Celebrate New Year’s Eve in Sonoma County

It’s soon to be the end of a decade! No matter how you prefer to ring in the New Year, Sonoma County has a little bit of everything for everyone — fun, kid-friendly events, glitzy New Year’s Eve dinners, opulent spas, and beautiful places to hide away. Simply put, Sonoma is the place to be to countdown to 2020 in the utmost luxury. Here are our picks of where to celebrate in Sonoma before the ball drops.

Family Friendly Activities

If you’re in Wine Country with family or little ones over the holidays, Sonoma County has plenty of festivities that are appropriate and fun for the whole family.

NYE Balloon Drop at Charles M. Schulz Museum, Courtesy of Charles M. Schulz Museum

Santa Rosa’s Countdown Downtown Event

December 31, 2019, 8:00 PM

Cost: Free

Santa Rosa’s Courthouse Square combines quaint, small town vibes with contemporary shopping and dining. Beginning at 8pm, Courthouse Square will be hosting a free community event featuring activities for everyone, with music from swing to techno, a view party, and (naturally) the best of local libations. And if you want to toast to a new year twice (it is the end of a decade, after all), the Santa Rosa Countdown will be celebrating both the East Coast and West Coast countdowns, so you can head home early or keep the party going until after midnight.

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! Event

December 31, 2019, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Cost: $12 per adult, $5 for children and students, Free admission for kids 3 and under

For fans of Peanuts, the Charles M. Schulz Museum has a bit of everything. The New Year’s Eve celebrations start at 10am at the museum, with hands-on crafts for the kids, a visit from Snoopy, and special showings of Happy New Year, Charlie Brown. Enjoy the Baby Balloon Drop at noon with a root beer toast. Afterwards, check out the permanent museum collection, with a special re-creation of Charles Schulz’s studio, where he created the beloved comic series. Or take a stroll and lose (and then find) yourself in the Snoopy Labyrinth just east of the museum’s entrance.

Holidays in Healdsburg

December 31, 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM

Cost: $109 – $169

This limited run of Healdsburg tours is offered for just five weeks each year, with New Year’s Eve being the final day of the event. Let the guides take you and the family on a walking tour of charming downtown Healdsburg. With festive decorations, joyful carolers, horse-drawn carriages, and a gorgeous decorated tree, everyone gets to enjoy the holiday spirit even if they’re not partaking in a Champagne toast. The four-hour day tour takes you through three boutique wineries and two food stops, while the two-hour evening tour will have you sampling wine cocktails, holiday spirits, and savory bites at several of Healdsburg’s top restaurants. Let them know you’ll have the kiddos and the tour can be customized to be family friendly.

R&R — Restaurants & Relaxations

We get it — sometimes you’d rather do away with the fireworks and Times Square-esqe countdown, and pamper yourself into the New Year instead. Luckily Sonoma County knows how to provide true R&R alongside world-renowned food and wine.

Pool at Hotel Healdsburg, Courtesy of Hotel Healdsburg

New Year’s Eve Dinner at John Ash & Co.

December 31, 2019, 5:30 – 10:00 PM

Cost: TBD

Located at the beautiful Vintners Resort, John Ash & Co. is a lovely special occasion spot year-round, and is no exception for your glitzy New Year’s Eve dinner. The evening comes complete with party favors, sparkling wine or cocktails, and four-courses of scrumptious offerings. With dishes such as their Lobster Risotto, Roasted Bone Marrow, or Chef Tom’s Lamb Trio, you’ll be in for a decadent treat as you kiss goodbye to 2019 and toast to a new year ahead.

NYE Dinner at Madrona Manor

December 31, 2019, 6:00 PM – 12:00 AM

Cost: $125 per person

Located in Healdsburg, Madrona Manor has more than a whiff of old world luxury. Chef Mallgren’s ever-evolving tasting and à la carte menus are inspired by the estate’s vegetable gardens, orchards, and greenhouse, and are particularly perfect for celebratory meals. The Mansion’s elegant dining rooms set the stage for a memorable four-course New Year’s Eve dinner, with a menu complete with such luxuries as Ostera caviar, truffle risotto, and spectacular wine pairings from local wineries.

The Spa Hotel Healdsburg

The Spa Hotel Healdsburg weaves Healdsburg’s agrarian sensibility into each of their spa treatments. With biodynamic treatments and locally sourced products, you’ll feel how healing it is when nature is combined with nurture. Choose from their selection of Seasonal and Farm to Spa services in one of their serene treatment rooms. Then unwind and take in the scenery on their tranquil garden patio, or head to the jacuzzi and swimming pool nestled in an olive grove and ease yourself into the New Year.

The Spa at Kenwood Inn

Unwind in the warm, minimalist beauty of The Spa at Kenwood Inn. Their selection of services is wonderfully thoughtful and inclusive — such as the Ti Amo Massage for Two that comes with a bottle of bubbly, the Rest & Renewal Babymoon Massage for moms and moms-to-be, and the Cielo Bliss Detox Massage that uses CBD to reduce inflammation. The R&R doesn’t end with a treatment either, thanks to plush robes and slippers, a relaxation room stocked with house made chocolate chip cookies and complimentary teas, and luxe L’Occitane products in the locker rooms.

Eat, Drink, & Sleep (All In One Place)

If you can’t decide what to do for your New Year’s Eve celebration — whether to eat award-winning food, sip world-class wine, enjoy a restful spa day, or hole up in a luxurious respite — Sonoma County has some of the best all-in-one options to choose from.

Courtesy of Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant

Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant

It might look like a charming farmhouse on a country road in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, but inside its walls is modern luxury in the form of gastronomy. The Restaurant’s menu is ever-changing, with the freshest ingredients straight from the owners’ ranch. As a natural extension of the farm-to-table sensibility, the Spa at Farmhouse likewise offers treatments that utilize produce harvested on-site. The spa menu sparkles with Spring Forest Honey and heirloom cider apples from their ranch, along with herbs grown in the Farmhouse Inn kitchen garden. Then, after your meal and spa treatment, retreat back to your guest room for the night, to have an intimate New Year’s Eve celebration with your partner or your closest friends in a spacious and elegant suite — complete with vaulted ceilings and woodland views.

SingleThread

This Japanese-influenced, California-produce-informed establishment in Healdsburg is a three-in-one: a farm, a restaurant, and an inn. For your New Year celebrations, enjoy an over-the-top, 11-course tasting menu customized to your dietary preferences and restrictions. Once you’ve filled your belly and eyes with the artful presentations of every dish, you can retreat to one of the guest rooms tucked above the restaurant to kick up your feet and lounge in the comfort of your own space. And since you’re already staying above a Three Michelin Star restaurant, you might as well opt for the private in-room dinner that is offered for guests staying two or more nights — a multi-course Donabe Hot Pot Dinner — without ever changing out of your comfiest pjs. If that’s not the ultimate way to usher in good food, wine, and luck into the new year, we’re not sure what is.

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Author

Julia Chang

Julia Chang is a writer based out of San Francisco, California. In her early twenties, she made the transition from the eat-to-live to the live-to-eat type, and her waistline has suffered since. She works in tech by day and ekes out time to write about food and fiction on nights and weekends. She doesn’t sleep much. Follow her delirium on Instagram @onmywhimsy, and on Twitter @Jurichu.