Flying Out on New Year's Day Morning

New Year's Eve celebrations in Sweden, like most places, run late — fireworks around midnight, gatherings that continue well past it. If your flight is early on 1 January, the gap between finishing the evening and needing to be dressed and out the door can be uncomfortably short, and tiredness plus a late night is a reliable way to sleep through an alarm or lose track of time.

Set your booking as early as you reasonably can, both in terms of how far ahead you book it and how early the pickup time is relative to your flight. A pickup time that feels generous when you plan it on 28 December will feel a lot more necessary at 6am on 1 January after a short night.

There's no night surcharge, so booking an early-morning pickup on New Year's Day doesn't cost more than the same trip at a normal hour — the fixed price is the fixed price, whatever time you're picked up.

The most reliable way to avoid missing an early New Year's Day flight isn't clever — it's mechanical. Set two alarms, on two separate devices if you can, ideally one across the room so you have to get up to stop it. Lay out what you're wearing and pack your bag the day before, not that morning, so a groggy 6am doesn't involve decisions.

• Set two alarms on separate devices, not two alarms on the same phone
• Pack the night before — nothing to find or decide at 6am
• Be ready at the door for your pickup time rather than finishing up when the driver arrives

Once it's booked, the driver's name, phone number and licence plate are sent before pickup, so there's nothing to figure out or double-check on a groggy morning — you know who's coming and what car to look for. If your flight is delayed, that's tracked too, though for an early New Year's Day departure the bigger risk is almost always the night before, not the flight itself.