Whether you’re the party host or the microphone-grabbing guest, it’s always a good idea to have a toast ready to go for the big moment. Especially considering that by the time the clock strikes midnight, you’ve probably had a few cheers already.
When deciding what to say, start with Polonius’ advice “To thine own self be true.” Don’t try to be someone mystical, deep, or hilarious…unless of course you already are. Also, bear in mind that the key to communication is brevity. Which, by the way, is a relief because if you mind this principle, you’ll only have a couple of lines to get out. Lastly, know your audience. Take into account their experiences over the last year.
Now that you’ve taken stock, you can determine if you will compose an original toast, quote a famous line, or use a quote as a springboard for your own genius.
Below you’ll find quotes that are funny, witty, or otherwise. No matter how you ring in the new year, give your friends a gem to remember.
PROFOUND
Be at war with your voices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin
Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland
For last year’s words belong to last year’s language And next year’s words await another voice.And to make an end is to make a beginning. ~ T.S. Eliot, “Little Gidding”
We know what we are, but we know not what we may be. ~Shakespeare
HOPEFUL
Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah
Here’s to the bright New Year And a fond farewell to the old; Here’s to the things that are yet to come And to the memories that we hold. Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go. ~Brooks Atkinson
A happy New Year! Grant that I May bring no tear to any eye When this New Year in time shall end Let it be said I’ve played the friend, Have lived and loved and labored here, And made of it a happy year. ~Edgar Guest
WITTY
Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits. ~Unknown
The older one gets the more one feels the present must be enjoyed. ~Marie Curie
In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want. ~Irish Blessing
IRREVERENT
The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk. This drunkenness culminates on New Year’s Eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you’re married to. ~P.J. O’Rourke
Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account. ~Oscar Wilde
INSPIRATION
Tomorrow, is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one. ~Brad Paisley
For a new year to bring you something new, make a move, like a butterfly tearing its cocoon! Make a move! ~Mehmet Murat ildan
Approach the New Year with resolve to find the opportunities hidden in each new day. ~Michael Josephson
Before you talk, listen
Before you react, think
Before you spend, earn
Before you criticize, wait
Before you pray, forgive
Before you quit, try
~Ernest Hemingway
Best wishes & Happy New Year!
