Here’s my thinking: If the holiday didn’t exist, I would probably refer to them as new year resolutions. They don’t belong to the year per se. They’re resolutions for the new year, sure, but they don’t belong to it any more than Christmas gifts belong to Christmas.
But when I talk about them I tend to say new year’s resolutions because they belong to the holiday/event of New Year’s Eve. New Year’s should always have the possessive b/c it’s New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.
Given that logic, I’d probably say “New Year’s resolutions” (w/ or w/o caps) even when referring to multiple sets of resolutions over a number of years. I don’t make new year’s resolutions. So it’s sort of a mute point.
(Sorry, Gail, I am always tempted to use words wrongly when you’re around. But let’s say mute b/c years = year’s when spoken aloud. Or is it “out loud”?)
I’ve looked at the word year too long and now it’s freaking me out.