The Stress of New Years Eve

I have mixed feelings about New Years Eve.

The night gets so hyped up on TV and in the media.  There are events everywhere with pictures of dressed up people smiling and drinking champagne.  Everyone always looks so happy ringing in the new year.

I’ve always felt this pressure to celebrate New Year’s Eve with others and to make a big production of the night.  Maybe you feel the same way.  Or maybe you are one of the lucky ones who have successfully avoided this pressure.  I am not.

I did the huge party celebrations when I was younger.  I remember big events at clubs and restaurants in my 20’s with lots of streamers and noise makers and of course champagne, watching the ball drop, and staying up late celebrating.  I’ve done the party thing with large groups of friends at a house party.  I’ve done the party thing at my own house with friends and family over to watch the ball drop.   We’ve gone outside with the kids to set off poppers or light sparkers and drink sparkling cider.  I’ve had a lot of fun celebrating NYE.

But the pressure I feel to have that fun is getting old.

I like the idea of New Years Eve.  It can be a new start.  So many people use it as a starting point for their New Years resolutions.  I’ve done that myself - this year I will be better at keeping in touch, I will be more present and not take my life for granted.  I will exercise every day and not eat that last cookie.  Fill in the blanks with your own resolutions.

Like most of us, I work on these New Years resolutions until life gets in the way.  But I am ever optimistic on the next New Years Eve and try all over again trying to remind myself I am human, and this means we aren’t perfect.  And that it’s OK to try again.  And that it’s OK to sometimes fail too.

But I do think that one of the worst things about NYE is the pressure I feel to celebrate.  If you are lucky, you don’t feel this, but I do, and it has caused me a lot of unnecessary stress.  Which, if you think about it, is really the opposite of celebration.  A celebration should be something you want to do, not something you feel like you have to do.  For some reason, I have always felt I have to celebrate NYE. 

This pressure I feel has resulted in me frequently having negative, stressful feelings towards NYE.  What are we doing?  Why haven’t we been invited to do anything?  Where are my friends going to be?  You’d think at 51 I might be over these feelings, but no, I’m here to tell you they still exist.  But I’m trying to control these feelings.

It was easier when the kids were younger and home.  We had a built-in celebration.  But now my husband and I are on our own, often feeling left out.   The people where we live have parties they have been invited to for years and years.  Last year was particularly bad with friends canceling the last minute and the kids not home.

So, this year we decided months ago that we are doing things differently this year.

I am purposely making low key plans.  I am being proactive in choosing NOT to celebrate in a traditional way. 

This year my husband and I are going on a long AT hike during the day followed by a quiet dinner, movie, and bed when we feel like it.  No parties.  No stressing about not being invited or who to invite.  No forcing ourselves to stay up to watch the ball drop. 

My thought is what better way to start a happy and healthy new year than by being active and doing something we both love?  (And it won’t hurt to also get a good night’s sleep!)

I hope however you choose to celebrate New Years Eve this year is satisfying and stress-free.  And that you find your own way to bring in 2024 that brings you joy.

Happy and healthy new year to you all.