Where Revelers Can Celebrate New Year's Eve 2024 In The Oxford Area

OXFORD, CT — Oxford residents wanting to celebrate New Year's Eve with fine dining, a larger party, skiing and snowboarding, or just a quiet holiday have plenty of options in the area.

Here is a sampling for the region:

First Night Is Back

• First Night Hartford returns with a family-friendly, alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration that features fireworks, music, art and food in the state's capital city.

Dinner

• NYE in NHV IV | Downtown New Haven's Premiere Dinner & NYE Celebration begins at 8 p.m. at Jazzy’s Cabaret in New Haven, and runs until 1 a.m. Enjoy a 3-course dinner, live entertainment (DJs and dancing), networking, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight.
• Ring in the New Year at Artisan in Southport with an exclusive 5-course gala dinner and a live music celebration. They’ll be offering menu options like winter vegetable beignets, silver bells oysters, seared foie gras, ricotta gnocchi, crispy duck breast, and much more, plus a grand finale dessert.
• Pier 131 in Shelton will be serving up their great menu and from 10 p.m. until the ball drops at midnight. They will have a live DJ and complimentary champagne to ring in the New Year.
• Ring in the New Year with Gioia in New Haven. Reserve a table downstairs and enjoy a 4-course prix fixe dinner, or head to the heated enclosed rooftop for a laid-back celebration with an a la carte menu and festive specials. Reservations are encouraged for the prix fixe dinner, while the rooftop will be first come, first served.

Parties

• Celebrate an 80's New Year's Eve with the Pop Rocks at the Woodbury Brewing Company. From 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., enjoy entertainment by the Pop Rocks, '80s hits and a complimentary Champils toast.
• A New Year's Eve Extravaganza Celebration at Aquila's Nest Vineyards in Newtown begins at 6 p.m. It is open to all ages, and includes hors d’oeuvres, live music by Frandango band and dancing.
• The Savoy Foundation's 3rd Annual New Year's Eve Gala runs from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Wood Acres Farm in Terryville. This dress-to-impress event includes a cash bar, cocktail hour, plated dinner and dessert buffet. Enjoy horse carriage and sleigh rides, a DJ, dance floor, silent auction and raffles.
• A 21+ event with cocktail attire required is slated at the Aqua Turf Club's 2025 New Year's Eve Celebration from 6:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. in Plantsville. Sip your favorites at cocktail hour, followed by a surf and turf dinner, dancing and live music performed by Go Event Group and the Savage Brothers Band.
• Celebrate the start of 2025 at a beautiful venue, with high-energy entertainment by DJ Amor Decor, delicious food and great company. The Grand Oak Villa in Oakville has the evening covered with it all, even including a photo booth with props, a seafood display and a premium open bar.

Snow Sports

• The trails will be lit up all day and into the evening for skiing and snowboarding at Mount Southington.

Comedy

• A New Year's Eve Comedy show at Twisted Vine in Derby begins at 7 p.m. Headliners are Dan Kalwhite, Shawn Murray and Pat Oates.

Quiet Night At Home

• The Yule Log has been around for many years and offers continuous holiday music in a fireplace setting that never seems to die. Residents can usually find it and other continuous holiday music on YouTube.
• Excuse all the apostrophes, but Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest is televised annually.

The transition from one year to the next is often marked by the singing of "Auld Lang Syne," a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to "days gone by," according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who made promises to return borrowed items and repay debts at the beginning of the new year, which was in mid-March when they planted their crops.

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Related: What New Year’s Resolution Did You Keep? How Did You Do It? [Patch Survey]
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According to legend, if people kept their word, the pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. However, if they broke their promises, they would lose favor with the gods.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves.

The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are many reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse — for gaining weight, for example — and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude or a plan for coping with the stress and discomfort that comes with changing a habit or condition.