New Year's Resolutions--Yea or Nay?

I've seen people state, somewhat defiantly, that they are most definitely not making New Year's resolutions. Their positions are generally that it's just pointless to make New Year's resolutions, because most people break them more or less right away. I saw a funny meme on Facebook in which a woman says she is going to open a place and name it "Resolutions". For the first two weeks of the year, it's a gym, and then after that it turns into a bar. Hee!

But seriously, I'm actually an advocate for resolutions, and not only only New Year's resolutions, but also resolutions tied to other memorable holidays, like Earth Day (April 22), when I make environmentally-friendly resolutions (see here: http://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2016/04/earth-day-resolutions-new-tradition.html). A lot of people observe Lent or Ramadan (usually not both), which involves fasting or giving up certain things, and you could make special resolutions for special events, like doing something heart-healthy every day in February in honor of Valentine's Day and Women's Heart Health Month like healthy changes in diet, exercise, and stress reduction.

See, there is one main reason that New Year's resolutions fail miserably. THEY ARE TOO BIG. First of all, you are making a resolution for a whole year, and that's tough. Bite off smaller, chewable pieces. Resolve to do 'A' for the month of January, then 'B' for the month of February, and so on. If 'A' is a torture, then you only have a month to get through it. If you get good at it, nobody said you have to stop.

Not only are New Year's Resolutions too big, time-wise, they are also usually way too big in scope. Instead of resolving to "quit smoking", which is too draconian, or to "lose weight", which is too nebulous, you should resolve to do something very specific, such as resolving to research different methods of quitting, and to try one each month until you find one that works for good. You are allowing that you might not succeed at one given thing, but that you will keep trying, and without this absolute mentality of pass/fail, you won't find yourself holding yourself to an unsustainably strict standard that could end up in a bad backlash.

The bad thing about resolutions is that they can create stress if the bar is set too high. The good thing about them is, if done right, they can set a specific goal to strive for, and even if you don't meet that goal, the mere act of trying to meet it is bound to help. 

Free use image from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/en/new-year-s-eve-new-year-s-greetings-1905144/

Secret Santa Too Well-Behaved? How to Conduct a Dirty Santa Gift Exchange

 

"Secret Santa" gift exchanges are common at offices and groups of friends or classmates at Christmas time. It's a good way to make sure everyone gets a present who wants to participate and have a fun little partylike atmosphere. It's exciting opening presents, getting something and seeing what other people got! If you don't know how to do a "Secret Santa" gift exchange, I explain it here:https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2024/11/how-to-conduct-secret-santa-gift.html

But depending on the character of your office, a far more raucous and funny time can be had with a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange. Now, 'dirty' doesn't mean 'adult' or 'kinky', even though you could choose that as a theme for presents (maybe more for your friends than your coworkers), it 'refers to 'sneaky' and 'underhanded'. Why would a gift exchange be sneaky and underhanded? Because it's more fun that way! Read on:

For a "Dirty Santa" exchange, you are not assigned to buy for anyone in particular, so it's nice to bring a gift anyone can use--at the one I attended, I took a bag with assorted shampoo and soaps, and I came home with a nice blanket. Gifts are wrapped to disguise what they are, at least at first. Everyone who has brought a gift picks a number out of a bag, and the number they get determines the order in which they go to pick their gift. You would think the person who goes first has the best number, but that's actually not true--the person who goes LAST usually has the most advantage.

This is why: The person with number 1 goes up to the pile of gifts and chooses the one s/he wants, then opens it so everyone can see. If it's a really nice gift, it's best not to get too attached to it, because the person who has number 2 can either go pick a gift from the pile, or STEAL the gift that has already been opened. The person who goes third can steal from either of the first two, and so on. The person who goes last can either choose the last remaining wrapped gift, or steal from anyone who went before, which is why it is an advantage.

Now, don't feel too bad for the person whose gift gets stolen, because that makes them the person who is "up", giving them the opportunity to either choose OR steal a gift. There are only two rules about stealing: 1. You can't steal immediately back from the person who stole from you; 2. Each gift can only be stolen only twice, and then it's "home forever" and immune to being stolen, so if you are the third person to pick that same gift, it's yours!

This makes for a hilarious game, as people talk trash and steal gifts and laugh--it always gets a great laugh when something gets stolen repeatedly, or when one person keeps getting stolen FROM and gets to make a fuss! And of course the more people play, the more gifts and the more mischief, so if you have a more lively bunch of people, the "Dirty Santa" gift exchange is for you!

Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/excited-ethnic-woman-with-christmas-gift-box-6113591/