Ten Things You Could Do In The New Year

10. With the addition of the Customisation feature, many Neopets and their owners have gone wild, buying everything and anything to dress their pet up with. I bet your Neopet's closet is full, right? Well - start by having a clear out! There are many things s/he probably doesn't wear, and therefore they have no use for them. Maybe you received some clothes or accessories that you don't particularly like, or maybe they're not "in fashion" with the current season. You could make a few neopoints for yourself if you sell these off! Would it not be nice to have a fabulous full bank account for once? January sales come to mind...

9. Have you ever had an argument with your Neopet, or fellow Neopians? Maybe you've had a fall out with a guild member, or somebody you have tried to trade with. Nobody wants enemies; put your wrongs right and enter the New Year on a clean slate. "Sorry" seems to be the hardest word, but you will feel much better for doing it, I promise! Instead of five enemies, you could make yourself five acquaintances. Of course, the festive season may not be to everybody's taste, and you might not get as far as you would like...

8. It's the season of giving; lend a helping hand to those in need. Maybe you could stop by the local Quest board and lend a hand to those in need of items, using the shop wizard to find them. If you don't fancy that, there is always the Help board, where people are always need help for various things around the site! May it be HTML help, how to open a shop, how to find X or Y items, and so on. Would you not feel better for helping them on their way? Of course you would. You might get some street cred whilst doing it, but that's not a guarantee!

7. Give your pet a makeover. Who does not like to be pampered? It's the holidays - the season of giving. Give your pet a fresh look! There are plenty of ways to do it these days; paint brushes, the secret laboratory ray, Customisation... Give your Elephante that funky hat he's always wanted, or perhaps you think he'd look better with a Fashionable Potato Sack. Either way, every one likes an excuse to dress up... New Year is the perfect excuse for spending a few of your hard earned neopoints. ;)

6. Try a few games that you have never played before. I am sure there are plenty you have tried to avoid at all costs, but, really, they are not that bad. You might find you have a hidden talent at one of these games, and earn yourself a brand spanking new trophy! Is your trophy cabinet looking a little bit bare? Get practicing is all I can say to you... Remember, you might have a better chance at winning a trophy if you try at the beginning of the month, when the scores are reset.

5. Start a new gallery: everyone likes to have a collection that others will drool over. Do not try and make out that you do not! Saving a few thousand neopoints a day could make all the difference. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to collect all of those fabulous cakes and cookies from the bakery, or perhaps you’ve got your eye set on more expensive items, like paint brushes. Can you imagine acquiring all of those fantastic paint brushes? They would be sitting in your gallery for all to see... Can you feel the jealousy rising...? Go on. Get saving! If your gallery is good enough, it might just win the gallery spotlight. Now, wouldn’t that be nice? Starting off the New Year with a wonderful shiny trophy...!

4. Clear out that dusty Safety Deposit Box of yours! If you are anything like me, you will shove everything and anything into that handy little feature. Of course, this leads to a few thousand items gathering dust and Spyder webs... I tried to send Xjordy into our Safety Deposit Box the other day, and he almost got lost. So, start the New Year by clearing it out. Get rid of anything that is useless to you, but could be a life saver for other Neopians and their Neopets. You could make yourself a few neopoints, too. An extra couple of thousand for that Baby Paint Brush you have always wanted...

3. Try a new font, lookup or pet page. Get in touch with your creative side and try a few things that you haven’t before: experiment with a new font and avatar combination. You could update your pet’s page with interesting information, and a new layout – perhaps a new colour scheme and photograph, too! You could also try and create a brand new lookup for your user lookup, shop, or gallery! Everything is better when it’s personally customised by you. After all, nobody wants to be a clone of the other millions of players that are also on Neopets!! A fresh look is always appreciated in the New Year; remove any bad memories of the past year by starting anew.

2. Try your hand at something you have never done before. Maybe you have never set foot in that place they call “the Battledome”; there are plenty of nice people willing to help you out on the good old Battledome Chat. Maybe you have never been much of an avatar collector, but you are starting to gather a real collection! You could converse on the Avatar Chat to get helpful hints for that secret game avatar you have been trying to get for months, but your attempts have been unsuccessful. “Restocking” is a phenomenon unknown to many, yet it can be more profitable than a whole day of playing games. Try different shops to get as many items as you can during the “restock” – see how much you can make by the New Year! Perhaps you will be able to afford that brand new cape for your pet’s closet...

1. Last, but not least: try and enter some of Neopet’s many site events! There are plenty for everyone: the Art Gallery, Poetry Gallery, Neopian Times, Storytelling, Random Contest, and many, many more. Every one has a talent (and many have left theirs undiscovered as of yet), but you could use that talent to bag yourself a brand new trophy for the New Year, and possibly give you something to do for the next three-hundred and sixty five days... ;)

So there you have it. Ten things that you could do before the New Year. If you have not got enough time to do any of these during the year ten, then you can always practice for them for the end of Year Eleven... It will be fun, right? Even if you do not plan on attempting any of these things, I would like to think I have inspired a few individual Neopians to get over their fear of the unknown and try something brand new!

Happy New Year, Neopia!!!