Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2023 Around Winnetka, Glencoe

WINNETKA, IL — That's a wrap for 2023, well almost. With the final days of another year here, it's time to reflect on the last 12 months while also planning for what's ahead.

If you're looking to celebrate the start of 2024 without heading as far south as the city of Chicago, here are some ideas and happenings along the North Shore, in chronological order:

• Itty Bitty New Year, Oakton Community Center, 4701 Oakton St., Skokie (10 a.m. - noon, Dec. 31)
• Itty Bitty New Year, Takiff Center, 999 Green Bay Road, Glencoe (11 a.m., Dec. 31)
• Michael's "Noon" Years Eve Party, Michael's Grill, 1879 Second St., Highland Park
• Noon Year's Eve Storytime, Booked, 506 Main St., Evanston (11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Dec. 31)
• Magical New Year, Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton St., Skokie (11:45 a.m. - 1 p.m., Dec. 31)
• Noon Year's Eve Skate: Hello 2024, Skatium Ice Arena, 9340 Weber Park Place, Skokie (11:55 a.m. - 2 p.m., Dec. 31)
• 4th Annual Evanston Made New Year’s Eve Auction, 2040 Brown Ave., Evanston (noon - 5 p.m., Dec. 31)
• New Year's Eve at Temperance Beer Co.with McBrennan's Gourmet Burger Shack (noon - 5 p.m., Dec. 31)
• WhirlyBall New Years Eve Vernon Hills Afternoon Family Fun Event, 285 Center Drive, Vernon Hills (noon - 4 p.m., Dec. 31)
• North “Pole” Distillery Holiday Pop-Up, North Shore Distillery, 13990 Rockland Road, Green Oaks (2 - 8 p.m., Dec. 31)
• New Year's Eve Prix Fixe Dinner at Oaken, 200 N. Field Drive, Lake Forest (3 p.m. to midnight, Dec. 31)
• New Year's Eve at LeTour, 625 Davis St., Evanston (5 p.m. - midnight, Dec. 31)
• New Year's Eve Countdown Party, Pit & Tap, 1168 Wilmette Ave., Wilmette (Hourly from 5-9 p.m., Dec. 31)
• New Year's Eve at Bitter Blossom, 1707 Maple Ave., Evanston (7 p.m., Dec. 31 - 1 a.m., Jan. 1)
• Whiskey Wonderland at Take Flight Spirits, 8038 Lincoln Ave., Skokie (8 p.m., Dec. 31 - 1 a.m., Jan. 1)
• District Brew Yards New Year's Eve Party, 700 N. Milwaukee Ave., Wheeling (8 p.m., Dec. 31 - 1 a.m., Jan. 1)
• Palmhouse New Year's Eve Burlesque Extravaganza, 619 Howard St. (9 p.m., Dec. 31 - 1 a.m., Jan. 1)
• Low Key NYE 2024 at Ignite Gaming Lounge, 8125 Skokie Blvd., Skokie (9 p.m., Dec. 31 - 1 a.m. Jan. 1)
• The Lemonheads - New Year's Eve Extravaganza, Evanston Space, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston (9 p.m., Dec. 31)
• A Very Chicago New Year, Madame Zuzu's, 1876 1st Street, Highland Park (9:30 p.m. Dec. 31 - 1 a.m., Jan. 1)

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Other U.S. cities have adopted iterations of the ball drop — the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho, for example.

In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city’s Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced Thursday the return of the fireworks to the Chicago River to ring in the New Year. In partnership with Art on the Mart, the New Year’s Eve celebrations will include a custom projection on the Merchandise Mart beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31.

RELATED: New Year's Eve Fireworks Return To Chicago River, Navy Pier

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with 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 history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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 myriad 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 and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.