You made it through 2018! Good job. If you want to kick off the new year with some sort of activity, there are plenty of fun things to do around town. We've gathered all the options below, whether you want to get a refreshing slap in the face by dipping into local waters at a Polar Bear Plunge (like the one at Golden Gardens) drink away your hangover (like at the Beer Junction's Strong Ale Fest) or watch football (like at Union's Rose Bowl watch party). See them all below or on our New Year's Day calendar.

Stay in the know! Get all this and more on the free Stranger Things To Do mobile app (available for iOS and Android), or delivered to your inbox.

FOOD & DRINK

Bed Head Redemption New Year's Day Brunch
"Linda's Saloon" (aka Linda's Tavern) invites you to this Red Dead Redemption II-themed brunch featuring pancakes and "the bloodiest Mary in the west!"

El Chupacabra Alki New Year's Day Brunch
El Chupacabra's West Seattle and Greenwood locations will serve their full brunch menu so you can recover from your evening revelry with a pitcher of mimosas and a breakfast burrito.

Hollywood Tavern New Year's Day
Hollywood Tavern will serve their "brunch hack" menu of savory dishes like burgers and steak made suitable for morning consumption with the addition of eggs, plus drink specials like Bloody Marys and mimosas.

Ray's Boathouse New Year's Day Dinner
Make dinner on the first day of 2019 special with the view at Ray's Boathouse and a meal of house-smoked sablefish, pan-seared halibut, Alaskan king crab legs, and filet mignon, plus a selection of sparkling wines.

Ray's Cafe New Year's Day
Start 2019 off savory with bloody Marys and fish and chips.

Stoup Brewing New Year's Day Celebration
Drink beer, watch football, and soothe your hangover with a selection of free hearty stews and chilis made by Stoup Brewing owners Brad Benson, Lara Zahaba, and Robyn Schumacher, including traditional chicken chile verde, red beans and rice, red pork pozole, and pork chile verde. 

Strong Ale Fest
Start off the year with 17 "big burly beers" that "push the ABV limit" (with an average ABV of 13.82%), many of which have been aging in the depths of the Beer Junction's cellar for years.

W Bellevue New Year's Day Hangover Brunch
Go here for all-you-can-eat of the most important meal of the day, with unlimited pancakes, eggs, and bacon and a complimentary mimosa.

Water's Table New Year's Day Brunch
Whether you're hungry for soups, steak and eggs, seafood, or sweets, you'll find plenty of delicious options at this New Year's Day brunch. Plus, enjoy a "Rainy Mary" bar featuring Seattle-made pickle mix, Crater Lake vodka, and all the fixings. 

MUSIC

The Breakfast Club: New Year's Day 2019 with Egyptian Lover
Professional nightlifers know that New Year’s Eve is amateur time—no party worth its salt peaks at midnight—and that discerning crowd is precisely who the Monkey Loft is catering to with its standard bearer New Year’s Day party. They will be ringing in the New Year from 4 a.m. onward with an intriguing blast from the past. Egyptian Lover was a relatively obscure pioneer of 1980s electro who helped carve out a niche for heavy synths and 808 drum-machine beats in the LA rap scene. That sound came back into vogue this decade, and the artist, aka Gregory Broussard, has ridden the nostalgia wave to new heights. When you hear him play live, you’ll understand the Beastie Boys lyric “’cause nothin’ sounds quite like an eight-oh-eight.” GREG SCRUGGS

New Year's Day with Bach and Pancakes
Treat your hangover with pancakes as local musician Erin Jorgensen plays unique renditions of Bach compositions on the marimba.

FOOTBALL

2019 Rose Bowl at Art Marble 21
Enjoy food and drink specials while you watch the Washington Huskies compete with Ohio State at the annual Rose Bowl.

Rose Bowl Watch Party at Union
Watch as the Washington Huskies take on Ohio State at the Rose Bowl, which will be broadcasted live from Pasadena. While you're there, take advantage of $10 pitchers.

POLAR BEAR PLUNGES

Polar Bear Plunge at Matthews Beach Park
Why would you submerge your body in the freezing-cold waters of the Puget Sound in the dead of winter? Because it's a beloved tradition, and a helluva refreshing way to start the new year.

Polar Bear Plunge & Run at Golden Gardens Park
Walk or run a 5K along the waterfront, then take a refreshing plunge (optional) into the ice-cold waters in your shoes and clothes. 

Polar Bear Plunge Renton
If you're spending New Year's on the south side, take part in the tradition of jumping into Lake Washington and promptly eating a warm bowl of clam chowder when you're back on land. 

Polar Bear Plunge Tacoma
Jump into the Puget Sound and be rewarded with free hot drinks in a heated tent. Past participants have been known to wear tutus.

Resolution Run 5K & Polar Bear Dive 2019
Odds are you'll be pretty chilly after taking a post-5K dip in the Puget Sound at this Polar Bear Plunge. Keep warm at a post-race celebration with free chili, hot cocoa and coffee, and beers inside a heated garden.