Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2024 In Doylestown

DOYLESTOWN, PA —New Year's Eve is filled with good cheer, great food, fancy dinners, live music, and clanging champagne glasses.

Several places in Bucks County and the Philadelphia region will celebrate 2025 in grand style with festivities like a Disco Dream Party in New Hope and fireworks at Sesame Place with Elmo and the Gang.

Here's a look at events happening in and around Doylestown:

• Dublin Town Center presents a "Noon Year's Eve Party" from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 at the Dublin Town Center, 123 North Main St., Dublin. Billed as the ultimate family-friendly celebration the event will feature a balloon drop at 12 p.m., countdown favor bags for each child, face painting, crafts, and bubbly for everyone.
• Plumsteadville Inn will celebrate New Year’s Eve with food specials, champagne at midnight and live music by Mixed Company. Dancing starts at 8 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended. Click here to reserve.
• 1720 Chalfont, 136 East Butler Avenue, will celebrate New Year's Eve in style with a black-and-white party from 8 p.m. to midnight with music from DJ Justin Love, an open bar and a midnight champagne toast. After working up an appetite on the dance floor, party-goers can also enjoy sliced filet, charcuterie stations and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets are available for purchase online.
• Sesame Place is holding a New Year's Eve celebration with Elmo and Friends at its Middletown Township amusement park. Festivities begin at 6 p.m. where children and adults alike can celebrate the new year with music and fireworks. You can also dine with Elmo at New Year's Eve Sweet Treats, sharing desserts and beverages. And you can meet the Count. Click here for more information.
• River House at Odette's in New Hope will countdown to 2025 with all the glitz, glam, and groove of a New Year's Eve Disco Dream Party. Dress to dazzle, dance the night away, and toast to the new year in style.
• Stella of New Hope will be ringing in 2025 with an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration. On Tuesday, December 31, guests are invited to a four-course tasting menu from 5 to 11 p.m. curated by Executive Chef Keith Bernstein. The celebration continues after dinner with a countdown to midnight and complimentary champagne to toast to the New Year. Dinner is priced at $165 per person and reservations are highly encouraged. Reservations can be made here.
• Dharma Bums Bar, 4935 River Road, New Hope, will ock in the New Year with a Grateful Dead tribute featuring the "Steal Your Face" band. Doors open at 6 p.m. followed by a show at 8 p.m. Dinner will be available from 6‐10 pm for ticket holders only (a ticket gets you through the barrel door). There will be 3 sets of music and a midnight toast. Tickets available at www.dbums.com

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.

Pennsylvania’s twist on the ball drop are numerous: The Dillsburg Pickle Drop in the town of Dillsburg, the Lebanon Bologna Drop in the city of Lebanon, the raising of a giant Hershey KISS in Hershey, and the lowering of a White Rose in York and a Red Rose in Lancaster.

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.