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How to Safely Celebrate New Year’s and Set Resolutions During Covid

We are all eager to say goodbye to 2020. We can’t wait to count down the minutes and seconds until we ring in 2021. But, we need to be mindful of staying vigilant for everyone’s health. With vaccines being actively administered, there is a light at the end of the 2020 tunnel.

Celebrating safely

The CDC is still urging us to avoid holiday gatherings, but if you will be celebrating with others, they strongly advise to:

• Wear masks
• Wash hands
• Social distance
• Avoid singing or yelling (which results in more forceful breathing) by keeping the music volume low 
• Keep the gathering outdoors if possible
• If you are the one hosting, speak with your guests beforehand regarding social distancing expectations

Some safe ways you can ring in 2021 are:

• Dress up for the celebration or wear pj’s and do a Zoom party.
• Do a virtual dinner with friends/family so you can still see each other’s smiles and enjoy the festive mood together. 
• Enjoy live-streamed events, such as musical performances and the ball dropping in Times Square.
• Binge-watch holiday movies if you’re not ready to let the holiday “feels” end. 
• Make fun drinks and toast at midnight to the New Year.
• Make New Year’s resolutions. They can give you structure and something to look forward to.
  

  Setting resolutions for the new year

  With our desire for new beginnings in 2021, comes a renewed desire for resolutions. The time we’ve spent in lockdown and adhering to social distancing has allowed us to see what is truly important in our lives and what we took for granted. We’ve been able to think about how we want our lives to look and feel for the fresh new year.

  Focus on one or two of those goals and set up systems to succeed. To help strengthen the likelihood of reaching your set goals, focus on steps you will take so that you aren’t setting yourself up to fail.

  Resolutions may look different than they have in the past years, due to how the pandemic has changed our lives. Some areas could be:

  • Friendships and relationships. Maybe you rekindled friendships that had started to fade and want to keep nourishing that special bond. What steps will you take to ensure that happens, so that life doesn’t get in the way again? 
  • Careers. Many of us were able to work from home, and may have decided that we want to continue doing so. Focus on a career goal that allows you to do just that.
  • Travel. Being forced to stay indoors and being banned from visiting certain countries may have lit a new desire to travel and see the world. Pick a few places you would love to visit, and put the list or even pictures of those places up where you can see them every day, to keep your dream alive for when travel is deemed safe again.
  • Financial safety net. Maybe you want to be better financially prepared if faced with another catastrophic event. How will you do that? You could set up automatic transfers to your savings account rather than waiting till it’s too late and trying to come up with needed funds. 

  Don’t overwhelm yourself and try to take on too many changes. 2020 has thrown enough curveballs our way. Make it easy on yourself so that you can celebrate even small successes.