2025 Wrap Up: 52 Edition

I…um…what…? How are we here? How is it the 1st of January in 2026? Where did the last year go?

But, I guess we’re here, and it’s time for a yearly wrap up, the 52-in-52 edition.

I remember writing this list at the end of 2024, just desperate to feel joy again. I had a dark year, and I needed to feel the sunshine on my face. I focused my list on the little moments that would make life fun again.

I managed to complete 25 out of the 52 items on the list.

Although I didn’t finish everything, it was a great reminder that even ticking just one item off the list meant I’d made time to do something fun. And while this year still had its moments, I can certainly say that in hindsight, it’s been a good year.

My family are healthy. We’re all together, and we’re still here. We have a roof over our heads. We smile daily. We have jobs, and our son is doing well at school. We have good friends, and neighbours. We live in a beautiful part of the world. Every day, we feel safe where we are.

Life is good.

Let’s take a look at what I managed to get done.

I read books

My list had a couple of items that were reading-related:

• Use StoryGraph to track my reading
• Read a book by the water

I really enjoyed getting back into reading, with reading each night before bed, or when I wanted to cut back on my social media time. The escapism that reading offers was very helpful, certainly when politically, 2025 was a rather depressing place to be. Using Storygraph has been really fun, and I really love checking out the stats each month.

Here’s my stats round-up for 2025:

In hindsight, I should probably get better at rating books. I read some fantastic books this year, and only rated one with a 5 star! Whoops.

I had planned to read in a few more locations, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But I did manage to carve out some time to read at the beach this week while the boys played in the water.

I had hobbies

On top of the reading, I was able to knock off other items on the list that were related to hobbies.

• Paint something – for our work Christmas party, we went to a pottery studio and chose something to paint. I selected a mug, and attempted a eurovision-themed rainbow gradient with a loveheart.
• Finish a television series – honestly, I can’t remember what one it was that allowed me to tick this off, but I’ve watched a few series this year. And clearly, at some point during the year ticked it off in my app *shrug
• Photo a day – I installed the “1 second every day” app, taking videos and photos each day, and adding them to the calendar. Annoyingly, when I put the video together I realised I kept swapping between portrait and landscape. I’ve already decided I want to do another one for 2026, because I really enjoy watching the video (it’s probably boring for everyone else), so maybe I’ll remember to do portrait only for 2026.

• Photograph the stars – taken while we were on our caravan trip at the start of the year. We stayed in some beautiful places with incredible views of the sky.
• Create a photo album of a year in photos – This one I did on my private Facebook, and every so often would do a bit of a photo dump to share with everyone. I’ve also been downloading and backing up all my photos, and maybe one day I will do a scrapbook with them.
• Learn to make a new cocktail – achieved while on an anniversary weekend away with my husband. We did a cocktail class, where we learned to make an amazing chilli vodka cocktail. I do not like spicy things, but the barman convinced me to try it, and it was incredible. The chilli cut through the sweetness perfectly, that it left a nice taste in your mouth with only the slightest tinge of a bite after. Perfection.
• Do a new jigsaw puzzle – this year saw the birth of a new tradition with a friend. We have a jigsaw puzzle that only the two of us can work on when we’re together, and when watching sporting events. At the current rate, the puzzle will be done by the time we’re 75. At the Dead Cow Gully Backyard Ultra, we amused other spectators greatly when they looked at the puzzle, only to find it was “101 Pooping Puppies“. Friends…let me tell you, when you’re squinting at a piece and trying to work out if you’re looking at a turd or a dog coat…there are laughs to be had. Highly recommend. The puzzle is currently rolled up in a felt piece, stored safely in my office, awaiting its next outing.
• See a live performance – I went to see a band in Brisbane with my sister this year, The Hard Quartet (the lead singer of Pavement’s new band), and very spontaneously, Good Things Festival in Brisbane. A friend and I bought the tickets randomly when we discussed how seeing Garbage was on our bucket list, only to find she was coming for the festival, and had openly said she was unlikely to tour again (disgruntled with spotify and the music industry). That means we got to see round 2 of “ballgate”, with Shirley Manson being pissed off about inflatable balls in the crowd, with the Australian public doubling down and bringing even more. Her opening song was rewritten with the lyrics of “are you ready for balls?” (yes, we were.)

And so many more

I could go on, and on, and tell you a story about most of these, but here were the remaining items on the list that I ticked off this year:

• Go for a bike ride
• Walk by the ocean
• Try a new cafe
• Buy a new candle
• Sit by the fire
• Dance
• Go somewhere blue (the river, when my husband and son went fishing, and I sat reading a book)
• Go somewhere yellow (road trip to the Bundaberg Brewed Drinks factory for Ginger Beer tasting with my mother and my son)
• Take a bath
• Go for a hike
• Try a new colour nail polish (I’ve bought a dip powder kit and become obsessed with painting my nails – it’s so fun, even if I’m not very good at it)
• Have a candlelit dinner with my husband
• Donate blood
• Reach a milestone town on Run Down Under – now that I’m not allowed to run anymore, this is going to take a lot longer…in fact, I’m forecast to finish in 2036!! Only 9,185.4km left to go…eek. I’ve completed 4,894.6km to date.

What a fantastic year, seriously. There were definitely some lows, but look at all the fun things that I made time for this year. I got to spend precious time with my family and friends, learned some new skills, and collected a lot of memories.

I’m so grateful that I started the 52-in-52 tradition so long ago. It’s truly one of my favourite things to do. See you soon for the 2026 list!