Above / Celebrate safely and look toward comforts, joys and challenges that aim to unite our community throughout 2025. Cheers! (PN File Photo)
Now… what are your plans for New Year’s Eve?
Here is a long list of PN’s picks among many choices in our city’s grand illumination of activities, by day and by night throughout December 2024. According to folks at Naperville Trolley & Tours who recently completed tours this season, the light displays have been more creative and more beautiful than ever this year. Thanks to all for making the season bright.
Whether New Year’s Eve begins in the morning with enthusiastic children at the DuPage Children’s Museum or starts with an early evening drive around town to see the bright holiday lights, revelers can link up with options to fit any pocketbook or whet any appetite.
Discover options that include a night on the town or simply munching on snacks in front of a good movie on TV.
Consider movies that have been reviewed throughout 2024 by Tarek Fayoumi, featured monthly in print and online here for Positively Naperville. Fayoumi’s passion as a film critic has been an enlightening addition to this publication via “Movies with Tarek.”
Or choose classics such as “An Affair to Remember,” “Radio Days,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “South Pacific,” “Waiting to Exhale,” “When Harry Met Sally,” and/or “While You Were Sleeping” before switching the channel to watch the ball drop in Times Square a few seconds before midnight.
After an evening of movies, consider taking a 20-minute break to ring in the New Year at Moser Tower. Naperville Carillonneur Tim Sleep will perform a short program of seasonal music beginning at 11:45PM with the hour strike at midnight followed by a peal on the peals and “Auld Lang Syne.” The iconic Moser Tower with the 72-bell carillon is located along the Riverwalk at 443 Aurora Avenue.
Spread good health, kindness and respect!
If going out, be sure to make reservations to avoid disappointment. And remember to tip servers (who share tips with bussers and food runners), bartenders and valets – 20 percent is customary. Appreciate that other individuals are working so you can have a good time.
One more thing… Whenever booking advance reservations at more than one venue (restaurants, theaters, bowling alleys, etc.), kindly cancel the ones you decide not to use in plenty of time for someone else to benefit.
Safety patrols now in progress thru Jan. 2, 2025 / Plan ahead
Celebrate safely with family, friends & neighbors
Celebrate Safely! Area and state police departments will be adding extra patrols this weekend, New Year’s Eve and through January 2, 2025. Don’t forget to plan ahead for all your transportation needs whenever you celebrate. Remember, taxis and limos will be at a premium on New Year’s Eve.
Whatever you decide, enjoy the last day and the first day of the year with a vow to try to enjoy a safe, healthful, respectful, productive and prosperous 2025, all the while appreciating local law enforcement and first responders.
Happy New Year’s Eve from 8AM to Midnight
8AM – NYE
According to the Weather Channel, in Naperville the weather will feature cloudy skies, sometimes soggy. If anything changes, an update will be posted closer to NYE.
Dress accordingly! Stroll the Naperville Riverwalk on New Year’s Eve and every day! Visit neighborhood parks, too. Enjoy the benefits of brisk walks or discovery of the amazing structure of bare trees in the great outdoors.
Smile, smile, smile whenever possible. Keep in mind that 17 to 26 muscles are required for every smile! The smile is considered across cultures as a universal sign of friendliness. Exercise with smiles as you greet passersby while strolling all along the winding brick path and local sidewalks. What’s more, add some belly laughs to those smiles with the knowledge that when you smile and belly laugh at the same time, you’re using more muscles at one time than during any other activity. Really!
From the Farmers Plaza overlooking the quarry at Eagle Street, the Riverwalk leads to Rotary Hill where snow fencing shows where sledding is permitted after it snows. The brick path winds around the park toward Moser Tower with the 72-bell carillon. Can you hear it?
Snow is predicted in 2025! Then Sled Hill will be busy.
9AM – NYE
Update for 2024 / Sold Out! Special Bubble Bash Party
The DuPage Children’s Museum hosts its 22nd annual Fun Family NYE with confetti, bubbles or quiet time!
Saturday, December 31, 2024 | 9AM– 1PM
Fun Family NYE is an important fundraiser for the Museum. It is the place for families to ring in the New Year. This annual year-end celebration, now in its 22nd year, has become a holiday tradition for families to celebrate together at DuPage Children’s Museum. Families and friends create lasting memories during the countdown, discovering plenty of choices and lots that’s new. Website indicates this event again is sold out. Plan ahead for Dec. 31, 2025. Note! DuPage Children’s Museum is open 9AM to 4PM on New Year’s Day, Wed., Jan. 1, 2025. Admission prices are posted here.
Noon – NYE
Be ready to strike!
Celebrate at Bowlero with a strike or two or three! | Noon – 1AM
Space is limited and lanes are filling up fast! Book your holiday party now at bowlero.com/nye. Find Bowlero Naperville, a local destination for world-class bowling, laser tag, arcade games, billiards and more, including a sports bar. Grab a lane, set a high score in the arcade, …at 1515 Aurora Ave. Give them a call for reservation availability at (630) 355-7622.
All Afternoon until 6PM in downtown Naperville
New Year’s Eve Bargain Hunt, Shop & Dine with DNA Gift Cards
And whenever you’re headed downtown, take your handy Downtown Naperville Gift Cards, too.
Use your DNA Gift Card any time at any downtown location.
Celebrate New Year’s Eve Day in downtown Naperville. Enjoy the final day of 2024 shopping, dining and celebrating downtown with many happy returns all along Main Street, Jefferson Avenue, Washington Street, Jackson Avenue and Van Buren Avenue.
Discover all that’s new including shops around every corner. Watch for a story in the January issue of PN featuring many new shops that dot the downtown landscape.
3PM and so on – NYE
At Quigley’s live music begins at 3PM with Countdown at 6PM
Celebrate New Year’s Eve Dublin time at Quigley’s, 3-8PM! Families and friends are invited for the annual New Year’s Eve Celebration and Countdown Dublin Time at 6PM at Quigley’s Irish Pub at 43 E. Jefferson St. in downtown Naperville. This family-friendly tradition at Naperville’s authentic Irish pub is filled with good cheer, delicious food, live music by Cirrus Falcon (3-7PM) and satisfaction for folks who enjoy celebrating without staying up until midnight CST to welcome in the New Year. Also, the pub will close at 8PM on New Year’s Eve. It’s best to come early if you plan to find a table as this event with live music attracts groups of revelers of all ages. Note…Quigley’s Irish Pub will be closed on New Year’s Day. Quigley’s also is closed at 4PM Dec. 30 for a private party.
West Suburban Irish St. Patrick’s Parade for 2025! Note updates and news from West Suburban Irish, with its home at Quigley’s Irish Pub. Register now and by Jan. 1, 2025, to enter the St. Patrick’s Parade, slated for Sat., March 15, 2025. The Parade starts at 10AM from Naperville North High School. Again, early entries are now being accepted through Jan. 1, 2025. Also WSI Quiz Night at Quigley’s is set for 7PM Tues., Jan. 7.
Registration has begun for St. Paddy’s Day 5K. Also, set to begin at 8AM on Sat., March 15, 2025, the St. Paddy’s Day 5K, hosted by the Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise, returns just before the WSI St. Patrick’s Parade and other festivities. For complete details and to register, visit www.napervillesunrise.com/events/5k.
Ring in 2025 at Meson Sabika
Celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Mansion! Join Meson Sabika on New Year’s Eve for a 4-course dinner. Includes an Array of Cold and Hot Tapas, an Entrée of Short Ribs and Lobster, and Desserts. Advance orders recommended for pick up. (Kindly note Meson Sabika respectfully asks for 72 hours notice for all cancelations. No Shows will be charged $25 per person.) Limited seating times still available for New Year’s Eve. To make reservations call (630) 983-3000 x 2 or visit www.mesonsabika.com.
Walk around the blocks of downtown Naperville to find your favorite eateries, including recently opened and new for NYE…
Catch 35 Naperville, located in the heart of downtown, welcomes you to enjoy good taste in seafood and premium steaks on New Year’s Eve. Ring in 2025 at Catch 35 with surf & turf specials and mouthwatering shellfish platters. Catch 35’s regular menu also will be available. Check limited reservations available at (630) 717-3500. Catch 35 Naperville is located at 35 S. Washington St., just steps from the Van Buren Parking Deck. For more info about fine dining every day at Catch 35, visit www.catch35.com.
Front Street Cantina, located at 15 W. Jefferson Avenue, is among our favorite downtown choices.
SixtyFour – A Reserve Room, 123 Water Street, invites guests to make reservations this New Year’s Eve for a tasting extravaganza! To reserve your seats, email info@sixtyfourwinebar.com.
***Click here to link to all downtown Naperville dining, coffee shops and treats!
Venture to CityGate Centre for NYE by day or evening
Che Figata at Hotel Arista, 2139 CityGate Lane located next to Hotel Arista in CityGate Centre, will help revelers ring in 2022. For reservations, call (630) 579-3210.
CityGate Grille, located in the Calamos Investments Building at I-88 and Rt. 59 at Ferry Road, invites you to kick back and enjoy an evening of friends, fun and live music. For reservations, call (630) 718-1010.
Tap & Pub presents a neighborhood-friendly atmosphere with 16-foot HD golf simulators, house-made, casual dining with tastes of Sonoran-style Mexican flavors – with vegetarian & vegan options – and a champion selection of beer, wine and tasty cocktails creations. Swing into the New Year until 9PM daily!
Top Golf bays will be open NYE
Top Golf, 3211 Odyssey Court (near CityGate Centre), will host a golden night of fun. Reserve an all-inclusive bay package for your group that includes party favors and unlimited Topgolf from 9PM to close on New Year’s Eve. Phone: (630) 596-1000.
Dine Naperville N.E.W.S.!
For more variety throughout the community from I-88 to 111th at Route 59 and many destinations in between, check out Dine Naperville where you’ll find the city’s long list of more than 350 eateries.
Consider a NYE Getaway at one of Naperville 18 hotels
Ring in the New Year during an overnight “staycation” at one of Naperville’s 18 hotels. Naperville boasts a wide array of over-night accommodations including luxurious full-service, comfortable select-service, roomy suites, extended- stay facilities as well as a cozy historic bed and breakfast.
Find swimming pools at Chicago Marriott, Courtyard, Embassy Suites, Fairfield Inn East, Fairfield Inn West and Hampton Inn.
Hotel Arista is just steps from Top Golf and fine restaurants in CityGate Centre.
Hotel Indigo, located along the Riverwalk in downtown Naperville, is a short jaunt from many picturesque activities in the heart of the City.
For a list of all hotels to check availability for Dec. 31, 2024, click www.visitnaperville.com.
Some things to do stand the test of time…
NYE take-out to party at home!
Catering, too! If New Year’s Eve is a time to stay at home with family and friends, relaxing with jigsaw puzzles and board games to the whimsy and revelry on television as the ball drops in New York’s Times Square, remember that most restaurants offer take-out.
And for all your party-at-home supplies, find festive noisemakers, hats and other New Year’s Eve novelties at Oswald’s Pharmacy, right around the bend from Casey’s Foods.
Enjoying New Year’s Eve in the comfort of your home can be a time to create a fun and games night. Play cards. Order a pizza to be delivered. Pop popcorn. Work jigsaw puzzles. Watch movies. Sort old photos. Create scrapbooks. Contact longtime friends. Count your blessings.
Some folks have suggested taking down the Christmas tree and connecting every ornament with a fond memory.
With little desire to stay up late, another reader said she always organizes her closet and chest of drawers on New Year’s Eve with the aim to celebrate with a toast upon completion at 10PM and bedtime soon after.
Consider Can-do Spirit! Create a commemorative brick message for Riverwalk Jaycees Plaza… Looking toward the future, perhaps take time to gather ’round and create a message for a commemorative brick ($500) that will mark a spot in the Jaycee Park along the Riverwalk near Water Street. Dedicated in spring 2019, the park is located just west of the Moser Covered Bridge at Webster Street and is currently aglow with NaperLights, presented by the Rotary Club of Naperville/Sunrise.
OR create a commemorative brick message for the plaza around Exchange Club Memories Fountain in Fredenhagen Park or the Riverwalk from the Washington Street Bridge to the Hillside Road Bridge…
Since 1997, the commemorative brick/stone program has been to benefit the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation. The program continues to offer the opportunity to purchase a variety of legacy gifts to honor a family or friends, remember a loved one or recognize a milestone. Commemorative bricks ordered now will be placed in the spring of 2025.
Cheers to community spirit that began when Captain Joe Naper and his family arrived along the banks of the DuPage River in 1831! The next Riverwalk initiatives are featured in the 2031 Riverwalk Fund with a Master Plan that will extend the brick path to Martin Avenue.
11:45PM – NYE
Carillon Bells at Moser Tower. Stay tuned for NYE 2025.
Oh! The memories of ringing in the New Year at Moser Tower along the Naperville Riverwalk. The iconic landmark with its 72-bell carillon was built in 1999 to commemorate the third millennium and 21st century. At 160 feet tall, the musical instrument again will ring in the New Year. Why not contribute to the ringing with your own bell? Go outside with a bell at midnight and add to bell ringing for a minute.
Midnight NYE
At midnight, more than 100 million Americans are expected to have their eyes on the iconic ball drop in Times Square via screens on televisions, computers and other electronic devices. Worldwide, guestimates report that 1 billion individuals will watch the popular tourist attraction that welcomes approximately 1 million visitors to Times Square in New York City. Aren’t you happy to be in Naperville!
Happy New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2025!
Do you know a couple that recently became engaged?
Wedding Showcase is planned for Jan. 18, 2025
Naper Settlement will host its annual Wedding Showcase from 10AM to 3PM on Sat., Jan. 18, where many wedding planners, consultants, venues and special services will be on display for brides and grooms as well as their parents to begin planning. Check out many local vendors that offer spaces for weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners and bridal showers. Admission to the Wedding Showcase is free of charge. Register early.
2025 Restaurant Week / Jan. 20 – Feb. 3
Naperville 2025 Restaurant Week is slated for Jan. 20 through Feb. 3, 2025.
After NYE, plan to celebrate Naperville community spirit throughout 2025
Celebrate the end of the year with the whole family, then make plans to begin the New Year with great shopping and dining and entertainment throughout 2025. Whether resident or visitor, plan to check this website regularly to keep track of special events and many ways to participate in Naperville where there are more than 350 restaurants to please every appetite, spread all over town.
Looking to pick up a printed edition of the monthly PN? Find a copy at more than 30 locations N.E.W.S and throughout downtown Naperville.
The city’s central business district is just steps from the Riverwalk, Naper Settlement, DuPage Children’s Museum as well as entertainment venues and art galleries at North Central College. Think dinner and the show!
Stagg Bowl again welcomes North Central College on Jan. 5
Beginning at 7:03PM Sun., Jan. 5, the Mount Union Purple Raiders football team will face North Central College Cardinals in the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championship Stagg Bowl LI in Houston, Texas.
The Stagg Bowl LI will be held at Shell Energy Stadium and featured live on ESPN.
Thanks for reading.
Thanks, too, for shopping, dining and entertaining locally whenever possible. Your independent and local business community appreciates your support and a thriving local economy benefits all local residents, likely your family, friends and neighbors who have jobs here.
For a growing list of local eateries, sure to whet any appetite, visit www.dinenaperville.com. Local matters.
Find ‘What We Need’ during treks along the Riverwalk…
Cheers!
More than ever, it’s A-OK to curl up with a good book on New Year’s Eve. Some folks prefer to play solitaire. Many folks tell us they hit the hay way before midnight with an attitude that “tomorrow is another day.”
Then there are 364 more days to experience before the next New Year’s Eve. Make every day count. Happy New Year!
