Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2024 In Middlesex County

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Ready to ring in the new year? Bars, restaurants and more are hosting New Year's Eve celebrations in Middlesex County as we get ready for 2025.

Here's what's happening:

• Big Shots restaurant & lounge New Year's Eve Party: Delicious food and music at the restaurant located on Rt. 1 in Woodbridge. For tickets and more info, click here.
• New Year's Eve Party, Royal Albert Palace Ballroom: Get ready to ring in 2025 in style at the biggest New Year's Eve Party at Royal Albert Palace Ballroom in NJ. This grand evening promises non-stop entertainment, premium food and drinks, and memories.
• NYE Fireworks New Brunswick: New Brunswick City Center is the perfect location for a full evening of celebration, starting with New Year's Eve dinner specials at a variety of our upscale restaurants. After dinner, take in a comedy show at the Stress Factory or performance at the State Theatre or listen to some live music at one of our establishments. Ring in the new year singing and dancing with friends on Livingston Avenue and watching the fireworks light up 2025.
• New Year’s Eve Dinner, the Frog & Peach: A La Carte dinner menu with special additions.
  Featuring live jazz with the one and only Curtis Lundy Ensemble beginning at 7 p.m.
• NYE Dinner, Victoria's Tratta Italiano: NYE Three Course Dinner. $59 per person plus tax & 20% gratuity. Make reservations at 732-545-6161.
• NYE Party, Harvest Moon Brewery: Open bar, champagne toast at midnight, and more.
• NYE Dinner, Delta's Restaurant: NYE Dinner Party Buffet Served from 5 p.m. - 12 a.m. The buffet will offer appetizers, entrees, and sides. $75 per person offers a buffet, entree fee, and tax & gratuity or $100 per person offers a buffet, entree fee, bottomless champagne, and tax and gratuity.

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 their own versions of this celebration, such as the Peeps Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

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.

• Related: What New Year’s Resolution Did You Keep? How Did You Do It? [Patch Survey]

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.

Have a correction or news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com