OK this is kind of late, but you can take it as my learnings from the last night’s celebrations:

• Find out the weather in advance, specially if you plan to party hop
• Find out the “mood” of the party… fancy, pretentious, casual, formal, girly, guyly (I think I just invented a word… err)
• Sure wearing sparkly sandals is the thing to do on NYE, but do yourself a favour and save your poor toes from freezing over and put on a sassy pair of boots, or at least toe-covered stilettos.
• Bring on the Bling! Be it in your accessories, or clothes.
• Don’t be afraid to wear glitter! NYE is one of the few nights of the year (atleast to me) when glitter is completely acceptable, so slap it onto your eyelids, cheeks, lips, shoulders, cleavage, wherever… even if it’s borderline tacky.
• Be comfortable in what you are wearing. With the chance out there of ending up at a party or club where you are uncomfortable anyway, you don’t want your outfit to be adding to that feeling.

• Longlasting lipstick, since hopefully you’ll be kissing lots of people at midnight.

Most importantly wear a smile and bring a relaxed attitude. Don’t make a big deal of the night just because it’s New Year Eve. It’s a time to party, drink, dance and let the night take its course. If it ends up badly, there’s always next year!

It’s the day after Christmas and you’re feeling kind of down… in fact, you’re feeling borderline depressed. It may be because you just realized exactly how much money you spent on gifts, and how long it will take you to pay all that off on your credit card, or you got a shitty gifts, or because somebody else got a better present, or because you weren’t able to spend Christmas with your family because of work. Whatever the reason for your blues, here are a few sure fire ways to pick your mood back up to bearable.

1. Go shopping for super sales, and this time just for yourself

2. Get a gym membership, start on a fitness plan. You can totally do it by yourself.

3. Use vacation downtime to do research on an activity you have always wanted to try, like bellydancing or Capoeira (Brazilian Martial Arts Dance). Look up where classes are offered, how much they cost, what the schedule is. Don’t be afraid to email the organizers, they are generally super nice and friendly, and will answer even the silliest question you might have. And finally, make the commitment by signing up, or making a payment to reserve that first class.

4. Start planning your New Year Eve Party! Planning a party at your place is cheaper than any fancy club, and its nicer to toast and kiss friends at midnight than be attacked by random drunk people at overpriced clubs. Tell your friends to bring a bottle of bubbly each, and the rest will take care of itself.

4 – a. Alternative to party at your pad – get yourself invited to an NYE party at someone else’s house. All the same fun with none of the cleaning up after.

4 – b. Hit up an after party at a fancy club after your house party. Tickets come at a fraction of the price (no more than $30-$40), and your get to arrive fashionably late (around 2 a.m. -ish) and party till the sun comes up.

5. Make a New Years Resolution list – and don’t bother with being realistic! Write down outrageous things you would like to do like start a blog (wink) and kiss a random hottie on New Years as the clock strikes midnight!