Head to your local dive bar
Ticketed affairs draw in the most traffic during New Year’s Eve, leaving most of your local pubs or dive bars pleasantly quiet come countdown. It’s not only a cost-effective option but the absence of hoopla and high heels make the occasion all the more enjoyable for those seeking a lower-key evening. We’d suggest hitting up the Dundas West strip, which boasts plenty of excellent dives to explore (The Red Light, Camp 4 and Churchill, to name a few).
Jason Doctor/Flickr
Pop open some Ontario bubbly and watch the countdown on TV
If you decide to stay in with friends and watch the countdown on TV, LCBO shelves will undoubtedly be cleared of decent mid-market champagnes by the big night. When you’re faced with the decision of a hangover-inducing peach-flavoured spumante or balling out on a bottle of Veuve, do yourself a favour and head to the VQA section. There, you’ll be rewarded with a great array of local sparkling wines for midnight. Ontario wineries produce some excellent under-the-radar bubbly, thanks to our cooler climate that gives sparkling wines its desired acidity and a higher minerality. Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catherine Brut, Truis Brut or Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs are all excellent options. And at under $30 per bottle, your post-Boxing Day wallet will thank you too.
Make a gourmet dinner at home
Bookings for the best New Year’s Eve dinners are long gone by now. Instead, make it a gourmet night-in and whip up your own delicious meal at home. We have some excellent recipe suggestions for you (this Grilled Octopus from Soho House definitely impresses) and there are plenty of 24-hour supermarkets downtown where you can pick up the goods last-minute. For the true NYE agoraphobe, take advantage of an online grocery delivery service like Instabuggy, which is operating on the 31st. Simply click and add all the ingredients for your gourmet meal and get the goods delivered to your doorstep without having to face a single noisemaker-wielding partier.
Escape to the ‘burbs
New Year’s Eve isn’t complete without some type of pyrotechnic explosion. Avoid the crowds at Nathan Phillips Square and instead, escape to the ‘burbs for a free, low-key fireworks display. Of the six boroughs, Brampton’s definitely got the most impressive lineup on the 31st with Juno award-winning indie band Mother Mother headlining the celebrations. Before the show, head to Gage Park where there will be marshmallows ready for roasting. Or explore the local eateries around Main Street – Carve on Lot 5 and La Catrina both come with our stamp of approval.
Put away your watch and switch off the smartphone: a night at the movies is the perfect escape from the typical New Year’s celebration. You can still class-up the occasion with a screening at one of Cineplex’s VIP Cinemas. Aside from extra-comfy seats that make the upgrade worthy in itself, the VIP Cinemas are licensed to serve liquor and feature a pretty decent food menu to order from before the movie starts. The best part? It’s all delivered right to your seat. Their winter beverage menu includes spiked hot chocolate and coffee cocktails as well as a sparkling prosecco from Ruffino to toast with when your Spidey-sense tells you it’s close to midnight.
A Japanese New Year's party
If you’re gathering the roommates or inviting a few friends over, make it more than just a boozy night in by giving your New Year's Eve house party a worldly twist. There are plenty of fun traditions from around the globe to adopt, like Spain’s grape-eating countdown to the Danish tradition of jumping off of chairs into the New Year. But our favourite comes from Japan, where warm bowls of soba soup noodles are a December 31st tradition. Known as toshikoshi soba, which more or less translates to ‘end the old year and enter the New Year soba’, the noodles’ long and thin shape symbolizes wishes for a long life. Eating the noodles is meant to help you reflect on the months past with family and friends. Keep the theme going by serving Japanese cocktails like Miku’s Negroni that features yuzu sake liqueur for a citrusy twist.
Jessica Dawdy
