Can you believe it? Yet another year is about to come to an end.
Tonight, many of us will be asked to propose an appropriate toast as the seconds tick down to midnight.
There are two keys to a successful toast:
1. Being prepared. You want to be able to offer your words of wisdom and/or humor with natural ease. And as any actor would tell you, the key to acting natural is rehearsal. So, if you have trouble memorizing things, keep your toast short.
2. Knowing your audience. Some people are easily offended, and if anyone like that will be attending the party, it’s best to stick with a sincere sentiment of some sort. On the other hand, if your guests like to party, something humorous would be most welcome.
The quotes that follow weren’t necessarily concocted with a New Year’s Eve toast in mind. But they’re easily adaptable for that purpose.
Keeping your audience in mind, consider one of the following. And if you don’t think any of them would click, there’s always a simple, “Cheers!”
* “Wine has two defects: If you add water to it, you ruin it; if you do not add water, it ruins you.”
– Spanish proverb
* “Wine is like the incarnation – it is both divine and human.”
– Paul Tillich
* “There comes a time in every woman’s life when the only thing that helps is a glass of Champagne.”
– Bette Davis
* “At the end of an evening, Cognac is my last beverage and cheese is my last food… making for very sweet dreams.”
– Max McCalman
* “Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter… Sermons and soda-water the day after.”
– Lord Byron in “Don Juan”
* “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.”
– Mark Twain
