2024 flew by at an unbelievable speed, it’s New Year again with its festive preparations, the hunt for unbought gifts, the race for exotic products, and culinary brilliance. Since the writer, translator, publisher, and reader of this piece are mostly working-class people longing for some rest, we’ve come with a few important pre-holiday tips and reminders.

1. Think more carefully about gifts. There's no need to buy useless or purposeless items just to fill the gift box, nor should you give something you're not sure the recipient will like. Don’t forget about responsible consumption and minimalism, and always strive to avoid the question, "Now, where do I put this?" It's better to give one small, meaningful item than ten pieces of flashy, colorful boxes filled with items, half of which are decorative and will never be used.

2. Don’t buy uncomfortable, expensive, and extravagant outfits just for the holidays. Or, if you do, don’t wear them during the endless cycle of reheating blinchiks and dolma. Save those outfits for corporate parties where you can dazzle your colleagues. And remember, house slippers don’t pair well with glittery, sequin-covered dress.

3. The holidays are shorter than you think—unless you’ve taken a month-long vacation. This means there’s no need to prepare on a Noah’s Ark scale for just three or four days. Nothing will happen if you make two salads instead of four, plan for three appetizers instead of five, and serve a delicious hot dish instead of a sad-looking whole roast pig on the table. We’ve been there, done that and no one has ever shamed us for it.

4. Why struggle with cooking at all if it’s not your greatest talent? Especially when you have the option to order all your favorite dishes from beloved restaurants and cafes. From hearty hot meals to light salads, from Eastern sweets to the most popular cakes and pastries, you can confidently place an order through Yandex Eats, pay with any linked card of IDBank, earn 1% idcoins, and spend the free time with your loved ones. Plus, you can use the accumulated idcoins for more special moments with them. This offer is valid until January 31, 2025.

In the end, we are left with only one reminder: Christmas and New Year holidays are about love and family, not food.

THE BANK IS SUPERVISED BY RA CBA