Ah yes, it's that time of year again. New Years Eve is right around the corner taunting us with promises of a fresh start, great music and confetti falling from the sky. While many people love this holiday, the older I get, the less I enjoy it. In fact NYE, is honestly one of the worst holidays and here's why.
1. There are too many things going on.
New Years Eve is celebrated across the globe. There are so many televised specials, big club events, house parties and the like, it's hard to keep up. There are far too many things to even choose from. You're stuck either trying to attend ALL THE THINGS in an attempt to do it all or selecting one event and hoping it ends up as fun as you'd hope. I don't suffer from FOMO(fear of missing out) often but NYE is one holiday that can get me.
2. The expectations are too high.
NYE is essentially one big celebration of the events of the past year and the hope that a new year brings. That's a lot of pressure to put on a single evening. But every year the expectations are just as high. Which kind of sets it up for failure in the first place. The pressure to enjoy yourself creates a level of stress that makes enjoying yourself more difficult. If you go to too many events you run the risk of being burnt out but if you stay home you run the risk of being ridiculed by others. (Believe me, every year I try to avoid NYE and stay home in my ducky onesie. So far I've had no luck.) The pressure to have fun is just too much for me.
3. It's cold but you have to dress cute.
Now, this is more specific to colder climates like the beautiful state of Michigan but the struggle to find a NYE outfit that is equal parts cute and warm is the ultimate struggle, especially as a woman. Go through the NYE dress section of any store and take note of the amount of fabric (or lack thereof) in relation to the typical NYE temps in our lovely mitten state. Spolier alert, they don't add up. The ratio of thin flimsy fabric to the blistering cold temperatures mean that if you want to look cute, you'll be cold and if you want to be warm your choices are limited. Best of luck!
4. The "New year new me" people are the worst.
At the end of the day, NYE is just a day that marks the turning of a page in a calendar. The issues you had on Dec 31 will more than likely remain on January 1. However, for some reason, a slew of people begin their mantra of "New year, new me!" Now the passing of a year is a great time to reflect and decide what things from the past year worked and what things didn't. Unfortunately, most of the New Year New Me crowd tends to not change a single thing about their behavior but they continue to chant their mantra and post it on every single form of social media known to man. We get it, you want to better yourself. Good for you! Maybe just do it quietly?
5. The party goes on way too late.
I may be only 26 years old but I feel 86 at heart. Anything that begins after 7pm is probably an event I'm going to skip. Especially in the winter months when the sun sets 30 minutes after rising. For this reason NYE is basically the worst. Parties don't start until late and then they go on even later. Who decided after all that the New Year needed to be celebrated as it's happening? We could easily meet up for brunch on January 1st instead. I mean mimosas, bacon, a decent night's sleep... What more could you want? Either way, each year I spend the evening counting down to the time until I'll be able to go to bed, not the change of the clock. I doubt this year will be any different.
So best of luck to any other NYE haters out there. May the night be fun and go quickly, may the weather be nice and may no one bore you with their long list of New Years resolutions they're sure to abandon 3 weeks in!