Ah, New Year’s Eve. The single most over-hyped holiday of the year. In such a young and lively city like Groningen, there is so much to do, you might be overwhelmed by your choices. Well no worries, I have laid out a fine selection of Groningen NYE dos and don’ts. 

Fireworks

A Dutch tradition - fireworks. While there is a lot of talk about banning it for private use due to their lack of safety, environmental unconsciousness and inability to regulate - fireworks still legal in the Netherlands now, and around New Years you can buy them on almost every street corner. From 18:00 on December 31st until 02:00 on January 1st, setting off fireworks is legal. Around midnight, the entire night sky is filled with fireworks, creating a very remarkable view across the Groningen skyline (as well as lots of smoke). There is probably no other country where individuals like you and me are able to light their own fireworks, so enjoy the very liberal spectacle while it lasts.

Oliebollen

If this is your first year in the Netherlands, you’re probably wondering what all of those way-too-fluorescently-lit food trucks are. They are filled with one of Holland’s finest delicacies; the oliebol. This literally translates to oil ball - but have no fear, it’s a lot better than it sounds. Google translates it to a doughnut because it’s basically just a ball of dough (sometimes filled with raisins) that is (briefly) deep-fried and then dusted off with icing sugar. The best way to celebrate the new year as a Dutchie is to make them yourself, but if you don’t want to go through the hassle, you can roll up to a food truck and order yourself a few oliebollen for you and all your friends. The goal is to eat so many that you don’t want to see another oliebol until next December.

House parties 

In my opinion - this is the best way to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Groningen. With the enormous amount of students in the city, and the almost lawless nature of the city between 18:00-02:00, NYE makes for great house party conditions. Gather together a group of friends, make a list of all the house parties you want to hit up, and go house party hopping. The great thing about this is that if you decide that you aren’t having a good time, you have a whole list of alternatives to go to before the night is over. Make sure to bring a bag of oliebollen or your own drinks (most house parties are BYOB). 

Street bonfires 

Amidst your night of house party hopping, firework awe-ing, and oliebol eating - you might come across a few street bonfires. Another very typically Groningen-thing to do on New Years: put all your old garbage or furniture on a pile in the middle of the street, and set it on fire. While this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, it’s actually pretty gezellig. There is always a huge one on the Jozef Israelplein, which happens to be the epicenter of house-partying. Here, many students will gather together and watch the mountain of old furniture go up in flames, before heading off to their next party. 

Center city 

While the Poelestraat and Peperstraat might be your favorite places to go and party normally, New Year’s Eve in the center of the city is like no other night of the year. People from all across the North of the Netherlands will come to Groningen, as it’s the only ‘big’ city close by, to ring in the new year in a more glamorous way. This means that your favorite clubs where you’ve never had to pay entry fees before, are suddenly asking you for a 15 euro entry fee and drinks aren’t the nice student prices we’re used to. Stick to house parties where you can actually move and talk to your friends, and visit the Wolter Wolthers again in the new year. 

Parties

However, if you do want to celebrate the New Year in the city, I’ve compiled a list below of all the possible places you can go party it up on December 31st. 

LOFT ⊚ NYE 2020Paradigm Trilogy: NYEHappy Feelings x Terug naar toen NYE SpecialRoodkopje NYE 2019DOT Party: NYE 2020NYE 3 UiltjesWolter Wolthers - NYE 2020Club Kokomo Presents NYE: The Great GatsbySIGN 30 years | PARTY 31 decClub Maca & Roni Presents: De NachtwinkelNYE Blockparty - Deejay Irie (support by Ingo the Gringo)NYE: from 1920 to 2020NYE at Nightclub &ZOOcean 41's New Years Party 2020NYE / HSANew Orleans New Years Party 2020!The gay and roaring twenties party, The old meets the newNew Year Party 2020 at Donavan’sWolf's New Year Party

I hope I’ve given you a decent idea of how to celebrate New Year in Groningen. Remember to be safe when setting off fireworks yourself, and be careful when you’re outside (other people’s fireworks are dangerous too). Last but not least, have an amazing New Years, see you in 2020