Great ways to celebrate the New Year in and around Exeter

We’ve almost reached the end of 2017 and everyone is looking forward to the festive season, as we get ready to enjoy the party atmosphere of Christmas and New Year. The latter is always a special night and usually the liveliest so, if you’re stuck for ideas or haven’t planned anything yet, we’ve got a few interesting suggestions to consider - whether you fancy a night out on the tiles in Exeter or something equally entertaining from the comfort of your own home.

Out and about for New Year’s Eve

There’s no shortage of ways to greet the New Year in a festive spirit if you plan to head out and about around Exeter, with plenty of lively venues and events already preparing to help you welcome 2018 in style. Don’t forget, it’s always best to book in advance and check availability before making your way to a venue.

Promising a New Year’s Eve party that will be out of this world is the Exeter Phoenix on Gandy Street. It's an intergalactic party in the Cosmos event with aliens and spacemen, plus a B-movie bonanza, live bands, and DJs, plus a ‘futuristic silent disco’ – which certainly sounds like a unique way to get your groove on! There’ll be plenty of cosmopolitan and extra-terrestrial themed cocktails to enjoy, as you toast a cosmic welcome to 2018.

Image source: @exeter_phoenix via Twitter

If you fancy a classical music extravaganza, you can celebrate the end of 2017 with a glittering Gala Concert at the Exeter Picture House, on Bartholomew Street West. Beamed live and direct from Germany will be the Berliner Phulharmoniker Orchestra, with the cinema broadcast featuring the works of Dvořák, Stravinsky, Bernstein, and Shostakovich. It's conducted by Sir Simon Rattle and features guest star, Joyce DiDonato, the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano, who'll be performing the outstanding orchestral songs of Richard Strauss.

For something a little bit different but no less thrilling, how about a New Year’s Eve Murder Mystery Evening, hosted by Exeter Northcott Theatre at Blackhawton Manor near Totnes. With a 1930’s theme and appropriate dress recommended (so you really get into the atmosphere), there will be a lavish 4-course meal and jazz band playing. Like an Agatha Christie novel, the evening will take a sinister turn with a sudden death. It’s then up to a member of the party to take charge, leading the guests as they search for clues and aim to solve the mystery before the stroke of midnight, when all will be revealed.

Novel ways to welcome 2018 at home

If you prefer to stay indoors to usher in the New Year, you don’t just have to sit waiting for Big Ben to strike midnight on the telly… You could create your very own party atmosphere, and there are loads of great themes to thrill your family and friends, making for a memorable night.

Why not capture the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties, dressing up in the style of the era and with the music of the times to usher in 2018. Dance the Charleston, Peabody, Turkey Trot, or even the Texas Tommy, but make sure there’s enough room as you swing the night away in style. If you want to give it an American flavour, it could be like your very own speakeasy, against the prohibition era with plenty of flowing booze, gals in their 1920s glad-rags and the guys decked out as Chicago gangsters. Al Capone would certainly be proud, and someone is guaranteed to pretend they’re the infamous mobster.

The Christmas decorations will still be up around the house so, with the bright lights already in place, you could turn your home into a gambling den or a miniature version of Las Vegas with an entertaining casino-themed New Year’s Eve party. Don’t worry if you haven’t got roulette or blackjack tables because not many of us have those knocking around in the garage or loft.

You can hire everything you need locally, including croupiers to guide the games, fake cash, and the chips to place your bets with. Likewise, if your guests aren’t familiar with gambling games and how they’re played, easy to follow guides for casino games like blackjack are available online. This is one way to ensure you greet 2018 with plenty of kerching!

If you’re stocked up with plenty of food and drink for guests but don’t fancy dressing up especially for the occasion, or want to keep the costs down and still entertain your family and friends, there’s still plenty of simple games you can play before the clock strikes twelve. Always popular is New Year’s Eve Charades, and it doesn’t take long to prepare everything you need. You can also theme the game however you want, with phrases and quotes, TV and movies, music and songs; practically anything that people can act out without speaking. It’s also easy to shape things for kids or adults to enjoy and is really good fun in large or small groups.