New Year's Eve 2023

New Year’s Eve is like the Rock Star of the Holidays! It is full of glitz and glamour, music and partying, and a huge kiss-worthy celebration at midnight.

Or it’s not.

For every person who parties like the former, there are scores of people who refuse.

New Year’s Eve is also a wonderful evening to spend safely tucked in at home. You can have a small get-together if you like, it’s fun to share the holiday with friends and neighbors, family and loved ones as you ring in a new year.

Foods can range from leftovers from Christmas week to appetizers and desserts since no one cares about a sit-down dinner on December 31^st.

But even if you hold up at home, alone, and want to honor this change of calendar, there is much to do if you care to participate.

If you have children who are too young to make it to midnight (or you yourself are), find celebrations in other parts of the world where it has turned midnight and 2023 has already arrived. Australia, Egypt, Germany, or anywhere that is in a time zone before ours. It’s an educational research project that can expand to HOW that country celebrates – traditions they observe, foods they eat, etc. – and allows for broadening of one’s horizons without leaving home. Plus, by celebrating before midnight comes here, you get to go to bed at a “decent” hour. Sounds like a Win Win!

With the end of a year, it is a great time to create a Time Capsule. Find a container that you don’t mind storing in your home that will be off limits for a few years or up to a decade. Fill it with a newspaper from December 31, 2022, and other ‘artifacts’ that are indicative of the times we’ve just lived. I don’t recommend putting in the latest iPhone, but you could throw in a defunct iPhone IV, other tech that doesn’t work but once did, and other items that show what was popular (posters, magazines, greeting cards), useful, and a part of YOUR life or that of your family’s. It’s a cool process to assemble a Time Capsule, and even more exciting to open it in the future. Just make sure you remember where you place it, so it doesn’t get lost forever.

Another way to honor the end of the year is to write a letter to your future self. It could start, “Dear Me in 2033”. You can include information of who you are now but can also encapsulate the hopes and dreams you have for your future. No one is too old for this project as having goals, hopes, and dreams keep us all motivated. The letter should be completely private, so you are totally honest with yourself. Let your mind wander and tap its most cherished dreams. Then, write it down so you can start working towards it. Powerful.

As for New Year’s Resolutions, I’m not a big fan. I know that most get forgotten by January 13, never to be tackled again until December 31^st when people think of the same hateful things – 1. Lose weight 2. Become a millionaire 3. Marry a millionaire…  And so on.

Perhaps you need to honor yourself in a different way. It needn’t be written down, but it can be. Forgive yourself. Yes, as a new year dawns, go into it free of self-loathing. Instead of telling yourself to Lose Weight, simply tell yourself to look in the mirror and love yourself. Then, make a small decision that you can manage like, walk 10 minutes more per day. That’s it, just walk. By the end of January, you’ll be feeling more energetic and want to add more time to that. You’ll start making better food choices – no food after 7p, especially junk food. Or, add an apple or veggies to meal.

Baby steps, lifestyle changes, nothing drastic that leaves one feeling deprived. It’s about feeling better about yourself NOW, not when you lose 30 pounds. Love who you are, forgive yourself the trespasses you feel you’ve done, and start 2023 with a renewed passion for YOU. Be kinder to yourself, be kinder to others, be accepting, and soon, your disposition will change for the better. Now that’s a New Year’s Resolution you can stick to!

Are you saddened that New Year’s Day means the end of the Christmas holidays? Do you abhor taking the Christmas tree down, undecorating your home, and having the absence of light?

Here are some recommendations. First, make undecorating the tree as festive as decorating it! Call some people up who you actually like to come over and help with this tedious chore. Offer beer and pizza, Chinese take-out and wine, or simply Christmas cookies and hot cocoa. They’ll appreciate getting out of their house, and with your task, many hands make for light work, and then you are left with the chore finished.

Let’s tackle the absence of (artificial) light. If you love the home decorated with lights, leave some up! Or, buy some now with the deep discounts at the stores (already 70% off or more in many locations) and put some up in your living room, dining room, bedroom, or kitchen. It’s YOUR HOME, decorate it the way you want.

Create a winter scene post-Christmas with snowflake ornaments and white twinkling lights. For Valentine’s Day, put up heart ornaments and red lights. The possibilities are endless and will help brighten the dark winter that lay ahead.

The New Year’s celebrations are waiting to be had; however, you want to observe them. And, although Christmas is ending for 2022, it is never over. Christmas is a year-round season and feeling if you allow it to be.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year 2023 and best to you all year long!