Everything to Look Forward to in 2025

 

     As the holiday season and 2024 as a whole comes to a close, it's time to begin looking ahead to all that 2025 has to offer. The more deeply I thought about it, the more I realized this has the potential to be a truly amazing year with so many different things to look forward to, and I'm really excited to turn the calendar and get it all started! There's a plethora of big things to look forward to from weddings, to trips, to milestone birthdays and anniversaries, to holidays. I've also included things that probably seem silly but I still look forward to them like the return of certain TV shows and specific events on the sports calendar.

      All in all, there's plenty to be excited about in 2025. I decided to organize things chronologically by month so we could have a month by month snapshot of everything fun that's on the horizon.

January

New Beginnings

     First and foremost, January is a time associated with resolutions and fresh starts. A new year brings about hope of achieving new goals and bettering one's self. Whether it's a more dedicated work out routine, or better eating habits, or more personal goals like re-centering one's self in their marriage or family or spiritually, January is that beginning of a new chapter we all need.

The return of some great reality shows

     I'll be spending a lot of time on Peacock this January seeing as The Traitors returns with a 3 episode premiere on January 9, and Deal or No Deal Island returns on January 7. Of the two, Traitors is the show I look forward to more as I love seeing the game of Mafia brought to life on a bigger and brighter scale and I recognize many of the contestants from other shows like Survivor, Selling Sunset, Big Brother, and others. 

The NFL Playoffs

     Football is always fun but the playoffs are where the real fun begins. Over the course of 4 Sundays, we'll trim the Super Bowl hopefuls from 14 teams all the way down to 2, learning by the end of the month who will be playing in Super Bowl LIX. These "win or go home" games are always high-intensity must-see TV and I love watching each team's individual journey to try and capture a championship.

February

Possible Charleston Trip

     While I wish it were under better circumstances, your grandmother's funeral provides an opportunity to make a brief visit to a nearby city. I have heard Charleston is very nice and a scenic place to walk around and visit, and in addition to exploring a new place it's a good opportunity to further bond with my still new-ish family. 

Alyssa's Bday Weekend

     Sounds like this is beginning to come into focus as well, and will likely include a Love is Blind watch party on Friday and a Disney day on Saturday (via Tom's unused ticket). It's always fun sipping fine and watching our favorite reality show with others and equally fun having a theme park day with friends at the most magical place on earth so I'm sure this will be a fun weekend.

Valentine's Day

     I still intend to celebrate even though it won't be on the actual day. Sounds like it'll be a steakhouse this year, either Charley's or Boathouse. Either will be great as we have only been to Charley's once and it was amazing while Boathouse holds sentimental value and the area offers things to do after dinner as well. Either way, I'll get to eat an amazing steak so that's exciting in itself, but more importantly it's a holiday that allows you and your significant other to take a break from everyday life and appreciate the relationship and one-another and reminisce on all the years and memories that came before.

Two of our favorite shows return

     Love is Blind and Survivor both return in February. Both are shows we watch regularly and religiously together and should make those mundane week days a little more fun and worth looking forward to!

Super Bowl

     In addition to being the exciting final act of the NFL season, it's an event that gets everyone together over good food and drinks and allows us all to catch up. It's an event I'd like to host either this year or in a future year and I've also thought it would be cool to do a little cornhole tournament with everyone earlier in the day before the big game while we tailgate and grill out, but regardless of who hosts it's always a day of fun festivities from the game itself, to the halftime show, to the eating and drinking, but most of all just getting together to do it all with good people.

March

Quinn and Kelly's wedding

     The first of 3 weddings we were invited to this year, will be awesome to celebrate with Quinn and Kelly on their special day! They're both awesome people and it's been fun to get to know them over a couple Disney days and will be fun to travel to Raleigh (which I have never been to) and tear up the dance floor and enjoy the bar and watch them tie the knot!

North Carolina Trip

     Dates are still being finalized but sounds like we'll be doing some sort of mountain trip in a cabin filled with hiking and the great outdoors! The weather should be perfect for it that time of year and we'll be able to celebrate your dad's 60th as part of the trip. It also sounds like there's a nice downtown area with breweries and it's not too far from Ashville so should be a fun time.

Sarena's 30th!!

     Milestone bday for the wife! I realize if we do a trip it may or may not be in March, but I'm still including it here since March is your actual birth month. 30 is a big one and no matter what ends up happening we will do all we can to make this an extra special event with family and friends :). But Nashville would be an absolute blast to do with friends and we haven't been since 2021 so my 2 cents is that we should aim for that haha.

St. Patrick's Day

     The older I get, the more I genuinely do love and appreciate my Irish ancestry. We are a people known for quick-witted humor, the color green, our folksy music, and our affinity with alcohol and steak & potatoes. It's a day I enjoy celebrating my heritage at a themed pub over a Guiness or five and a car-bomb or two.

March Madness

     A fun time of year not just because of the tournament itself but also organizing the annual bracket pool with good friends and family. I know Dad will be most exited of all to see if Uconn can complete an unprecedented three-peat, but I always love watching the small-school Cinderella's and crazy upsets and tracking the pool as the Madness unfolds. Let's also not forget who won the whole pool last year... 

April

Sabrina's Wedding & Beach weekend

     Couldn't be more excited to celebrate my favorite cousin and her awesome fiancée Duncan as they tie the knot on April 17th! In my 5 years in Tampa, I watched Sabrina go through a lot of highs and lows in her love life searching for the right person, and she did the same for me, and I'm genuinely so happy that she found true love. The event itself is at a winery which will be a cool new wedding experience and will be awesome to see some family I haven't seen in a long time as well. 

     With the wedding itself being on a Thursday, great opportunity to stick around the area for a couple days and enjoy the beautiful gulf coast beaches. Clearwater is one I love that we vacationed to often but St. Pete is another great option right there as well. April is a great time of year for this as well, not blistering hot but definitely warm enough.

Easter

     While the weekend itself does overlap with the wedding and beach trip, this is the holiest day and weekend of the year and a day always spent hitting church services and then having a nice meal with family. But I guess that's fairly similar to last year when it concluded your bday weekend at Cocoa Beach as well. Our first Easter married together last year was wonderful, hosting Alyssa and celebrating mass at the church we did our marriage prep in and having a fun easter-egg hunt at the house followed be a nice meal with your parents. I'm sure this one will be just as great.

The Master's

     I guess in hindsight it's good that I didn't win those tickets because the first 4 months are so jammed already. But the Super Bowl of Golf is still a 4 day event I love watching. It's the one day a year I set an alarm super early to make a big breakfast to enjoy while watching the opening round and I love watching in the background Thursday and Friday while I get my work done for the days. Augusta is such a breath-taking course and I love watching the final round on Sunday and seeing who gets to don the Green Jacket and etch their name in history. Will it be Scottie Scheffler again, or someone else knocking on the door like Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm, or will someone unknown come out of nowhere to claim the championship? Can't wait to find out!

NBA and NHL Playoffs

     April is the best non-football sports month of the year because you have the Master's, the conclusion of March Madness, and the beginning of the NBA and NHL playoffs. Unlike football where you have to wait until the weekend to see the games, NBA and NHL have multiple games to watch every single night which makes for never a dull evening. Both the Magic and the Lightning look like they'll both make playoffs this year which means opportunities to hit live games and getting to watch not one, but two of my favorite teams try to make a deep playoff run.

May

Star Wars and Cinco De Mayo

     Grouping them together since they fall on back to back days, but that first week of May is always fun because I get to re-watch films from one of my favorite fan-fiction series and then eat Mexican food and drink Margaritas. I used to always re-watch the original trilogy on May the 4th, but lately we've ventured out, watching the prequels two years ago and then the new trilogy last year. This year could be a return to the originals, or could venture further into the extended universe via the Disney+ material. 

     Around that same time, I'm confident I'll find myself at Don Julio's smashing some chips and queso, a Burrito California, a churro, and a fish-bowl sized Margarita or two. I don't have the same personal tie to this as St. Patty's but gosh darn did the Mexicans invent amazing food and drinks.

The Summer Months (June-August)

The Cliche Things

     I'm grouping these together since there isn't much firmly on the calendar these months. Regardless, I still love all the things that make summer in Florida special: the longer days, the sunny weather, the beach trips, the pool days, the backyard BBQ and grill outs, etc. As a kid I also associated this with the end of school and summer vacation, which made it the best time of year, especially with no bed-times or homework and spending the night with your friends whenever you wanted.

A possible Blue Ridge or Pensacola trip?

     Sounds like Mom and Dad are thinking Blue Ridge for his 60th/their 35th and while the time of year isn't set in stone I'm including it here since he was born in July and their anniversary is in August. Personally I'm moreso hoping we go in the fall to experience the better weather, however will be excited to go back regardless. The first trip was a good balance of hikes and sight-seeing, intermixed with days of relaxation at the cabin with some morning coffee on the porch, hot time time, and cozy evenings. I did many of the hikes myself the first time around, so will be great to have someone else to go with me each trip this time.

     If it does end up being fall, I know the past couple year's we have spent 4th of July weekend in Pensacola. This usually involves a day at Pensacola Beach, a couple pool days, at least 1 day of seeing old friends, hitting a local restaurant or two, and time with the family. Some seltzers, margaritas, and country music over a portable speaker are all musts as well. Home will always hold a dear place in my heart and I like trying to get there once a year during summer time when the beach is in peak season and the pool can be used, especially since we no longer have access to one of our own.

September

Football is back baby!

     I love this in every sense of what it means. From watching FSU, to Sundays spent watching redzone and eating appetizers and drinking beers, to the pick-em pool, to fantasy football, this is one of those "all is right with the world again" type of things. It's a long wait from the Super Bowl's conclusion in February until Labor Day weekend, but when the dog days are finally over it's truly worth celebrating.

Our 2nd Anniversary

     It may not be as special as the very first one, but every year of marriage completed is still worth celebrating. I know a stay-cation at a Disney resort has been discussed and the one time we did it at Coronado Springs was a great deal of fun with all the pool time and nice restaurants and bars. It's a great chance for us to pick and experience a new resort like Carribean Beach Resort or Port Orleans or Boardwalk, and of course there's also the bus system to take us to the other entertaining spots on property like Disney Springs and the Boardwalk. Disney aside, like Valentine's Day an anniversary is a beautiful opportunity to celebrate marriage and the growth we experienced and memories we have made as a married couple over the past year.

October

Possible Ohio wedding for Kourtney and Zach

     If we do complete the 2025 wedding trilogy, we can celebrate Kourtney and Zach at a beautiful resort on Lake Erie. My time in Ohio is super limited, but I like how weddings provide opportunities to visit areas I wouldn't otherwise visit myself so if we do choose to fly up for a weekend I think it'll be cool to stay at a nice resort and check out the area while celebrating an old friend from PTA school.

Halloween

     Always a fun time of year. Enjoy all the themed baking and meals and pumpkin spice and watching a few themed movies and then seeing all the kids in our neighborhood dressed up as we hand out candy and sip fun cocktails and catching up with our nice neighbors and their unique pets. And sort of the end of several months of blistering heat and having to mow the lawn every week haha. If we weren't holding out for a Harry Potter themed watch party in 2026 I would totally want to throw a Harry Potter themed Halloween party too, especially considering Halloween falls on a Friday this year.

November

31st birthday

     Maybe I'm at the age now where I want these to stop coming? This definitely won't be as big of a deal as 30 was, but regardless it's always nice to celebrate over a nice dinner and get gifts from others and nice texts and phone calls from people I haven't heard from in a while haha. 

Thanksgiving

     It's in Pensacola this year, which means sleeping in, watching the parade while I sip coffee, watching the football games, and then probably heading to Nana and Pappap's for a roast beef featured big meal. Odds are we'll assume their hosting and then she'll have some bullshit excuse why she can't and then Pappap will talk sense into her and they'll re-offer to host the week before haha. It's a rare 4-day weekend and there's typically a lot of great football to watch all weekend long since rivalry week is enveloped as well.

December

Christmas time again!!

     While every month has things to look forward to, the last month is always the best. I love everything about the season: the Holy meaning behind it, the beautiful decorations and lights, the themed movies and music, the cooler weather, the traditions, the exchanging of gifts, etc. As a kid it was my favorite holiday because of receiving the presents, but as an adult I love getting thoughtful gifts for loved ones and surprising them and seeing their reactions when they open them. Above all else, it's the time with family that I love and appreciate the most, as this time of year means time off of work and a much needed break and time with loved ones. Even as an adult, I still get that giddy feeling I had as a kid as it grows nearer and nearer, especially on Christmas Eve, and I look forward to the day I get to "Be Santa" and give my kids Christmasses as special as the ones I grew up with and host them in our beautiful home. There really is something different and magical about this time of year and I will always love it.