New Year’s Eve is meant for smooching. In my opinion, you may as well not celebrate New Year’s if you aren’t going to kiss someone at midnight! It’s the kiss that makes the celebration, isn’t it?  

Apparently I’m not the only one who thinks this way, because a recent TouchTunes Corp survey of 84,500 people found that 34 percent of people think kissing someone at midnight is even more important than watching one’s weight. (Call me shallow, but watching your weight might be a prerequisite for getting a midnight kiss.) 

So, why is the midnight kiss so important? The theory is that it is supposed to signify whether you will have abundance of love in the coming year. If you have a significant other, the kiss will ensure that the passion is maintained in your relationship in the new year. If you are single, kissing someone (anyone) will set the love wheels in motion, bringing you romance and passion in the year ahead.

If you want to be lucky in love in 2009, you had better find a pair of lips to lock with by midnight! (Those of you who find yourself surrounded by only attached men and men you find highly un-kissable, I give you a reprieve.) But because I am an optimist, I believe every one of you, in a relationship or not, kissed at midnight or not, will be getting lots of sex, love, and romance in the new year.

To prepare, I’m giving you my list of love rules for 2009 to bring romance in and keep passion alive. Feel free to pass these on to your men!

   Fit After Thirty’s Romance Rules For The New Year

 1.Text for flirtation and quick information, call for conversations and invitations. Texting has changed the landscape of love. Nothing is sexier than a flirtation text. On the other hand, nothing says, “you are not worth the effort of dialing a phone, and your answer is not that important to me,” than an invitation text. If you’re suggesting a date, up the effort with a call. And remember that a text can never replace the sound of the voice someone cares about, calling to say “I can’t stop thinking about you and can’t wait to see you.”

2. Condoms, condoms, condoms. Unless you’re married. In which case, you’re getting to have the best sex ever, and we singles are quite envious of your skin to skin sexual good fortune, so you better be making us proud by having lots of it!

3. Out with the old. In with the new. The New Year is about new beginnings, after all. If your relationship has run its course, it might be time to say goodbye to one and hello to another. 

4. Don’t play games. If you have to play cat and mouse too much with a love interest, the odds are that one of you is not looking for a real relationship, and it might be time to roll the dice on someone new, or someone not at all, (so someone new has space to enter when its time)

5. Make an ex-love new.  The great thing about passage of time means that people have had a chance to grow and evolve. Whether it’s a relationship that never got to be fully explored, or one that crashed and burned, it might be time to give it another try. I’ve known several couples who came together after a break and are now happily married. Let your head and not your heart be your guide in this scenario!

6. Be bold, not cold. Feelings are meant for expressing. To steal from John Mayer’s song, “Say what ya need to say!”

7. Grow up. Dorothy ain’t in Kansas anymore, and *f.a.t. sisters, you ain’t in college anymore.  Choose your relationships accordingly:

a. Stop acting like a girl and communicate your wants, needs, and expectations like an adult. Don’t expect men to read your minds.

b. Ditch the boys and find yourself a man. Boys are self-centered and think of themselves first. Men are chivalrous and put a woman’s well being first.

c. Take an alcohol inventory of the relationship.  If the extent of the depth of your communication is about where you two are going to party, it’s not a relationship. If the only relating you do is when one or both of you are drunk, it’s not a relationship. If the only time he wants to have sex with you is when he’s drunk, it’s not a relationship. If the majority of his time is spent boozing with the boys and just coming to you for a night cap (booty call), it’s not a relationship. 

You graduated years ago, baby! Use your degree and pick wisely in ‘09!

8. Ditch the Saturday night rut. If you’re single and looking, quit going to Cheers “where everybody knows your name”, and find yourself a new hangout with new people. If you’re in a serious relationship, pick some new date night destinations to keep it interesting.

9. Spice it up in the bedroom.  New Year= New places. New positions. New toys. New rituals. New foreplay methods. New (fill in the blank)

10. Re-sexify yourself. Get Fit After Thirty! Get your bod in shape, buy some new sexy outfits, and wear them proudly! Nothing says, “I’m ready for love” like a woman who looks ready for love.

Happy New Years Eve! Cheers!