When I was in my 20s, and even my early 30s, I never drank alone. It wasn’t a stance on my part or anything like that. I thought drinking alone was perfectly fine. I just never really felt an urge to do it. As a young person living in a city, I went out a lot and, as you can imagine, a lot of those nights out involved drinking, sometimes more than necessary. So on the nights that I stayed home, I just wanted to lay low and relax, alcohol-free. It was my time to recover and regroup, if you will. And it worked for me.
But now in my late-30s and still living in a city, it no longer works for me. By that I mean that drinking wine and eating takeout alone is my absolute favorite way to spend a Friday night.
I know some people might consider this a little sad, and maybe even a little unhealthy. And I understand why. Drinking alone can be an unhealthy thing, and there’s probably nothing more stereotypically pathetic than a late-30s single woman drinking alone in her apartment on a weekend night. My Friday (okay, and sometimes Saturday) night ritual does not fall into either one of those categories, though. In fact, if I had to call it anything, it would be an indulgence. Indeed, it’s such an indulgence that I occasionally find myself rearranging actual social plans just to make time for it.
But I’m guessing I haven’t convinced anyone of its greatness yet. So allow me to elaborate with 10 reasons wine and takeout Friday is my favorite thing ever.
It’s Totally Hygge
When I started to enjoy my weekend nights in, hygge — the Danish word for cozy deliciousness — wasn’t even a thing yet. But now that it is, I’ve realized that so much of what I love about takeout and wine nights in are their hyggeness. But only if you do them right. For me personally, that means lighting some candles, rolling up the shades for a view, putting music or Netflix on in the background, and, of course, changing into pajamas. And speaking of pajamas…
Drinking wine in pajamas is so much more comfortable than drinking wine in real clothes
Like, so much more comfortable. No further explanation needed.
It’s exactly what I need after a long week at work
While sometimes, yes, a long work week calls for blowing off steam at a happy hour full of loud ’80s music and even louder friends, at the end of most long weeks, when my eyes are glazed over and I can’t remember my email password even though it’s just my middle name (kidding!), what I really need to do is rest. Unwind. And not talk to anyone. At the same time, I still want to enjoy a few glasses of wine. Wine and takeout offers the best of both worlds.
I can fully savor my beverage
When I’m out at drinks with other people, there are so many distractions that it’s hard to really enjoy my wine — the aromas, the flavors, even the color. Home is the perfect setting to savor every aspect of it.
I don’t have to worry about getting a hangover
At home, there is no danger of getting pressured into drinking more than I want or accidentally drinking more than I want because I’m having so much fun that I lose track of my drinks. I know exactly when to cut myself off. Or maybe a better way of putting it is that I tail off naturally at exactly the right point. From there I put myself to bed, get plenty of sleep, and wake up the next morning feeling totally fabulous.
It’s productive and efficient
You know all of those errands you don’t get around to doing during the week because you were just too busy but you don’t really want to do them on the weekend because, well, it’s the weekend? You’d be amazed at how many of them you can accomplish on a Friday or Saturday night at home with wine. Even more amazing, though, is that when I do them on a Friday or Saturday night at home with wine it doesn’t feel as dreadful. No, in contrast, I feel like a ROCKSTAR because I did my laundry, responded to emails, paid bills, bought a dress for my brother’s wedding, AND picked out a new rug for my apartment all while I was at happy hour.
On nights when I’d rather putter around, wine is the perfect catalyst
Seriously, if “vegging out” had a picture in the dictionary, it would be a person drinking a glass of wine. I find that reds pair particularly well with writing, catching up on blogs, and watching reruns on Netflix; sparkling, in turn, is great for online shopping, text flirting, and updating various life bucket lists. I’m not much of a white drinker, unfortunately, so you’ll have to rely on others for guidance there.
Cooking with wine is fun, too
I admit I am a takeout fiend, so I use 99 percent of my wine nights in as an excuse to indulge in my favorite Indian food or sushi. With that said, I’ve experimented with cooking on those nights as well, and it’s just as enjoyable. It’s also grown up — I mean, chopping vegetables on the cutting board in between slow sips of Pinot Noir sounds so classy, doesn’t it? I just have to remind myself to do all of the cutting and dicing before I finish my first glass.
The (wine) world is my oyster
This is my corny way of saying that on a wine night at home, the selection is not limited to what’s on the bar menu. Nope, I can go to a wine store and pick out ANYthing I want.
Finally, falling asleep at the bar is totally fine
Because it’s MY COUCH.
