NEW YORK (AP) — With Labubus hanging from our bags, Dubai chocolate in our bellies and “6-7” ringing in our ears, it’s almost time to bid farewell to a few things that went hard in 2025.
Scat. Don’t follow us into the new year. You’ve had your 15 minutes. We’re over you.
Deep six the ‘6-7’ gripes
The young have made up slang for centuries. For Gen Alpha and their juniors, it’s skibidi and rizz and, yes, “6-7.” The numbers come with a juggling-esque, palms-up hand gesture and serve to annoy lots of teachers and parents (it’s the frequency, group pile on and decibel level that really gets ‘em).
Just breathe, dear grownies. Your youth-speak also served to annoy. It’s just, that was a long time ago and you don’t really remember it. But wait. There’s a whole ‘nother contingent of adults who are all in on “6-7.” Please stop. It’s not yours. You don’t get to say it. You receive zero cool parent points.
Like most memes, there’s an origin story: rapper Skrilla’s “6-7” lyric in “Doot Doot (6 7),” for starters, along with Charlotte Hornet LaMelo Ball’s height. The 6-7-ness of it all blew up on TikTok and stayed put throughout 2025.
So what does it actually mean? Nothing, but it serves its purpose: To be random and to confuse the unfamiliar. It also did well as clickbait for Dictionary.com, which made the two numbers its word of the year.
Mission accomplished, “6-7.” Farewell.
Positive vibes only?
Maintain a positive mindset. At all times. No matter what.
Sorry, toxic positivity people, but that’s not how human emotion works, especially in these divisive times. Emotion shaming, in many ways, was on the march in 2025.
“Good vibes only.” “Don’t be so negative.” “It could be worse.” Sounds harmless, or even helpful, with empathy. Often, though, those words are shot like arrows to quelch legit feelings for no good reason.
Optimism in itself is a great thing, with numerous studies over the decades demonstrating a link between a positive outlook and good health outcomes. That said, check your “positive vibes only” demand at the door as we head into a new year. In other words, just let them…
Feel the feels. Get help if you need it. Suppression is oppression.
Protein, protein everywhere
Protein is a fundamental building block. We need protein. But does the average healthy adult need THIS much added protein? Big Food has produced an onslaught of high-protein processed foods, from Starbucks foam for drinks to Pop-Tarts, popcorn, cookies and muffins.
Here’s the thing, according to nutritionists: Your body is pretty good at making protein. You do need a small amount from food, unless you’re bulking or maxing. In which case, do you.
The amount of protein you need depends on your age, weight and personal nutritional needs. It’s especially important to make sure children and older adults get enough protein-rich foods.
That said, let’s leave behind the mass commodification of added protein in processed foods that just might not be so healthy to begin with.
Logic.
Say bye-bye to Labubu
The plush toy/charm/collectible famously known as Labubu has been around for a decade, but it’s only in the last year or so the thing reached craze level in the U.S.
China’s Pop Mart began U.S. sales of the furry little monsters on key rings back in 2023. Now, they’re everywhere. Labubu hashtags on TikTok and Instagram have morphed into numerous search word combinations with millions of hits.
Boomers on down to kids collect Labubu and its pals, all of which sport pointy ears and serrated teeth. Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Lisa of Blackpink have shown theirs off. So have David Beckham and Dillon Brooks.
Thank you Kasing Lung. Back in 2015, the Hong Kong-born artist and illustrator raised in the Netherlands created the character and a universe of monsters for picture books inspired by the tales of Nordic mythology he enjoyed as a child.
Peak saturation has been achieved. The new year may be just the right time to say labu-bye.
Taking sides to the nth degree
“There is unrest in the Forest. There is trouble with the trees. For the Maples want more sunlight. And the Oaks ignore their pleas.”
Consider that a parable, courtesy of a little band called Rush in the 1978 song “The Trees.” Sound familiar?
If 2025 was anything, it was about taking sides, as opposed to, oh let’s see, meaningful negotiation, civil discourse. How about just plain manners?
We fought over The Cracker Barrel logo. There was a protracted U.S. government shutdown amid the high-stakes schism that is politics and culture war in America.
We’re a house haunted by taking sides. We all know the issues. Will it take a generation to get us back to the table? Here’s hoping it happens sooner rather than later. While unlikely, we implore: Do better 2026.
“There is trouble in the Forest. And the creatures all have fled. As the Maples scream, ‘Oppression!’ And the Oaks, just shake their heads.”
You’re a barrel and you’re a barrel
They hug the hips. They widen at the thighs. They reach peak circumference around the knees. They taper at the ankles.
So wrote Vogue in 2023 about barrel jeans, a puzzling style then and now. The stakes got higher for the divisive look when Alaïa put them on the runway for fall-winter that year. There were others, too, with some saying the look was reminiscent of jodhpurs and 1920s workwear.
As Vogue noted, quite a few fashion editors loved them. So did Gigi Hadid and Blake Lively. Could it have anything to do with the notion that barrel pants look good on exactly one body type: theirs. Tall. Slim. Leggy.
Here in 2025, the rest of us try. We really, really do. Amplified volume is just so, well, troubling, for oh so many.
So where will our pants go in the new year? Somewhere a little less, well, weird would be nice.
Dubai chocolate, oh boy
When we weren’t navigating Labubu mania this year, what were we doing? Why, eating, making and procuring Dubai chocolate, of course. Or some variant thereof.
Dubai chocolate is to 2025 what sourdough starter was to pandemic lockdowns. Relentless. And, really, does anybody like/need that much filling in chocolate bars?
What is pistachio cream, tahini and crunchy kataifi pastry for the original filling has spun off wildly into other flavor profiles and products, including milkshakes and brownies. Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Costco are in on the bonanza.
How did it all begin? With a pregnancy craving for Sarah Hamouda, the British Egyptian co-founder of FIX Dessert Chocolatier. She wanted creamy, crunchy and familiar, and came up with the “Can’t Get Knafeh Of It” chocolate bar in 2022, with help from chef Nouel Catis Omamalin.
Knafeh is a traditional Middle Eastern treat made of noodle-shaped toasted kataifi with a cheese layer, all soaked in a sweet syrup. Kataifi is a type of phyllo dough.
Hamouda and her husband, Yezen Alani, were working full-time corporate jobs in Dubai but left those gigs once their chocolate took over the world. They were helped along in a huge way by ASMR TikToker Maria Vehera, who crunched her way through one of their bars in 2023.
Vehera’s video has been viewed more than 140 million times.
Stuff yourselves silly with Dubai chocolate if you must, for now. But let’s modulate the craziness when 2026, and the next big thing, rolls around.
Over It runners-up
I’m available: Don’t be a 24-hour availability person in the new year. It’s not good for your health, and it shouldn’t be necessary to get ahead in life. Break the cycle!
AI slop: There’s no escaping AI, it seems, so get it right. Quality matters. Effort matters. Substance counts. Verbosity. Fabrications. Junk AI no more in 2026.
Sneaky little terms of agreement: Especially the ones that say, in their own words, “We can harass you with texts and emails forever, even if you unsubscribe.” Be gone!