Happy New Year!

Tonight and tomorrow are all about reflection, anticipation, out with the old/with in the new, and celebration.  Tonight we kiss the old good-bye and kiss the new hello.  As you count down to midnight, chances are you’re also counting down to the end of holiday parties and entertaining, which for many of us, is a welcomed end.

Tonight we think of champagne. And with it, the obligatory and customary toast that seems to accompany the bubbly.  Not sure why most people are so intimidated by giving a toast.  Must be because it resembles public speaking, which most people dread more than a root canal.  That, and the toasting is usually done before the drinking, so one doesn’t even have the benefit of alcohol to bolster their confidence.  There just seems to be so much pressure to deliver the perfect toast that will inspire and move people.  And most people just aren’t cut out for that.  So, if you’re looking for a way to introduce a celebratory toast into the evening that removes some of the intimidation, and with the potential for some humor, here’s an idea I read a while ago.  Come up with one word that everyone must use in their toast.  My thought is that you could put a selection of random words into a hat, and let someone draw the one word that everyone will use.  I just keep thinking, if the word was, say, “eggs,” what toast would I give that uses that word?  “May your eggs hatch into something wonderful in the new year”?  I think I need to ponder that one a bit longer.  But you get the idea.