Rhythm & Vines. Photo / File
Rhythm and Alps, Cardrona Valley, December 30-31, featuring Shapeshifter, Mad Professor, Timmus and Raiza Biza. Level 1 tickets sold out but level 2 available for $159 (camping included: $229.)
Highlife New Year's Eve, Stonyridge Vineyard, Waiheke Island, featuring dance music, fireworks and gourmet food. Most tickets are sold out but some available at $195.
Northern Bass, Worsfold Farm, Mangawhai, December 30-31, featuring Ghostface Killah, Goldie, Fat Freddy's Drop. Two-day tickets available from $159.
Concerts
Shihad with the Datsuns, I am Giant and Cairo Knife Fight
. Cathedral Square, Christchurch, 7pm, $75
Hello Sailor, Mangawhai Tavern, 8pm, $25
Katchafire, The Black Seeds and Sons of Zion. Butlers Reef Hotel, Oakura, New Plymouth, $60
Jupiter Project, free at twentyone, Sky City, Auckland
Concord Dawn, Churchills, Christchurch, 9pm, $35
Dragon, The Feelers, The Exponents. Coroglen Tavern, 7pm, $67.50
Family friendly
Rotorua GLO Festival
- a three-day event starting December 30, on New Year's Eve and fireworks at 9.15pm and midnight. Free and alcohol-free.
Queenstown New Year's Eve celebrations on the lakefront. Fireworks at midnight. Free and alcohol-free.
New Year's Eve at Frank Kitts Park, Wellington, with music, films and fireworks. Free and alcohol-free.
New Year's Eve at The Mount, Mt Maunganui, offers surf lessons and bungy trampolining during the day. Until January 11. From 8pm, there's live music. Roads will be closed and a liquor ban in force.
Something a bit different
The Matakana Wine and Food
tour runs 11am-5.30pm and costs $499 for two people door-to-door from Auckland. It's $100 cheaper if you're already in Matakana.
Classic New Year's Eve Comedy Countdown, at The Classic Comedy Club, Auckland, hosted by Ben Hurley from 8.30pm. $30 each or $160 for a table of six.
Get something a bit more spiritual at Creating Change - New Year Retreat, December 31-January 4, at the Anahata Yoga Retreat in Golden Bay, for $495.
Fireworks
Fireworks will be let off from the Sky Tower, Auckland, at midnight. A countdown on two giant LED panels facing the Auckland Museum and Harbour Bridge will start at 11pm. The fireworks will last between five and eight minutes.
There are a number of spots to watch the fireworks around the city. SkyCity spokeswoman Lydia Jarman recommends Mt Eden, the Domain, Devonport or around Silo Park and Wynyard Quarter.
Otherwise, opt for inner-city destinations such as the roof of the Heritage CityLife Hotel. Its restaurant, Zest, is offering a set-menu dinner for $75 per person. Vue Restaurant on Customs St is offering a seven-course degustation for those wanting to see in 2015 - and watch the fireworks - including a five-hour beverage package with champagne for $250.
Sky City offers The Grand View at the Grand Hotel, including a seafood buffet, drinks and live entertainment and an exclusive view of the Sky Tower from the conservatory of the hotel. Tickets are $145 and include food and drinks.
A number of cruises are on offer for those wanting to watch the fireworks from the harbour. The New Year's Eve Bollywood cruise departs at 9pm and is $150 for entertainment and finger food. The Amada Cruises New Year's Dream Cocktail Cruise is $120, departs at 9.30pm and includes a glass of bubbly on arrival and canapes.
Music for midnight
Photo / AP
Happy by Pharell Williams - overplayed but guaranteed to get everyone in the mood.
New Year's Day by U2 - suspend cynicism and remember the days (1983) when the Irish rockers were more than coffee table muzak.
Yellow Flicker Beat by Lorde - celebrate with New Zealand's finest.
With a Little Help From My Friends by Joe Cocker - dedicate midnight to the loss of a legend.
Angels by Robbie Williams - ludicrous but everyone will sing along with their arms round each other.
On TV
Photo / Sarah Ivey
Monty Python live show, 8.30pm, TV One
Peter Pan live show 7pm on TV2
INXS: Live Baby Live, 8.45pm Prime
Bon Jovi in Concert, 7.30pm, Prime
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 8.30pm, Sky Movies Greats
The Croods, 7pm, Sky Movies Family
Immortals, 8.50pm TV3
What to wear
*Tips from designer Andrea Moore
Glamour is a must
Go fabulous with a touch of sparkle, a sequin or two or a bold, bright colour. Choose luxe fabrics and flirty silhouettes, plus your highest heels.
Do something unexpected
While your standard little black dress is great, it can be fun to think outside the box. One of my all-time favourite looks was Jenna Lyons at the Met Gala in a full-on pink taffeta skirt, paired with a denim jacket. Try trousers and a fantastic top like a Jewel Singlet, or how about shorts and a sequin jacket for a modern cocktail look?
Think of your shape
Don't wear the latest trend it if it doesn't suit your shape. Highlight your favourite bits: love your legs but not too keen on your stomach? Show them off in a sexy pencil skirt (try our Kiss Me Ruffle Skirt), and pair it with a loose-fit top in a busy print to distract from your wobbly tummy. Great decolletage? Show it off in a strappy singlet or a shirt with an open neck (try our Wisdom Shirt in Galaxy).
Photo / Thinkstock
Tips for your own New Year's Eve bash
*From Sue Duncan, Soiree
• Don't start too early, or you risk peaking too soon.
• Have some interactive stuff to do - dress up, games (not just drinking).
Let your neighbours know you are having a party and invite them so you don't get a visit from noise control.
• Relationship management: give a bottle of wine or Christmas cake to your immediate neighbours you don't want to invite, neutralising any anger and potential disruption if the party is a little loud.
• Make sure you have a couple of spare beds for the crashers.
• Good mood lighting - candles/fairy lights - create an atmosphere.
• Invest in a wood-fire pizza oven. These are loads of fun - everyone can make their own pizzas - and provide good food when drinking.
• If you have a large screen, go to YouTube and search your favourite performers - great for dancing, singing, and karaoke.
• Don't set your expectations too high. Everyone is there to have fun and be with one another.
Best champagne deals
Veuve Cliquot
$59.99 from Glengarry
Drappier Carte Blanche NV
$39.99 from Glengarry
Oyster Bay sparkling
$16.99 from New World
Lindauer
$8.90 from Countdown
Verde Methode
$15.99 from New World
Deutz Brut or Rose
$19.90
Mumm
$45 from Countdown
Resolutions to forget
Join a gym.
You'll pay the exorbitant fee for several months' membership, go twice then forget about it. Go running instead and if you're still running in February, then join a gym.
Stop smoking/drinking.
A great idea but a terrible time. You probably failed this resolution last year.
Get a new job.
This demands research and possible retraining. This isn't much fun at the beach on January 2.
Booze bans
Extensive alcohol bans are in place around central Auckland - along Ponsonby Rd and the roads that come off it, along Karangahape Rd and the roads that come off it and throughout the CBD bordered by the Northern Motorway, Spaghetti Junction and the motorway to the port.
Weather
Matarangi Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Photo / Supplied
Revellers can look forward to a mainly warm and dry New Year's Eve. Auckland and popular holiday spots, including the Coromandel and the Bay of Islands, can expect a mainly cloudy, hot day followed by a pleasant evening through into 2015.
A cold front from the Tasman will cause some wet and windy spells in Wellington and Taupo earlier in the day but that should fizzle out halfway up the North Island by late morning, said WeatherWatch analyst Philip Duncan.
"The lower North Island could see a bit of drizzle to start with but there should be decent weather and warm temperatures across most of the country."
Daytime temperatures are expected to peak in the low 20s, dipping to the high teens during the evening.
