Holidays

There are so many great Mother’s Day gift options out there. Despite these endless choices, many people rely on old favorites like flowers and chocolates to express their love to their mom. This is a woman who stayed up all night with you, cleaned your bodily fluids off the floor, and put up with years of your teenaged angst, the least you could do is spring for a real gift instead of drooping tulips.

Research has shown that people tend to keep resolutions when they’re SMART, an acronym made up by the time management gurus at FranklinCovey that stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Resolutions fail when they’re too vague or based on other people’s perceptions and ideas rather than your own. This year make positive resolutions that you’ll actually achieve. Here are some ideas for unconventional but awesome New Year’s resolutions.

Are you looking to ring in the new year with a healthier start? Right now is the best time to set yourself up for success – you can buy a gym membership at an affordable price. As the new year arrives, fitness clubs everywhere are starting to offer amazing discounts because they know January is a popular time for new gym members.  And in order to earn your business, gyms are offering some incredible deals.

The key to a successful holiday season that you actually enjoy is to start planning well in advance — even before Thanksgiving. That way, you’ll know exactly what you need to do, and you’ll never have to step foot in a mall the week before Christmas ever again. And trust us, what is holiday joy if not the knowledge that all your presents are bought and wrapped, and all you have to do is sit by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate?

This year, resolve to flex your creative muscles when it comes to thinking up gifts for your nearest and dearest. Do-It-Yourself gifts are a fun and thoughtful way to communicate your love to your friends and family. Plus, they often cost less than a traditional gift bought from the mall, and are way more personalized and meaningful.

The lead up to the holiday season can be difficult. It never seems like you have that many family members, until the time comes to make a shopping list for all your holiday presents. Then the number of gifts that you have to coordinate and buy can be overwhelming. Don’t fall into the trap of buying your gifts from those tempting end-of-aisle displays!

Whenever a new calendar is slapped on the wall, many of us swear off carbs and commit to kale all-day-every-day, or decide this spring we’re going to do our first triathlon even though we get out of breath jogging to the bus stop and the only time we wear a swimsuit is to wade over to the swim-up bar.

The whole concept of New Year’s Resolutions and some of the crazy (and possibly unhealthy) things people decide to take on worry me at times. I understand that a new year presents a “fresh start,” but there’s a lot that goes into making change stick, so let’s get started and see if we can set you up for success in 2017.