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16 New Year’s Resolution Cartoons That Are Hilariously Spot On

By Meaghan Cameron

Updated: Dec. 18, 2023

Many of us try to make the same resolutions each year—and these New Year's cartoons prove exactly why

Comic alarm clock New Year 2024, funny wake up vector icon, countdown speech bubble on green background. Sound effect and halftone dots shadow in pop art style. Christmas illustration

Sylfida/Getty Images

New Year’s cartoons that make resolutions funny

If you love a good New Year’s joke, then it’s only natural to keep the laughs going with New Year’s cartoons. It’s even better if the cartoons mimic the many New Year’s resolutions that people seem to replicate year after year. And let’s be honest, staying true to resolutions can be harder than thinking of them and writing them down. These cartoons showcase just that.

As you browse through these New Year’s cartoons, choose your favorites for Instagram captions as you ring in 2024. They’re funny enough! And while they might not be the best cartoons to read with the kids, adults will surely understand how hilarious (and realistic) they are.

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cartoon of a man sitting at a desk within an hourglass; text reads, "I have to hand up now, I only have an hour to get these reports done."

Dave Carpenter for Reader's Digest

New Year’s resolution #1: Learn to manage your time better

Here’s a daily life cartoon that’ll have you cracking up. Plus, never put off until tomorrow what you know you’ll forget about in an hour.

man and woman watching tv in their living room; text reads, "Well, last year I kicked gambling... the odds are 3 to 1 the New Year will be a good one."

Cartoon Resource/Shutterstock

New Year’s resolution #2: Give up gambling

Let’s hope those odds are right when making this “Happy New Year” wish.

two students in art class; text reads, "it's good, but i don't know if it's refrigerator door good."

Barbara Smaller/Everyone’s a Critic/Courtesy Princeton Architectural Press

New Year’s resolution #3: Don’t let others judge you

If you love inspirational New Year’s quotes, then this New Year’s cartoon may be your favorite: If you want to put it on the refrigerator, put it on the refrigerator.

two business men talking in an office; text reads, "You can call me dude or keep the ponytail...pick one."

Mike Shapiro

New Year’s resolution #4: Get rid of your quarantine hair

Funny work cartoons for the win! For those of us officially back in the office, the long hair and beard will have to go.

Business people sitting around a table; text: "Remember our former product, 'The Resolution,' that people only used on January Second of each year?"

Cartoon Resource/Shutterstock

New Year’s resolution #5: Increase sales

Maybe something with a little longer shelf life this time.

man feeding pigeons breadcrumbs in the park and one pigeon says, "Got anything else? I gave up carbs."

Dan Misdea

New Year’s resolution #6: Give up all that pasta

It’s hard to give up handouts. Depending on your zodiac sign, this is one of the New Year’s cartoons that may be the funniest to you.

man using a drone to read the newspaper over his wife's shoulder; text reads, "Would you please stop reading over my shoulder?"

Dave Carpenter

New Year’s resolution #7: Stop snooping

Technology makes it so easy these days. So why make a New Year’s resolution you probably won’t keep?

woman standing in a flooded bathroom about the break the glass of the Emergency Father-in-Law on the wall

Dan Reynolds/Cartoon Stock

New Year’s resolution #8: Learn how to fix things around the house

You can’t trap him in there all year.

Double check all emails cartoon

Susan Camilleri Konar for Reader’s Digest

New Year’s resolution #9: Double-check all emails

We hope this love-and-marriage cartoon reminds you to always look at the names on the email before clicking send.

Give less advice cartoon

Phil Witte for Reader’s Digest

New Year’s resolution #10: Give less advice

Sometimes no advice is the best advice. Chocolate is always a better option.

Read more cartoon

Harley Schwadron for Reader’s Digest

New Year’s resolution #11: Read more

Try not to watch the New Year’s movie first.

checklist with all items checked off: 1. rise, 2. coffee, 3. shine

Rolli for Reader's Digest

New Year’s resolution #12: Make more lists

The more you write down, the more you can check off. Using New Year’s colors might even motivate you to really mark off your goals. Blink, check.

two men debating the grammar of heiroglyphics; text "Its eye before flea, except after sea."

Dan Piraro/Bizarro.com

New Year’s resolution #13: Improve your spelling

Little rhymes—like “Auld Lang Syne“—can help you learn faster. And they’re fun to mutter under your breath at work while typing an email.

at a bar, a man wearing a dog cone and a woman are talking, "it keeps me from looking at my phone every two seconds."

Liam Francis Walsh/The New Yorker Collection

New Year’s resolution #14: Disconnect from technology

Try not to stay on your phone during the New Year’s party. Hey, if a trick like this helps you stick to your resolution, we’re all for it.

a mime sitting at a desk and someone on the computer screen says, "joel, are you on mute?"

Daniel Walsh

New Year’s resolution #15: Become more confident in video calls

You’ve been practicing having meetings online since 2020. In 2024 … maybe start turning on your camera every so often.

a couple are in a restaurant and the waiter says, "you can substitute the broccoli for the asparag you can't substitute another glass of wine for the fries."

Dave Coverly/SpeedBump

New Year’s resolution #16: Try to drink more wine

This is one of the funniest New Year’s cartoons, proving it doesn’t hurt to ask.