The author’s idea of New Year’s Eve bliss: an evening of Scrabble and Pomegranate Fizzes. Photograph by Jon Wunder.

For years I felt an enormous amount of pressure on New Year’s Eve to go out and have The Best Time Ever — and of course I never did. Now, thank goodness, I just don’t care. Heck, if I actually make it to midnight — I’m generally in bed by 10 p.m. and asleep by 10:02 — I consider it a successful evening. My ideal New Year’s Eve consists of staying home, roasting a chicken and playing Scrabble.

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This year, if I make it to the countdown, I’ll toast the end of 2014 with prosecco. I was never a big fan of champagne, and prosecco (or cava) is way cheaper — and it’s delicious. Plus, prosecco is great for mixing.

In the winter months I like to add a glug of pomegranate juice followed by a splash of club soda, and then toss in some pomegranate seeds for extra fun. The seeds float to the top and make the drink look all the more festive.

If you’re not a drinker (or if you’re serving kids), ginger ale mixed with pomegranate juice is super tasty, and if you pour it into a flute glass, chances are you’ll ward off those pesky people who pressure you to drink because it’s New Year’s Eve.

So here’s to 2015, the year (fingers crossed) that the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup, and Miss America gets her wish and we achieve world peace.

Naomi Major is a writer living in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan. You can find more of her writing at naomimajor.com.

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