Article reposted from My Modern Closet

By Brittany Tiplady
@yellowbird888

Never have I ever had FOMO over a party. While my social anxiety isn’t always the cause of my social ambivalence, attending New Year’s Eve parties has never been a holiday priority for me. If I am being candid, I’ve actually never attended a holiday party except for obligatory family gatherings. This might seem strange for a communications person, whose start-up business relies on a steady schedule of networking. Spoiler alert: shaking hands and kissing babies while working on my elevator pitch at networking events exhausts me beyond measure.

But why have I always chosen to skip the last party of the year? Cynically speaking, the hype over New Year’s Eve breeds disappointment. There is an unspoken expectation to spend hundreds of dollars preparing our bodies with expensive waxes, eyelashes, blowouts, make-up applications, and nails-for an evening spent in a dimly lit room. The anxiety over finding the perfect yet still weather appropriate dress turns into a hungry obsession. And finding the ideal venue to spend the evening is impossible: ticket prices are astronomical, friends disagree on the location, relationships become strained with the expectation, mayhem ensues.

New Year’s eve has always been a time for me to reflect upon the year that has passed and to set intentions for what is to come. The classic and clichéd list making of resolutions is my vice for the holidays. I like to reflect on my shortcomings and blessings, and set goals to go further. And while I’ve struggled to maintain a consistent workout routine, I have tackled most of the other resolutions on my list, and I am proud of that.

New Years Eve 2013, and 2014, were spent serving tables at the Spaghetti Factory with my then boyfriend, now husband-to-be, rushing out of the restaurant just before midnight, and braving the cold while we popped champagne amongst the fireworks in False Creek.  We exchanged our most intimate thoughts on these two evenings, and hold those chilly memories as tokens of our youthful beginnings. Last year, we had a quiet and early dinner and rung in 2016 in our pyjamas, fast asleep on the couch mid-scrabble game. We laughed about our elderly behaviour the next day and moved on hangover free. This year, we will continue to do New Year’s eve how we like to: no hype and all love.

This year, we will continue to do New Year’s eve how we like to: no hype and all love.

I believe that New Year’s Eve is personal. It is a time to close a chapter, and begin a new one, with honesty, and mindfulness. If attending a large-scale event in a gorgeous dress is a plan that will serve you, buy those tickets, get those new heels, and hell yes, splurge on those eyelash extensions. But if a quiet and intimate evening spent solo or with your loved ones, is how you chose to enter a new year, do you. Arm yourself for a new chapter in flannel and wool socks. Embrace your inner homebody and shell out the board games. 2016 was one hell of a year, let’s ring in 2017 as our most authentic selves.

Brittany Tiplady is a part-time poet, a full-time Nasty Woman, and the co-founder of Loose Lips Magazine. She loves the indoors, fast wifi, collecting maps, and a generous glass of red wine. She is a self-proclaimed wizard of time management, and a notorious loud talker with a penchant for all things Internet.