunting for them on the first chime.
Source: Agência Brasil; esMadrid; University of Edinburgh
The game to take along
A wish on each chime of midnight, then Lovely Party until dawn.
Play the 12 grapes
New Year’s Eve in numbers
One dot, 10,000 people. Two hearts, your night.
City of Rio, via Agência Brasil, 1 January 2026; French Ministry of the Interior, 31 December 2025; City of Sydney, night of 31 December 2024
Do New Year’s resolutions work?
Yes, when you make one. Even more so when it aims at a goal.
With a resolution46%
No resolution, but wanting to change4%
A goal to reach58.9%
Something to stop47.1%
26 hours
That’s how long the new year takes to travel around the Earth, from the planet’s first time zone to its last. On our world tour, Sydney gets the party started at 1pm UK time, and New York wraps it up at 5am.
Calculated from the time zones, from the first (UTC+14) to the last (UTC−12).
Did you know?
Nine months after the festive season
In England and Wales, 8 of the 10 most common birthdays fall at the end of September: more babies are conceived in the weeks around Christmas.
In gold, the festive season; in pink, September.
On the 31st
Midnight around the world, in UK time
Eight midnights to celebrate as a couple, at home or away: each stop has its tradition, and a game ready to play on a phone set down between you. On the US East Coast, each time is five hours earlier.
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1pmUK time
Midnight in Sydney
One of the planet’s first big fireworks displays lights up Sydney Harbour, watched by up to a million people, according to the City of Sydney.
For two: send each other the first question of the evening, to think about all afternoon.
Draw a question -
8pmUK time
Midnight in Dubai
The fireworks go off from Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and dozens of other shows light up across the emirate.
Dubai Media Office, 2022; Dubai Media Office, 2025
For two: take turns telling the best moment of your year, then warm up with Would You Rather.
Play Would You Rather -
9pmUK time
Midnight in Istanbul
In Turkey, New Year’s Eve has its own big draw: the special New Year draw of the national lottery, Milli Piyango.
For two: the jackpot, without the money. Lovely Party, the long game, and your hearts to win square after square.
Play Lovely Party -
10pmUK time
Midnight in Athens
The vasilopita, the New Year cake, hides a lucky coin. On New Year’s Day, people break a pomegranate on the doorstep.
For two: a coin under one of three glasses. Whoever finds it picks the next question about your year.
Draw a question -
11pmUK time
Midnight in Madrid
At the Puerta del Sol, Madrid eats twelve grapes for luck, one on each chime of the clock. Four warning tolls come first, just enough time to rescue the grape that rolled away.
For two: Madrid shows you how, and your grapes wait for midnight. Until then, the last dare of the year, on the wheel.
Spin the wheel -
12amUK time
Midnight in the UK
In London, Big Ben’s bongs ring in the new year, then fireworks light up the sky around the London Eye, for around 100,000 people along the Thames. In Scotland, it’s Hogmanay: people join hands, arms crossed, to sing “Auld Lang Syne”, then friends come through the door with coal or shortbread for luck: that’s first-footing.
London City Hall, 2026; VisitScotland; University of Edinburgh
For two: the 12 grapes, a wish on each of Big Ben’s bongs, then arms crossed for “Auld Lang Syne”.
Play the 12 grapes -
3amUK time
Midnight in Rio
Dressed in white, people jump seven little waves for Iemanjá, making a wish; last New Year’s Eve, 2.6 million people were on Copacabana beach.
Agência Brasil, 2023; Agência Brasil, 2026
For two, if you’re still up: the dice, a move and a spot with every roll.
Roll the dice -
5amUK time
Midnight in New York
Since 1907, a glowing ball has been lowered over Times Square to mark midnight.
For two, when you wake up: the first challenge of the year.
See the challenge
At midnight, a game for two
The 12 grapes: a wish or a dare for each chime of midnight
In Spain, people eat a grape on each of the twelve chimes of midnight, for good luck. Here, each grape hides a wish for two: tap one on each chime. (esMadrid)
Make the wish right away, before the next chime. You can also play before midnight, for practice.
The 12 wishes of the game
- A kiss, right here, right now.
- A compliment you’ve never paid me.
- A weekend just for the two of us: pick the month.
- A place to discover together this year.
- A dish to cook together in January.
- A twelve-second hug, without a word.
- A habit to pick up together this year.
- A dance, even without music.
- A small promise, said out loud.
- A date to put in both your phones tonight.
- A memory from the year that’s just ended, to keep forever.
- Happy New Year: one last kiss, a longer one.
Your year in review, for two
At dinner, one question per course; with dessert, the ones about the year ahead; and the shortest ones for the countdown.
The year in review, for two
Draw a question
In three words, how would you describe our year?
Deck finished
You’ve been through this whole theme. Shuffle, or keep the evening going with your names in the Lovely Couple space.
Lovely Couple
Read the question out loud and take turns answering. You can always pass.
Questions to look back on the year as a couple
For dinner, one per course: the twelve months you’ve just lived through, the good moments and the surprises.
- In three words, how would you describe our year?
- What happened to us this year that you didn’t see coming?
- Open your photos: which picture from this year would you show me first?
- What turned out easier than expected this year?
- Which month would you cross off the calendar, and which one would you happily live again?
- Which new face came into our life this year?
- Which day this year deserved to be a public holiday, just for us?
- Which meal this year still makes your mouth water?
- Which conversation this year really mattered to you?
- Which little pleasure from this year do you want to take into the next?
Questions to laugh about your year
The year’s blooper reel, to slip in between two serious questions.
- If we made a blooper reel of our year, which scene would come first?
- What did we buy this year that turned out to be completely useless?
- Which show did we binge way too fast this year?
- What award would you give me for this year, and in which category?
- Which resolution from last year was the first to go?
- What strange habit did you pick up this year?
- Finish the sentence: “Next year, I bet you’re going to…”
Questions for the year ahead
Concrete wishes, dates, plans for two: a way to talk about what’s next without big speeches.
- Finish the sentence: “In the year ahead, we’re going to…”
- Which date in the year ahead do you want us to block out tonight, just for us?
- Which place less than an hour away do you want us to discover in the new year?
- What would you like me to teach you in the year ahead?
- Which word do you want as our theme for the year ahead?
- What will you need from me over the next twelve months?
- Which friends do you want us to see more often next year?
- What would you like us to save up for next year?
- A year from today, how will you know it was a good year for us?
Questions for the last minutes of the year
Short ones, for the countdown: one answer each before the twelve chimes.
- One word for the year that’s ending, one for the year that’s starting?
- What are you leaving behind with this year, without regrets?
- What do you wish for me, for the year that’s beginning?
- Before the twelve chimes: what compliment do you want to pay me?
- Tomorrow, New Year’s Day: what do we do first?
Couple resolutions that stick
A couple’s resolution is a commitment you make together for the year ahead: a date night, a habit, a project. The strongest ones say what you’ll do, not what you’ll stop.
That’s what a team at Stockholm University found after following 1,066 people and their New Year’s resolutions for a year. One year on, 58.9% of those aiming for a goal said they had succeeded, compared with 47.1% of those trying to avoid or quit something. (Oscarsson et al., PLOS ONE, 2020)
Making a resolution already helps: at the University of Scranton, six months later, 46% of the people who had made one were still keeping it, compared with 4% of those who wanted to change without setting one. (Norcross et al., 2002)
And the timing is right: researchers at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania observed that Google searches for the word “diet”, gym visits and commitments to a goal all rise right after a fresh start on the calendar, such as a new year, a new month or a birthday. (Dai, Milkman and Riis, Management Science, 2014)
- Say it with an action verb: “we’ll have dinner, just the two of us, on the first Friday of the month” rather than “we’ll spend less time on our screens”.
- Give it a date or a rhythm, and put it in both your phones tonight.
- One or two are enough, chosen together.
Lovely Couple, also as an app
Lovely Couple is also available as an app, on iPhone and Android.
Frequently asked questions
What can you do on New Year’s Eve as a couple?
Pick a place out of the ordinary, such as a treehouse, a mountain hut or a night train, or transform your living room. Plan the evening in a few steps, then play until midnight: one phone set down between you is all you need. The 10 ideas on this page each come with a game to take along.
Where should you spend New Year’s Eve as a couple?
Somewhere all your own: a treehouse, a bubble under the stars, a mountain hut, a lighthouse keeper’s cottage, a narrowboat or a night train. Or at home, dressed in white as on Copacabana beach, with twelve grapes for the twelve chimes. Book with the place itself: this page gives you the ideas, and a game for each one.
How can you celebrate New Year’s Eve at home as a couple?
Change the rules, not the decor: turn the evening into a board game with Lovely Party, spin the dare wheel at midnight for the first dare of the year, and set a party dress code, even if you’re staying on the sofa.
What games can couples play on New Year’s Eve?
A game that lasts all evening on a single phone: in the Lovely Couple space, Lovely Party puts Truth or Dare, Would You Rather and Most Likely To on the same board, with a die and hearts to win. For a shorter game, no account needed: the Would You Rather game, or Most Likely To.
What are the New Year’s Eve traditions in the UK?
In London, Big Ben’s bongs ring in the new year, followed by fireworks around the London Eye. In Scotland, New Year’s Eve is Hogmanay: at midnight, people join hands to sing “Auld Lang Syne”, arms crossed, then first-footers bring gifts such as coal or shortbread for good luck. And on New Year’s Day, some brave the cold waters of the Firth of Forth for the Loony Dook.
What resolutions can couples make for the new year?
One or two, phrased as something to do together, with a date or a rhythm: dinner just for the two of you on the first Friday of the month, a walk on Sunday mornings. In a Stockholm University study, resolutions aimed at a goal held up better than those aimed at stopping something: 58.9% reported success after a year, compared with 47.1%.
What should you do at midnight on New Year’s Eve as a couple?
Count down the last seconds out loud, share a midnight kiss, then take turns making a wish for each other, glass in hand, with or without alcohol. For the twelve chimes, the 12 grapes on this page give you a wish on each one.
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