#35 Talking About New Year’s Plans｜Everyday English Phrases

During the New Year season, you often hear questions such as “What are you doing for the holidays?” or “I’ll spend New Year’s with my family.” Conversations about plans naturally increase with colleagues and friends.

Being able to handle these casual exchanges in English allows you to enjoy conversations more comfortably.

In this article, I explain useful English expressions for sharing and asking about New Year’s plans, along with key grammar points.

Dialogue

A

Do you have any plans for the New Year holidays?

B

Yes, I’m going to visit my parents in the countryside.

A

Sounds nice! How long will you stay there?

B

Probably about five days. I’ll come back around January 3rd.

A

Are you planning to do anything special for New Year’s Eve?

B

We’ll just have a quiet dinner and maybe watch the countdown on TV.

1. Common Phrases for Asking About Plans

A convenient expression for asking about someone’s plans is:

“Do you have any plans for ～?” means “Do you already have something planned for ～?” The plural plans is used because it suggests the possibility of several activities.

This expression can also be applied to specific occasions such as Christmas, weekends, or vacations.

2. Expressions for Talking About Future Plans

When describing future plans, “I’m going to ～” and “I’ll ～” are commonly used.

“I’m going to ～” is used for plans that are already decided. “I’ll ～” is often used for less certain plans or decisions made at the moment.

Adding expressions like “around January 3rd” or “probably about five days” creates a softer, more approximate tone.

3. Asking and Answering About Length of Stay

To ask about the length of someone’s stay, use:

A natural way to answer is:

The adverb probably is useful when you want to express uncertainty politely. Using “about ～ days” further softens the expression.

4. Expressions for Talking About New Year’s Eve or the Countdown

To ask about someone’s plans for New Year’s Eve, you can say:

“Are you planning to ～?” is a gentle way to ask about someone’s intentions.

Possible responses include:

Summary