Where To Celebrate New Year's Eve & Ring In 2025 In Mid-Hudson Valley

MID-HUDSON, NY — Orange, Dutchess and Ulster counties have always been happening places on New Year's Eve and much less of a headache than heading to NYC to celebrate.

Here is a look at some of the events happening on Dec. 31 in the Mid-Hudson Valley:

• Legoland New York's Holiday Bricktacular, Goshen
• Family-Friendly New Year's Eve Party, Newburgh Brewing Company, Newburgh, noon - 6 p.m.
• New Year's Eve Celebration, Drowned Lands Brewery, Warwick
• New Year's Eve Party, Coquito, Warwick
• Bring Back the '90s New Year's Eve Party, Aspire Brewing, Middletown
• Hollywood New Year's Eve Party, Villa Venezia Restaurant, Middletown
• Happy Valley Arcade Bar, Beacon
• Hudson Valley Brewery, Beacon
• Mount Beacon Trailhead, Afternoon Hike, Beacon
• Towne Crier Cafe, Beacon
• The Roundhouse Restaurant, Beacon
• Daryl's House, Damn the Torpedoes (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers tribute band), Pawling
• Curry Estate, Hopewell Junction
• Noon Year's Eve Party at Mill Creek Caterers, Hopewell Junction
• Villa Borghese, Wappingers Falls
• Heritage Food + Drink, Wappingers Falls
• Totally Tubular 1980s Prom Night Countdown Party, 1915 Wine Cellar, Poughkeepsie
• The Academy, Poughkeepsie
• Goodnight Kenny, Poughkeepsie
• New Year's Eve Gala at The Grandview, Poughkeepsie
• Juan Murphy's, Poughkeepsie
• Mahoney's Irish Pub & Steakhouse, Poughkeepsie
• Mid-Hudson Discovery Museum, Poughkeepsie
• Mill House Brewing, Poughkeepsie
• Shadows on the Hudson, Poughkeepsie
• Old Drovers Inn, Dover Plains
• FDR Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park
• Troutbeck, Amenia
• Beekman Arms and Delamater Inn, Rhinebeck
• Betty Jacaruso Studio, Rhinebeck, 10 a.m., watercolor class
• Terrapin, Rhinebeck
• Lasting Joy Brewery, Tivoli
• Deadgrass NYE Show, The Falcon, Marlboro
• Studio 54 New Year's Eve Bash, West Park
• Ars Choralis presents "Together We Rise," Old Dutch Church, Kingston
• Edgewood Mansion, Kingston
• Lee Fields New Year's Eve, Bearsville Theater, Woodstock
• Chris Wells & The Spaceship w/ Freeks Garage — NYE Dance Party, Woodstock

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in Times Square. Other 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 with a title that 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.