If you’re not still stuck in your couch cushions, weighed down by the delicious and copious amounts of Holiday food you likely inhaled on Tuesday, the Betster encourages you to start looking forward to 2019.

No sooner is Christmas over than we start preparing for a new year, and a New Year’s Eve celebration to go with it. Some Homerites may have seen the saying “new year, new me” circulating the last few years. While setting goals and working to improve oneself is never a bad idea, the Betster doesn’t know if pretending one is a whole new person every time Jan. 1 comes around is such a great way to go through life.

By all means, make a resolution! But make sure it’s one you can keep. More than that, make sure it’s one you actually want to keep, not one you think you should be making because “it’s the right thing to do.”

If you don’t actually want to loose weight and go to the gym three times a week, don’t set that as a resolution this year. If your heart isn’t in it, you’ve set yourself up to fail.

Spend time instead reflecting on what you really, truly care about. Is it the environment? Set a resolution that focuses on reducing waste. Maybe you do want to focus on making a healthier lifestyle. Start small — resolve to drink the proper amount of water every day (it’s harder than it sounds).

The more you actually care about the thing you resolve to do, the more likely you are to keep up that resolution far into 2019. After all, resolutions are about making realistic, lasting life changes, right? Biting off more than you can chew starting Jan. 1 won’t set you up to achieve that goal.

If you’d rather postpone thoughts of resolutions and the new year for now, occupy yourself with these best bets:

BEST BEGINNERS WELCOME BET: There will be a square and contra dance on Saturday, Dec. 29, at West Homer Elementary School starting at 7:30 p.m. Laura Patty will call to music by the China Pooters. Please bring clean soft-soled shoes to dance in. Beginners welcome. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for students. Kids 16 and younger get in free.

BEST BOOGIE BET: Join Alice’s Champagne Palace on at 9 p.m. Saturday for the next installment of the Salmonfest Music Series: Edge of the West. The band’s catchy, quirky originals and outlaw hippie sound strikes a chord with lovers of alt-country, Americana and the Grateful Dead. The band features members who also play with Great American Taxi, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Todd Snider, Jefferson Starship and more. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. They are available online at eventbrite.com

BEST BOARDING BET: The Homer Rope Tow is open for skiing and snowboarding on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It costs $5 for students 18 and under, and $10 for adults. For updated conditions, call 235-SNOW. This skiing and snowboarding hill is operated by volunteers from the Kachemak Ski Club, which has been providing winter sports opportunities for the Homer area since 1948. The ski hill has a 260 foot vertical drop and multiple routes down the slopes, the top accessible by the 850 foot long rope tow. A woodstove heated lodge is at the base of the hill, a short 1/4 mile downhill hike or ski from the parking area on Ohlson Mountain Road. There is an outhouse but no running water. There is a microwave for heating lunches or snacks. Season passes are available for purchase at the hill as well. Skiers/ snowboarders 17 and under must have a signed parental liability waiver on file.

BEST BRING ON THE NEW YEAR BET: On New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, there will be a Prime Rib Dinner from 5-6:30 p.m. at the Anchor Point Senior Center. Tickets are available at the center. Participants can go eat and then go to the VFW for the Flag Ceremony and Sparkling Display afterward.