Commemorating the New Year

We’re a couple weeks into 2025, so this post is arguably a bit late. But I keep seeing new ways to approach the New Year on social media, which I thought was interesting. No longer do people just make New Year’s resolutions. You now have the option of making New Year’s bingo cards, choosing your word or theme for the year, etc. Here’s a quick overview of some social media trends I’ve noticed. Let us know in the comments if you’ve done any of these, or perhaps something else?

The Classic: New Year’s Resolutions

According to a January 2024 Pew Research study, 3 in 10 Americans made resolutions last year. I was somewhat surprised to see that young adults were the age group most likely to make resolutions, as I thought maybe they were a thing of the past. Here are some other stats from the study: “Overall, 79% say their resolutions concern health. Smaller but still sizable shares made resolutions about money or finances (61%), personal relationships (57%), hobbies or personal interests (55%), or work and career (49%).” Many people make multiple resolutions, so that might explain why all those percentages are pretty high.

I haven’t made a resolution this year. If I did, it would probably need to do with more precise budgeting.

At Joss’s tae kwon do studio, their instructor asked them to set some tae kwon do goals for the year. So that’s another option – don’t necessarily set a broad, general goal, but set one for a particular aspect of your life.

Word/Theme of the Year

Many people choose a word for the year. Here’s a list of Word of the Year ideas from Morgan Harper Nichols: morganharpernichols.com/blog/2025-word-of-the-year-ideas Nichols gives a helpful overview of each word, such as kaleidoscopic, flourishing, wildflower and wonderment. And also provides tips for choosing your word of the year.

A theme of the year is similar, but I guess wouldn’t have to be limited to one word. I chose themes in 2019 (excellence, creativity, empathy, using my voice) and 2021 (stay alert, quality time, creativity). Honestly, I don’t know if I thought about these themes beyond January. I did some Googling and found some suggestions for keeping your word/theme of the year top-of-mind:

• Create a poster/art print of the word
• Print it on a custom tote, journal or mug
• Find a book or quote that incorporates the word

New Year’s Bingo/Bucket List

Our friends at MetroFamily Magazine in Oklahoma City shared a Reel to Instagram on making a 2025 Bingo Board: instagram.com/reel/DEaUoDQxh9-

This would be a fun activity for a New Year’s Eve party, but it’s not too late. Have fun creating a bingo board together, brainstorming ideas and then decorating it. MetroFamily’s included nice, accessible ideas like “take a hike,” “visit the zoo,” etc. You can mix in some activities you know you’ll likely do along with some that might take a little more effort. Or maybe just things you’ve wanted to do but haven’t done yet. For me, that might be digging for crystals at the Great Salt Plains or finally hiking at Keystone Ancient Forest.

The bingo board is a fun idea, but you could also just do this as a bucket list. This could also be a fun creative family project.

Yes/No, or In/Out

This is another social media inspiration. Did you see the posts where the image would just be a graphic with the word “Yes” or “No”? And then in the caption, people would list what they’re saying yes to this year, and what they’re saying no to. Or, like the first one I saw, the caption had to do with frequently asked questions, and then whether the answers were yes/no. (It was for a band, so the questions were like, “Are you putting out an album this year?/Going on tour?” etc.)

So, what are you saying yes or no to this year? This is an opportunity to think about bad habits you may want to break, or things you’ve been putting off that need to be addressed. For example, I could say no to skipping breakfast, heh.

The in/out trend is similar. Guthrie Green posted this in an Instagram Reel, with the caption “Attending free events at Guthrie Green? Always in. Staying inside all day? Definitely out. Tell us your 2025 Ins and Outs.”

Time Capsule

Again, this would be an idea for a New Year’s Eve party, but again, the year is young. Here’s some info from a TulsaKids article on planning a New Year’s Eve party with kids, but Judy M. Miller:

“Have or help your child fill out a series of questions about his or her year, such as a favorite book, movie, activity or friend. Ask about new discoveries made, plans for the near and distant future, and favorite times during the year. Don’t forget to ask about goals and dreams for the New Year.

Make a template on your computer or have your children create their own with decorative paper, clip art, stickers, and markers. Consider adding your children’s art or writing; copies of a few of their favorite pictures (take a New Year’s picture and add it to the contents); their handprints or footprints, if younger; a newspaper recapping the year in review; and a note to themselves to read when they are older. Ask if there is anything else they wish to add.

Place all items into a time capsule or a sealed container or box. Place the time capsule year and the year to be opened on the outside of the capsule or container. Decide where the time capsule will be kept.”

Reading Goals

I’ve set reading goals in the past, but haven’t for a couple years now. Apparently, I’m not very goal-oriented at the moment. I’ve kept up with reading, so don’t feel too badly about it. But setting a reading goal or doing a reading challenge is a fun idea. I like the reading challenge bingo cards that have you read books in different genres, by diverse authors, etc. Your local library or bookshops might come up with their own reading challenges, so keep an eye out for those.

Here’s one from Tulsa City-County Library, which they created for TulsaKids several years ago: tulsakids.com/kids-reading-challenge

It’s divided by seasons, so you don’t feel too much pressure all at once.

Did any of these sound like ideas you’d want to try?