MY MEDALLION
This New Year’s Eve, it’s all about celebrating safely. We want to mark the occasion of a brand new year but in a responsible way that adheres to public health recommendations. To help, we’ve put together a few ideas for how you and your family can celebrate this New Year’s Eve safely while having fun. We hope they’ll inspire you to have a memorable night!
Take In The Lights At One Of The GTA’s Holiday Drive-Throughs
There are a number of colourful holiday light displays you can tour from the comfort and warmth of your car. Holiday Nights of Lights in Vaughan is an immersive experience with more than a million LED lights that are animated and synchronized to your favourite holiday songs. There’s even an eco-friendly drive-share option that includes pick-up and drop-off at your own doorstep, for those who don’t have their own vehicle. Journey to Enchantment in Markham, pictured above, donates a portion of the proceeds raised to SickKids and Toronto Animal Services. Polar in Mississauga is Canada’s first multi-level drive-through experience. Each event runs until the first week of January.
Throw A Virtual New Year’s Eve Party
If you still want to see your friends or extended family, why not organize a virtual New Year’s Eve party? You can arrange a celebration that lasts several hours, just as a regular in-person party would, or you can schedule a couple of shorter check-ins with different groups of people over the course of the night and pop in on their celebrations. Through Zoom you can book free 40-minute video calls that accommodate 100 people without a paid account. Facebook Rooms allows you to create your own virtual space for a group of 50 with no time limit. Skype is another option, where one call allows 50 people for free.
Attend An Online Event
If hosting a virtual celebration isn’t your thing, why not attend someone else’s online event? Eventbrite has a long list of virtual get-togethers that are worth checking out, with options that originate from all corners of the globe. Not all are your traditional New Year’s Eve gatherings either, though there are definitely dinners and dance parties to enjoy. You’ll also find yoga classes, dramatic performances, trivia, cookalongs, even bingo. Events are offered from morning to night on December 31st; most require a minimal cost or are free to attend.
Take In A Virtual Concert
If what you’re missing is the energy and experience of a live musical event, a concert may be just the thing to ring in the new year. Old-school rock band Kiss is putting on Kiss 2020 Goodbye, which will be broadcast live from Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai. Fans will be rewarded with a real visual spectacle, including multiple music acts and pyrotechnics. Tickets must be purchased in advance and the event streams live at 9 pm. More of a pop music fan? T-Mobile Presents New Year’s Eve Live with Justin Bieber costs just over $30 to livestream. Tomorrowland, a virtual concert for EDM lovers, also requires a prepaid ticket; it features 25 DJs from around the globe, including David Guetta, Diplo, Snoop Dogg, Major Lazer, and Armin van Buuren.
Enjoy The New Year’s Eve Countdown In Times Square Virtually
The classic New Year’s Eve countdown in Times Square, New York City is still happening, it’s just all gone virtual this year. You can watch the Ball Drop online in a free live webcast that is commercial-free. This includes all of the festivities that lead up to midnight, backstage access, behind-the-scenes stories, and interviews with performers and other celebrities. Why not also consider giving yourself the night off from cooking and order in from a neighbourhood eatery? It will help support a local business through the holidays and can take your festivities up a notch.
With all of these options available, there’s clearly no shortage of great ideas for how to welcome in 2021. We hope you have a fun and safe New Year’s Eve! Thanks for reading and don’t forget to follow the Medallion blog for more holiday celebration tips.
