Setting New Year intentions means choosing how you want to live and feel in the year ahead, rather than writing resolutions to keep or break. A warm cup of cacao is a simple way to make it a ritual: you slow down, look back at the year, write one to three intentions and drink to them.
New Year intentions vs resolutions
A resolution is a rule or a target: wake at 6 a.m., save a set amount, stop ordering takeout. One missed week can make it feel broken.
An intention describes how you want to live, written as if it were already true. You do not pass or fail it; you drift and come back.
Examples: resolutions rewritten as intentions
- "Read 24 books" becomes "I make time to read, a few pages at a time."
- "Call my parents more" becomes "I stay close to the people who raised me."
- "Exercise more" becomes "I find a kind of movement I look forward to."
- "Save more money" becomes "I spend on what I truly value."
- "Learn a language" becomes "I let myself be a beginner at something."
- "Travel more" becomes "I go somewhere new each season, even across town."
How to write a New Year intention
- Start with a feeling. How do you want this year to feel? Unhurried, curious, generous: pick a word or two.
- Use the present tense. Begin with "I" and name what you do: "I say yes to invitations," not "I will try to be more social."
- Keep it small. Give each a single line, three at most, so it still works on a busy day. Then read it aloud: if it sounds like a chore, change the words.
What you need
- Cacao: 10 to 20 g per person (1 to 2 tablespoons of pieces). We use Alma Cacao, 100% whole ceremonial cacao paste in small pieces from native communities of the Peruvian Amazon. New to it? See our guide to ceremonial cacao for beginners.
- Water or milk: 6 to 8 oz per person, plus a large saucepan (3 to 4 quarts for eight) and a whisk or frother.
- For the table: a slip of paper, a card and an envelope for each guest, pens, a candle and a fireproof bowl.
Caffeine and safety notes
A 20 g cup holds about 16 to 32 mg of caffeine, a sixth to a third of the caffeine in an 8 oz cup of brewed coffee (about 95 mg), and a 10 g cup about 8 to 16 mg. The low figure is USDA's; published lab data for baking chocolate run about twice as high, because cacao varies from bean to bean. See cacao's caffeine next to coffee and tea.
Theobromine is a mild stimulant, so people sensitive to caffeine or other stimulants may feel it. If you are pregnant or nursing, take medication or manage a health condition, check with your healthcare provider first. Cacao and chocolate are toxic to dogs, so keep your cup out of reach.
A New Year's Eve ritual with friends
Gather two to eight friends an hour before dinner or the party, and save a few minutes for midnight.
- Set the table. Lay out the paper and pens. Set the candle in a steady holder beside the fireproof bowl, away from anything that can catch; light it once everyone sits down, and never leave a flame unattended.
- Brew the shared pot. For eight, heat 6 to 8 measuring cups of water or milk to about 180°F and whisk in 160 g of cacao (20 g per person); one ½ lb Starter pouch covers it. Have a cacao-free warm drink ready, and share the safety notes above before anyone takes a cup.
- Share a highlight (15 minutes). After the first sip, each person takes a minute to tell one moment from the year they want to remember.
- Say goodbye to the year (15 minutes). On the slip, write what you are leaving behind; on the card, your intentions. Tear up the slips together, or burn them one at a time in the fireproof bowl, away from anything that can catch, and never leave a flame unattended; let the ash cool. If you already let go at the winter solstice, write a thank-you to the old year instead and keep it.
- Seal and swap (5 minutes). Photograph your card, seal it in a named envelope and give it to a friend to hand back next New Year's Eve.
- At midnight. Pour a toast. For one without alcohol, choose a cacao-free drink from our warm non-alcoholic drinks, such as mulled apple cider. Each person says one word for the year, then everyone raises a glass.
For an evening ritual, anyone sensitive to stimulants may prefer a smaller cup (half a serving, about 10 g of cacao) or an earlier start; our answer to can you drink cacao at night explains the timing.
More New Year's Eve ritual ideas
- Pick twelve photos. Choose one per month and scroll through them together.
- Write a "done" list. Note everything you finished or tried this year.
- Clear one small space. Tidy a drawer or your inbox before midnight.
- Mark three days. Put a trip, a dinner with a friend and a rest day on the new calendar.
- Start a fresh notebook. Date page one and write your first intention.
- Open a window at midnight. Let the old year out and the new one in.
A quiet New Year's Day ritual for one
Give the first morning of the year 30 to 45 minutes before you open your phone. Any other quiet morning works too.
- Make the year's first cup. Whisk 10 to 20 g of cacao into 6 to 8 oz of water or milk at about 180°F, then sit by a window and take a few slow breaths before sipping.
- Look back and ahead (20 minutes). Answer three looking-back prompts below, then two or three looking-ahead prompts.
- Write your intentions. Use the last four prompts to turn your answers into one to three present-tense lines, or one word for the year.
- Take a first step. Before noon, do one small thing that matches an intention, such as taking a short walk.
For a longer version with music, bring your intentions to a full cacao ceremony at home.
12 New Year journal prompts for your intentions
Pick a few from each group and write without editing. If you are struggling, reach out to someone you trust or a mental health professional.
Looking back on the year
- What three moments from this year would I happily live again?
- When did I feel most like myself this year, and who was with me?
- What did I learn the hard way, and how do I want to use it?
- What am I ready to leave with the old year?
Looking ahead
- How do I want an ordinary weekday to feel a year from now?
- What would I try this year if nobody were judging the result?
- Which friendships do I want to give more care to?
- When I picture next New Year's Eve, what do I hope I can say about this year?
Turning it into an intention
- Which three words describe how I want this year to feel?
- What small act could I repeat every week that matches them?
- What will I tell myself on the day I slip?
- If I could keep only one intention, which would it be?
Keeping your intentions all year
- Reread them over a cup. Every week or two, a short mindfulness ritual with cacao is a good time to ask: where did I live this intention lately?
- Check in each season. Rewrite any that no longer fit, and begin again after a hard week; there is no streak to break.
- Close the loop in December. A winter solstice ritual is a good evening to review them and write new ones.
Common questions
What is the difference between a New Year intention and a resolution?
A resolution is a rule or a target, such as reading 24 books. An intention describes how you want to live and feel, in the present tense, such as "I make time to read," and you can return to it on any day.
What do you do in a New Year's Eve ritual?
A New Year's Eve ritual looks back at the year, lets go of what you do not want to carry forward and names how you want the new year to feel. In ours, friends share a pot of cacao and a favorite moment, write their intentions and seal them in envelopes for next year.
How do you set intentions for the new year?
Take 30 to 45 minutes with a notebook and a warm drink. Look back at the year, decide how you want the next one to feel, then write one to three present-tense sentences that start with "I," such as "I leave room between things."
