Where To Celebrate New Year's Eve 2022 In Highland Park

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — As 2022 comes to a close, it's time to reflect on the last 12 months and look forward to what next year has in store.

In the Highland Park area, there are plenty of ways to choose to ring in the new year this weekend, including children's events, concerts, champagne toasts and more. Whatever your preference, there's sure to be something for everyone to enjoy as we say goodbye to 2022 and welcome in 2023.

New Year's Eve at Teddy O'Brian's
Teddy O'Brian's, 432 Sheridan Road, Highwood
DJ's starting by 8 p.m., with a $10 cover and music until late.

New Year's Eve Comedy Party
Parched Pug, 1590 S. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville
Game show-themed activities from 8 to 10 p.m., a comedy show from 10 to 11:30 p.m. and a champagne flight at midnight. Tickets are $25.

WhirlyBall Family Fun New Year's Party
Whirlyball Vernon Hills, 285 Center Drive, Vernon Hills
From noon to 4 p.m. Tickets are $20 per child, $30 per adult and include buffet, WhirlyBall (54" or over), lasertag and pop-up games.

Early New Year's Eve Celebration
Dave and Buster's, 424 Hawthorn Center, Vernon Hills
Event runs from 4 to 7 p.m., with a video countdown and ginger ale toast at 6 p.m. Tickets start at $40.

New Year's Eve Bash at Finn's
Mickey Finn's Brewery, 345 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville
From 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., with a $15 cover, live music from Ivy Ford Band and a champagne toast.

Noon Year's Eve Family Fun Skate Party
Just For Fun Roller Rink, 139 N. Seymour Ave., Mundelein
From 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., with a noon balloon drop. Tickets are $15 including skate rental.

New Year's Eve at the Dole
The Dole, 401 Country Club Road, Crystal Lake
The 100-year anniversary of the Eliza "Lou" Ringling purchasing the Dole Mansion and transforming it into the Crystal Lake Country Club will feature a "Cirque du Soleil-'esque' spectacular."

First Night Evanston
First United Methodist Church, 516 Church St., Evanston
Starting at 7 p.m. Masks and vaccination required. $30 in advance, $35 at door, $15 with student identification. More information and tickets.

Radiance New Year's Eve
Lake County Fairgrounds, 1060 E. Peterson Road, Grayslake
Saturday's headliner is Liquid Stranger, of Gothenburg, Sweden. Single-day tickets start at $114.

New Year's Eve Dinner at Pomeroy
Pomeroy, 844 Spruce St., Winnetka
On New Year's Eve, Pomeroy offers a four-course prix fixe dinner menu, including a champagne toast.

Aboyer New Year's Eve Feast
Aboyer, 64 Green Bay Road, Winnetka
Reservations available from 5:30 to 11 p.m., the New Year's Eve menu features an amuse-bouch, first course, intermezzo, main course and dessert.

Noon Year's Eve
Skokie Public Library, 5215 Oakton St., Skokie
Music dancing, a countdown and family friendly festivities begin at 11 a.m. in the south courtyard.

Sketchbook New Year's Eve Bash
Sketchbook Brewing Company, 4901 W. Main St., Skokie
From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., 21 and over, tickets $10 in advance, $15 at door

Low Key New Year's Eve
Ignite Gaming Lounge, 8125 Skokie Blvd., Skokie
From 8 p.m. until 2 a.m., tickets start at $25

New Year's Eve Bash
Kohl Children's Museum, 2100 Patriot Blvd., Glenview
From 8:30 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 3:30 p.m. Dec. 31, tickets are $23 for members, $35 for non-members

Rockin' in the Noon Year
Double Clutch Brewery, 2121 Ashland Ave., Evanston
Doors open at 10:30 a.m., show starts at 11 a.m. with Mary Macaroni and the Impastas, a family fun celebration and countdown to noon.

Palmhouse Presents: New Year's Eve 2023
Palmhouse, 619 Howard St., Evanston
From 9 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. $90 admission, 21 and over only. More information and tickets.

Motown and Classic R&B with Gerald McClendon, The Soulkeeper
Evanston Space, 1245 Chicago Ave., Evanston
Doors 8 p.m., show 9 p.m Tickets $20-30

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is, of course, the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Various cities have adopted their own iterations of the event — the Peach Drop in Atlanta, the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with 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 history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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 myriad 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 and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.