WITHOUT wishing to sound like a grumpy old so-and-so – I really don't like New Year's Eve.

This isn't something that has happened as I hit my thirties.

Oh no, even as a “sprightly” 21-year-old, back in the millennium, I detested it.

Everywhere was packed, everywhere had at least one group of idiots in it and you just could not get served no matter how hard you tried.

Not only that but it really, really wound me up that year that I had to pay to go into a pub that I could have wandered into for free any other night of the week.

And in the intervening years, I haven't grown to love it any more.

Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my friends – which, let's face it, is what most of us do on New Year's Eve – but I can't bare the hype that goes along with it.

And if you do decide to brave a night out, getting home becomes more complex than quantum physics and more expensive than the crown jewels.

But the thing I dislike the most about New Year's Eve is......New Year's Day.

Not because I'm often feeling slightly “tired and delicate” after celebrating – only at friends' houses now because of the aforementioned reasons – but because of bloomin' New Year's resolutions.

For many years I vowed to give up smoking on January 1. I'd always started again by around about January 4.

I finally managed to stub it out for good – I hope, it's been years and I can't imagine ever lighting up again – on a grey day one September.

I've joined gyms, embarked on new exercise/eating regimes. I've been determined to start new hobbies, spend more/less time at work, be more organised, eat more vegetables and fruit, drink more water, drink less wine, watch less television, read more books, the list goes on and on.

It always ends in disappointment. And I know I'm not alone. Millions of people across the UK will wake up on January 1, determined to do something differently or “be a better person”.

So this year, my only resolution will not be to make a resolution.

And I'm sure I'll have a very happy – and guilt-free – New Year.

I hope you do too.