Dancing the night away is a classic New Year’s tradition. If you’re looking to kick into 2025 with some high-energy jams instead of the more seasonally appropriate Great American Songbook, you may find Dan Electro’s A Very Funky New Year’s Party a stellar option. Local favorites Bayou City Funk and Austin-based Henry Invisible are co-headlining this celebratory bash, which features exactly the sort of music you can expect from the event’s name.

No better way to end the year than by solving a murder. Making a showing for its second year, Flying Saucer’s New Year’s Eve celebration is an interactive, masquerade-inspired party where attendees get the opportunity to crack a case. Don’t worry: You’ll be given a complimentary cocktail to get your creative juices flowing. The event ends with enough time to take in the downtown fireworks ringing in 2025.

The owners behind these two Houston gems are ready to help you step into 2025 with two different parties to choose from. At Heights Bier Garten, guests can enjoy a masquerade soiree with a complimentary mask and a champagne toast at midnight. Meanwhile, Bayou Heights Bier Garten will enter the new year with a disco-style party. The bar will have a live DJ, complimentary bubbles to toast at midnight, and seasonal holiday cocktails. Both strongly encourage reservations through Resy.

Ring in 2025 with the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Explore any of the exhibitions on the first two floors of the museum, enjoy tasty dishes, journey through the planetarium, and witness several curated shows, all while dancing to some music from the JoiLux Band and DJ Hype. Plus, The Great Gatsby (2013 version) will be playing on a loop all night.

At this hot new restaurant, the lively evening will include a live DJ, cocktails, caviar specials, and bottle sabering with a balloon drop and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. And to keep the good vibes going, other food and drink specials will be available until 1am.

Head to Post to mark the new year with the backdrop of the city lighting up your night. Take in fireworks from the Skylawn, witness cirque performances, and get treated to a complimentary caricature drawing. Music will be provided by a DJ as well as a live cover band. A laser show provided by the venue’s latest creative addition, Art Club, will top of the packed evening. 

Grooves of Houston is taking locals to a past time and place. The Cotton Club puts a fun twist on New Year’s Eve celebrations with its spin on the Harlem nightclub. Come dressed to the nines for an evening that will make you feel part of the Harlem Renaissance. Take photos at the photo booth, dance to music from some of the city’s popping DJs, and don’t miss the balloon cash drop. There’ll also be a midnight breakfast buffet for those late-night cravings.

This restaurant is the perfect destination for anyone who wants global dishes without leaving town. For New Year’s Eve, Traveler’s Table is offering a three-course prix fixe menu with a small plate, entrée, and dessert. Options for small plates include roasted artichoke salad, Mexican street corn soup, salmon tartare bites, champagne and caviar oysters, Singaporean soft-shell chile crab, and seared Wagyu beef tataki. Entrée choices include yellow crab curry, wild mushroom ravioli, duck confit risotto, a pistachio-crusted lamb rack, adobo snapper, and Argentine-style tenderloin. And to wrap up the meal the restaurant will be serving passion fruit–mango mousse, burnt Basque cheesecake, Black Forest lava cake, and New Orleans bourbon bread pudding.

Montrose mainstay Rudyard’s will open its doors to award-winning open mic organization Write About Now for a showcase of the city’s best of the best slam poetry, hosted by Richelle Gemini. She’ll also be performing her own R&B music, along with Shan Del and some surprise guests. Individual tickets and table reservations for two or four people are both available.

Let Amrina do the cooking for you on New Year’s Eve. The Woodlands restaurant will be offering two different seating options with a $25 difference. If you want some live entertainment, we recommend opting for a reservation after 7pm. Regardless, both seatings include a six-course prix fixe menu, wine pairings, and Wagyu add-ons. Menu options include caviar, Hokkaido scallops, basil chicken Kalmi, pulled lamb leg or jackfruit cheela, rosewood Texas Wagyu strip, saffron butter–poached lobster tail, tandoori stuffed quail, and a chocolate midnight mousse. A midnight champagne toast will also be included for the later reservations.

Houston Improv does not sell individual tickets, so pool your money with three or five of your closest comedy-appreciating friends and purchase a table for a night of laughs courtesy of local stand-up Ali Siddiq. He’ll be performing two sets, one at 7 and the other at 10, so if you opt for the early show you can hit up other parties before the official countdown begins. Or go for the later performance and ring in 2025 sharing a laugh, a meal, and some drinks with the people you love.

None other than Kam Franklin herself, along with the Texas Gentlemen, will co-headline this night of dining and dancing at Galveston’s posh Hotel Lucine. Nosh on a prix fixe menu at on-site restaurant the Fancy, then stick around to enjoy a speakeasy-style bar experience and champagne toast at midnight. If you wish to stay the night, the hotel is also providing complimentary late checkout times on New Year’s Day, along with à la carte yoga and sound-bath offerings at additional costs.