Three cool ways to see in New Year, Spain style

The festivities come thick and fast this time of year, which suits Spain just fine.

Yes, we know it is not even Christmas yet, but as the Festive Season cranks into gear, it can be easy to put off making a decision about New Year’s Eve until, well… until it’s too late and it’s just you, the TV and the distant sound of people having fun for company…

Luckily, if you live – or will be – in Spain this New Year’s Eve, you can bet your bottom euro that there will be a party or three within easy stumbling distance to enjoy. That’s the great thing about being an expat: you’ve always got a ready-made bubble of friends just waiting to let their hair down.

But it’s the waiting that can prove problematic. Much like the paralysis of crowds, it can sometimes be too easy to fall into the trap of thinking “somebody else will arrange something”, which can often lead to disappointment all round. So why not take the (metaphorical) bull by the horns this year and do something a little different?

Here are three Spanish-flavoured New Year’s ideas to get the party started and see in 2017 with a bang…

12 lucky grapes, wine-style
Wine is made with grapes. Grapes are eaten by Spaniards on the cusp of midnight, New Year’s Eve, to bring luck. Did we say wine is made with grapes? You can see where this is going. 12 grapes with every chime of the clock at midnight is the tradition, and so why not mix things up a bit by taking 12 sips of wine instead? That’s enough for about half a glass, and you will probably already be two or three bottles deep by that point, so who’s counting?

Right on into the New Year
In many parts of Spain it is held that to start the year on the right foot, you have to literally start the year on the right foot – so as the clock chimes midnight, your first step forward should be with the right foot. Got it? Good. Now let’s get creative. How about that right foot leaps you from poolside to pool at a private house party? Or takes you over the threshold into a limousine waiting to whisk you to a fancy nightclub? Or maybe it is even the step you take towards the stereo to crank out Auld Lang Syne? Whatever you do with that first step, plan ahead and make it a memorable one!

Do it twice!
Thanks to Spain’s curious timezone, the country is one hour ahead of its neighbour, Portugal. So if you’re feeling adventurous and full of the party spirit, why not celebrate New Year’s at midnight in Spain, and then again an hour later in Portugal? The easiest way to do this of course is to wait at the border, but that could be boring. Instead, you can see in 2017 Spain-style in the western town of Badajoz, before grabbing the designated driver and scooting the 25-minute drive west over the border to the Portuguese village of Elvas, where (all being well) it will be 11.30pm when you arrive, and you can tell the locals that you come from the future*.

*You may have to be drunk for this part.