Opinion: A quiet end to 2017

It wasn't too long ago that New Year's Eve was an opportunity for me to stay out late with friends drinking beer and listening to loud music.

How things have changed.

On Sunday night, my husband and I decided we'd brave the crowds and attempt finding a table for dinner.

We went for a quick walk down The Strand and, while it was definitely busy, I surprisingly didn't see anywhere that looked like they'd have to turn people away.

It was nice to see a lot of people on picnic rugs at the waterfront listening to music and having a casual meal with their children, but this isn't exactly my sort of fun.

I prefer somewhere I can sit down with a drink and - no offence to the parents out there - avoid kids completely.

Instead, we picked a place and easily got a nice table next to a window and sat down to a delicious steak dinner.

At 9.30pm, the fireworks lit up the sky for an impressive show. There's nothing like a good fireworks display for marking a celebration.

Almost as soon as the lights had died down, the streets quickly filled with hordes of people heading back to their cars.

Within half an hour, everything was pretty quiet.

I finished my food, had a few glasses of beer, and left before 11am.

At home, I made a cup of tea, chucked on my dressing gown and sat down on my lawn to watch the second round of fireworks usher in the New Year.

Not the most exciting way to leave 2017, but nice in its way.

I would have loved to do something a bit more exciting, but with choices limited to bars or family events, my cup of tea was much more inviting.

At least I got a decent night's sleep.