New Year to-do list: 5 things you can do during the holiday downtime to 2024
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The holiday season is arguably one of the busiest times for everybody everywhere in the world. Preparing for Christmas sometimes even takes a village as people shop for the perfect decorations, outfits, and Christmas presents to share with their loved ones while thinking of what food to serve during the Christmas eve dinner for some cultures or on Christmas morning. When the hustle and bustle of the days before Christmas die down on the 25th, some people take the downtime of Dec. 26-30 to recuperate and now prepare for the New Year.
If you are one of the people who don’t know what you can do during this time before the countdown to 2024 starts, here are some things you can do!
1. Make good use of the Christmas leftovers
Filipino singer-actress Maris Racal probably didn’t expect a lot to relate to her when she shared on X that she isn’t that much of a Christmas eve person because she loves Christmas mornings as she anticipates to eat lechon paksiw, a Filipino dish that seems to be a staple after celebrations.
The dish features last night’s leftover lechon turned into a delectable recipe. The lechon paksiw is only some of the dishes you can serve from the remains of the recent Christmas eve and Christmas day feasts. Now is also the perfect time to finish up that leftover spaghetti before another batch of food gets cooked up for New Year so as to not waste any food.
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You may also like: Lechon paksiw for days: Ranking Noche Buena leftovers and their afterlives, from worst to best
2. Create a vision board for 2024 manifestations
A number of content creators speak on the importance of creating vision boards to successfully manifest the lives they want to live in the coming year. Some even share their testimonials on how effective their 2023 vision boards were.
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In the downtime of waiting for the New Year to come, maybe try creating a vision board of what you want your 2024 to look like so it can also be a sort of checklist you can look back on as the days and years go by.
3. Think of 2024 resolutions
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It is during the quiet and still times that we really get to introspect. The busy energy the holidays bring may not be the most suitable environment to do this in. However, as the Christmas spirit begins to quiet down, this might provide a perfect opportunity to think about your resolutions: what you want to change or improve on before 2024 comes. The new year always brings a new beginning for everyone to start anew.
4. Look back at the lessons learned this 2023
We did it! We made it to December and that alone is something worth celebrating. The last 12 months certainly tested all of us in different ways by providing different challenges and opportunities for us to grow. During the days between Christmas and New Year, we may start to look back at the past year and feel proud of how we lived and survived another year.
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6. Buy necessities to prepare for the New Year
Lastly, after all the preparations for Christmas, it is now time to exert the last stretch of effort before the holiday season ends to buy the necessities you’ll need to prepare for the New Year. In some cultures, this includes buying 12 kinds of fruits to put on the table while others believe wearing polka dots and spreading coins on the table will bring good luck and fortune. Some traditions also include eating fruits (specifically grapes) under the table while others run around the block with their suitcase to symbolize travel.
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Whether you’re still recovering from Christmas or already looking forward to the New Year, there is still plenty of time to catch your breath before the year and the hectic holiday season ends that you can always do what you choose to do.
