I’m officially exhausted…and then someone asks me, what’s up for New Year’s?

New Year’s eve…I’ve got to be honest; I have a love-hate relationship with this holiday; I give it an eye roll every year. For me, by the time I have finished preparing and celebrating Christmas, the last thing I feel like doing is celebrating another holiday. I can’t fathom the idea of more eating and drinking unless, of course, it’s a glass of champagne.

Spending New Year’s on my own sounds depressing, yet spending it with (no offence) my married friends seems slightly worse. My sons are older now and are doing their own thing…there’s NO way I’ll be able to convince them to hang with me and eat fondue.

I looked into escaping the entire holiday, only to find a further depressing price tag to fly or stay anywhere. What to do….could stick my head in the sand and hope it would all just go away….even as I write this, I can feel the anxiety building.

I used to love New Year’s.

In my 20s, planning the last night of the year was such an event. Even more, fun was shopping for the perfect “sparkly” outfit and phoning (pre-internet) to see who was having the best New Year’s party. First and foremost, you couldn’t have one without the other. It wasn’t until I had young children that the evening took on an entirely different tone, which is to say, a family evening. Gone was the “sparkly” dress replaced with stylish winter attire.

sigh…

I have a couple of favourite New Year’s memories, neither involved a party or children but instead,  a lovely romantic dinner for two. Both were with different people, and I remember them vividly. However, there is something to be said about a quiet evening for two. Although, when the clock strikes midnight, I find myself searching for a dance floor. I guess I’m still that 20-something girl at heart.

I love a New Year’s done well. It could be a party with close friends and family, an intimate dinner for two, or a full-out celebration giving me an excuse to shop for yet another “sparkly” dress…there are no exceptions.

New Year’s Eve is as mysterious as the coming year; I’m hoping that all of my ideas, plans and resolutions will make it easier for me to say goodbye to 2017. I know, I’m putting too much thought into a holiday that most people wish would disappear. But, it is significant, you wouldn’t send your best friend off to the airport alone, so I am giving this year (a good friend) a grand send-off, with or without the “sparkly” dress and hopefully with good friends to join me.

LC