7 Ways to Celebrate the New Year, Your Way – New Year’s Eve is a polarizing day. Some people love the glitz, glamor, and fanfare… They buy sparkly outfits and look forward to celebrating with friends, family, or even strangers at a party. Others see the whole thing as a tremendous waste of time and money. After all, have you ever tried to get an Uber home on New Year’s Eve? The surge pricing is ridiculous!
Still, it would be hard to deny that there’s a certain electricity in the air at 11:59 pm on December 31. The countdown to a new year marks the transition between past and future… between what is certain and what lays ahead for us to discover and create.
Whether you’re a longtime fan of New Year’s Eve or not, challenge yourself to take ownership of your experience as we head into 2025. What would maximize your enjoyment and set you up for success as you close this chapter and look to the next?
1. Host a vision board party. Take a break from office holiday parties and school celebrations to bring your friends together for something a bit different. Ask everyone to bring old magazines (and maybe a bottle of wine or potluck dish) and provide a poster board for each person. Throughout the evening, the group cuts and pastes photos and words on their boards before presenting them to the room as a visual representation of their desires for the year ahead. If you want, you can even suggest that people buddy up for accountability throughout the year.
2. Make a (fun) resolution. Did you know that only 9% of Americans actually complete their New Year’s resolutions? With 2024’s most common aims being things like “improve fitness,” “improve finances,” and “lose weight,” it’s not difficult to see why. Those goals sound like chores (and who wants to do chores?). Release some of that pressure. Instead, what can you commit to that will infuse more joy into your life? Maybe you set a resolution to go see a movie at the theater once per month. Perhaps you lean into the ritual of a skincare routine and resolve to luxuriate in that time for yourself each day. Choose a resolution that feels more like a treat than a punishment, and observe the difference it makes to how you feel starting the year.
3. Create a time capsule. This is such an easy activity, but one that you’ll cherish forever. Grab an old jar (the size is up to you) and label it “2025.” As the year goes forward, use it as your repository for small tokens that mean something to you – maybe concert tickets, a hotel key from that fabulous vacation you took, or one of your kid’s assignments that received great feedback from the teacher. At the end of the year, have your family members fill out questionnaires (you can find templates online) about the highlights of the year that just passed, and you go through and reminisce about the great moments you had. If you do this for enough years in a row, going through the lineup of time capsules can become its own holiday tradition.
4. Spend some time reflecting. December is always such a hectic time of the year. Between parties, gift shopping, end-of-year work deliverables, and family time, it’s easy to get sucked into the vortex and end up exhausted by the end of the month. As much as you can, try to carve out time for yourself in the midst of all the activity. Grab a journal or reflection and planning resource like Year Compass and park yourself in a cafe for an hour or two.
5. Create a special drink and toast to you. Even if you’re not a fan of alcohol, there’s just something about the ritual of crafting a cocktail. Muddling limes, using a shaker, slicing a ribbon of fruit for garnish… all to produce a beautiful and delicious concoction. Find a recipe (Instagram or TikTok are great sources!) that appeals to you and make your own signature drink—alcohol is not required!—to toast with as you welcome in the new year.
6. Revisit your goals. Do you remember what your New Year’s resolution was for 2024? Even if you lost your motivation months ago, see if you can incorporate even an element of it as the year comes to a close. If your goal is to get in better shape, schedule a fitness class to boost your energy. If you had resolved to read a certain number of books, ditch the guilt of not accomplishing it and set aside time to complete just one more. End the year on a high note.
7. Be a bit unorthodox. While the societal emphasis is on 11:59 pm on December 31, not everyone is a night owl, and that’s okay! There’s no law that says you must celebrate the turn of the year at the turn of the year. If even just the thought of staying up until midnight makes you feel sleepy, consider other options. Maybe you take yourself out to lunch (it’s much easier to get last-minute reservations then, by the way) or buy a metallic workout set for your morning gym session. This is your new year. Ring it in however works best for you.
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