Can you believe it? 2020 is TOMORROW. After reflecting on 2019 in yesterday’s blog post, I thought it would be fun to share a few ideas on how I’m prepping for the New Year. I’ve never been the going out type really, or if I’m being honest I was only ever really a “going out” type in high school, ha! I’m not sure what happened, but now I’m a major homebody and I crave just being in bed and watching movies. Oh, and of course good food is somewhere in that mix, ha!
If you’ve been following for awhile now, you might know that on NYE 2017, my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now having that memory with me forever and having this day be a constant reminder, it makes me even more want to stay home and just lounge. Although, I’d like to think overall I’m a pretty optimistic person, so I like to be home and still do something fun to prep for the New Year. In light of the atmosphere being motivating, fun, happy, and eager, I wanted to share some things that are fun to do on NYE if you don’t have any plans, and also some things I’m looking at to get the jumpstart.
A Jar of Memories
It’s a little late to do this for 2019, but start now for 2020! Every year since 2012 I have kept a jar in my bedroom with sticky notes next to it. Throughout the entire year, I write down things that happen and add them all to the jar. They can be big life events, or thing I just don’t want to forget. In the past I’ve written things like, “Saw The Heat with mom on January 26th” or, “Had a sleepover with my best friend and stayed up late and ate donuts”. If you couldn’t tell, both of these memories were pulled from my high school years, lol. Although both of these activities sound like something I would still do! Anyways, you write events, fun things, words people said to you, or even bad experiences, and stick them in the jar. On NYE, or a day near the end of the year that’s convenient for you, you open the jar and ready EVERYTHING that’s happened. You would be surprised at what you remember, and it’s always fun when you pull a note out that has something you’ve completely forgotten about. I thought the first year doing this that I would remember everything I wrote down, but boy was I wrong!
After I’m done, I put all the notes in a ziploc bag and sharpie on the front what year it is. Again, I have baggies that go back to 2012. I’m really happy I started this because going back that far is hilarious reading what I wrote down, and it is also cool to see the change. If you had maybe a not-so-great year, this also allows you to relive all the great things that happened, and to remember there is good even in the darkest of times. I bought a jar from the dollar section and any paper you have works!
Balloon Popping
I’ve only done this one year, and on this year I was actually working so I did it with older pre-teen kids, ha. But I still remember it being fun for me as an adult and thinking of all the ways you can get creative with this. All you need is a pack of balloons, a sharpie and yourself to blow them up! Write each hour on a balloon up until midnight (or however late you decide to stay up) and on a piece of paper, write something down and stick it inside. When it gets to that hour, pop the balloon and do what the paper says.
Again, you can take this any which way you want. You can make it dirty, you can make it revolve around alcohol, or you can make it a truth or dare game. Or you can make it a movie game. Or even a board game thing. Seriously, do whatever suits you and the people you’re with! Obviously when I did this I had to keep iy PG since I was with children, and we did a different game every hour. But again…with adults, this can be all sorts of fun lol!
Vision Boards
I’ve actually never done a vision board, but this is on my to-do list! It seems really the cool after part of it, but I’m not sure how much work it actually takes. I might do this later in the month, or I might do a scaled down version. Something that calms me down is drawing and writing, so getting a coloring book or just journaling is something that helps me prep for the New Year as well.
Organization
If you know me, you know I love to plan. So much, that I bought my 2020 planner back in Summer because that’s when I needed it. But if you’re someone that wants to get into organizing this year, or you’re in search for a great life planner, look no further. I started using my LIfePlanner in 2015 and I haven’t looked back! On Friday I’ll be sharing a closer look into mine and also how I use it, so stay tuned for that. For now though, I linked my favorites that are on sale for 20% off through 1/2!
Comfy Clothes
There you have it ladies. If you couldn’t tell, I’m LOADS of fun to spend NYE with, ha! I just prefer to keep it low key, reflect, have a little fun, be comfy and maybe do some fun activities and just relax. I thought it would be fun to share ideas with you on what I normally do, and also hear what you like to do on this day. Share in the comments below or head to my Instagram to comment on my most recent post! With that being said…I’ll see you in 2020.
XO,
Danielle Alana
