The New Year is here, the world didn’t end in a blaze of fire and screaming and it is time for everyone to decide which New Year’s resolutions they are going to break in 2013. No, I am only joking, you won’t break your resolution, I believe in you. Friday-Ad can help you come up with your latest resolution and we can also offer you some nicely priced items to help you achieve your goals.

So, when deciding what you want to dedicate yourself to this year give a thought to how we can help. Here are some of our top suggestions for your 2013 New Year’s resolution.

Join a sports club
It seems that the entire nation from Land’s End to John O’Groats is still soaring off the back of London 2012’s obvious success stories. In fact I would go as far to say that we should expect to see the Olympics contributing to people partaking in sport in the future in the same way Fifty Shades of Grey caused the ‘Baby Boom’ (a vast increase in children born in the UK not some form of anthropomorphised baby-shaped weapon of mass destruction).

So why not jump, or hurdle, or do that weird backwards high jump thing, onto the bandwagon and get involved yourself? There are plenty of sports out there, in fact, I would say there is a sport out there for everyone, so even if you fear exercise in the way some people fear the dark, or spiders, or bananas (see www.fearofbananas.org) , there will surely be something that catches your eye. Sports don’t have to be physically demanding – you could always try your hand at snooker.

Joining a sports club is a great resolution as you can get plenty of exercise whilst socialising and meeting new people. You can go and play football, join a midweek badminton league, or even go and play bowls there are so many different options available to you that this resolution is a nice easy one to achieve.

If you are looking to play sports but need to invest in some new sporting equipment, then Friday-Ad can help! We have plenty of great sports gear available in our Sports Equipment section.

Get healthy
OK, I know, this seems like a similar resolution to the one above, but if you don’t have the time to join a sports club, then you may just want to lose a little weight and get fit and healthy. When setting yourself a weight-loss target, or deciding that you want to be able to run a set distance in a certain amount of time, you should always stay realistic and remember that your progress should always be steady and gradual.

In order to lose weight and get fit you will want to have a healthy and balanced diet, you should aim to eat healthy foods, as advocated by Jamie Oliver when he saved our children from deadly school dinners, as opposed to rich and fatty foods, as advocated by Jamie Oliver on some of his tv cooking shows…

You will want to ensure that you are eating well and getting regular exercise. If you have the time then you can even join a gym or partake in specified fitness classes – there are a number of these advertised on Friday-Ad in the Fitness, Diets and Slimming section.

Learn a new skill
Too often people set negative New Years resolutions that are often hard to achieve whilst also denying them access to things they love to do. Now I am not saying this is a bad thing, quitting smoking for example is a very good resolution to set. But I thought I would offer you a more positive and possibly fun resolution. Learn a new skill!

If there is one thing that rivalled the Olympics in 2012 it had to be the Great British Bake Off. This show turned reality TV away from backbiting and artificially tanned arguments with drawn on eyebrows, and toward people being genuinely friendly and making cupcakes for an old lady, who seems to be to the WI what Jim Jones was to the People’s Temple – but in a far less murderous and cultish way. So, why not get involved in baking yourself? You can buy the books and learn in the comfort of your own home, or you can look into attending a class or two.

As well as baking there are plenty of other great skills you could look into acquiring this year. You could learn a new language, try your hand at archery, or learn how to play a musical instrument – I hear the oboe is fun?

Whatever you fancy learning, have a browse of the Classes and Tuition section of Friday-Ad. We have plenty of ads within this part of the site that may be able to help you.

Spend more time with friends and family
This is another common resolution and how easy it is to achieve depends on a number of factors from how time consuming your job is, to how bearable your family are and how flexible you and your friends are.

If you want to see more of your friends and family in 2013 then set aside some specific time slots in your week to see them. Take Sundays for example, why not spend every other Sunday at your parents for a roast dinner? Or, you can ensure that you take your kids to the park at least once a week. It is up to you how you arrange your social life, but this can be an achievable and very rewarding resolution for 2013.

Good luck with whatever resolution you set yourself and have a cracking 2013!

This year is a full of superstition; not only is it predicted that the Earth will come to its end in December but it is also a leap year. Now, I am going to ignore the fact that we may only have a few months left before humanity is wiped off the face of the planet; and concentrate on the other event which is surrounded by its own folk traditions.

Leap years occur once every four years in order to keep the calendar year synchronised with the astronomical or seasonal year. And this means that this month (February) will have an extra day pasted to its end, and what is the technical term for the 29th February? It is known as an intercalary leap day, see, you have learnt something already.

And this extra day supports plenty of folk laws and old traditions.

In Britain, it used to be tradition that a woman could not propose marriage to her partner unless it was on the leap day. Obviously this is an old and out-dated folk-tradition but some people still use it as an opportunity to make that proposal.

This tradition is also found in Denmark, however, if a man refuses the woman’s proposal she must be compensated with 12 pairs of gloves. Why? I do not know. Oh, and in Finland if the man refuses the proposal on the leap day, he has to buy her fabrics for a skirt. Now, if I were a woman in ye-olde Denmark or Finland (there is something I never thought I would write), I would be going around proposing to everyone on the leap day. I mean, you can never have enough pairs of gloves and fabric.

Greece has gone the other way with regards to marriage and leap years. In fact, one in five engaged Greek couples will actively decide not to marry during a leap year because it is deemed very bad luck to do so.

So, we know that for some reason there are a lot of marriage links to leap years, whether they be good or bad, but what do you do if you are born on the 29th February? I mean you can’t have a birthday once every four years, you will stay young forever.

It is usual for people born on the intercalary leap day to simply move their birthday to the 28th Feb or the 1st March. Oh and if you are born on a leap day, you get the unfortunate title of being a ‘leapling’ or a ‘leaper’. The Civil Code of the Republic of China, since 10 October 1929 , has implied that the legal birthday of a ‘leapling’ is February 28 in common years.

So, all this really means for the majority of people is that February is a little longer, but spare some thought for those leapers out there who can actually celebrate their birthday on the 29th for the first time in four years.

Pictures: Gloves – Liz Jones,  Clock - Kevin Wen

Now the echoes of Auld Lang Syne have finally faded into the abyss and the perennial hangovers have all been shaken off it is time to start thinking about which resolution you are going to try your hardest not to break in 2012.

For lots of people thinking up a New Year’s Resolution is a hard task, there are so many things to choose from. Well, here are a few ideas that may be of use to you.

Quit something…
Everyone has something which they could quit from their lives. The obvious one is smoking, but that isn’t the only thing you can eradicate to make your life healthier or simply just more enjoyable. Why not quit soap operas? Everyone in your household would be hugely appreciative if they didn’t have to witness you comatose in front of Eastenders every night of the week. Or if that is too hard, then you could always quit eating takeaway; that would certainly make your life a lot healthier.

Learn something…
This has always been the most attractive one for me. You could learn a new language; I hear Korean is fun; of you could try and learn a new talent. Some people take up knitting which would be a fantastic thing to learn in the New Year.

You could even go to evening classes and get to grips with some of your favourite subjects. You could go back and pass that blasted GCSE that you never managed to pass back when you were at school or even take up something brand new. The possibilities are endless and just think how satisfying it would be when 2013 rolls around to have a brand new string to your bow.

Help others…
This one is most probably the hardest to keep to, but if you do you and many others will feel the benefits. Why not give up an evening a week to help out a friend or loved one in need? Or, you could even take some time out to help a local charity or at your library. Basically devote a portion of your time to help others by performing completely selfless acts.

Enjoy life more…
For a lot of people this is an ideal New Year’s Resolution. Just have more fun and worry less about the minor things which have caused you stress in the past. Go out more during the week; go to the cinema or out for a meal to relax and take your mind off work. Treat yourself more often and take some serious ‘you time’ throughout the year and try your hardest not to worry about the little things. I can promise you, you will feel better for it!

So, I hope I have been of some help with these ideas for New Year’s Resolutions. And, so long as 2012 isn’t the beginning of the end of the world as some people believe, I hope you have a fantastic year.

Pictures: KhE 龙,