New Year's Eve Guide: All About Eve

10 Great Ways to Countdown to 2007

by Margaret Battistelli

10 Great Ways to Countdown to 2007

Ho-freakin-hum ... here comes the ball again. Unless it's on fire and Britney Spears has perched her pantyless puss atop it, who cares? For you, jaded one, we've come up with 10 events that might have slipped under your champagne-and-confetti radar, things that offer at least a twist on the same old '07 revelry.

Don't normally associate accordion music with New Year's Eve? The Women's Auxiliary of the German Society of Pennsylvania's gala features a buffet of international foods, open bar, a midnight toast and Don Bitterlich on the squeezebox. Proceeds benefit the auxiliary's welfare and scholarship funds. 9 p.m., $50 members, $60 nonmembers, German Society of Pennsylvania, 611 Spring Garden St., 215-627-2332.

Would you rather spend New Year's Eve with Madonna, John Travolta or Vanilla Ice? If you can't decide, hang at the Valley Forge Convention Center this NYE. This is one of those high-gloss megaparties, but check the specs: Each of three rooms will rock a different decade ('70s disco, '80s rock and '90s hip-hoppy stuff). Also, it's Vanilla Ice, man. He'll be there live, along with rapper Rob Base. 9 p.m.-1 a.m., $89-$119, Valley Forge Convention Center, 1116 First Ave., King of Prussia, 610-354-8000.

Want your evening's soundtrack to have less street and more soul? Check out retro troubadour James Hunter, who will sing in the new year with classic '50s and '60s R&B standards. The bill also includes jazzy local Melody Gardot. You can just take in the show or purchase dinner-package specials featuring the usual midnight hoopla. Doors 7:30 p.m., show 9 p.m., $54-$150, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400.

If you've reached the point where tongue-kissing strangers at the stroke of midnight isn't decadent enough for you, then try adding a bevy of sizzling strippers to your NYE posse. You can do just that at Delilah's, everybody's favorite gentleman's club-cum-steak house. Tickets include a midnight buffet, drink specials, champagne toast and girls, girls, girls. Buy your tix in advance and each one will be good for a free three-month VIP club membership. 7 p.m., $25 per person, $40 per couple, Delilah's Den, 100 Spring Garden St., 215-625-2800.

You love fireworks, but you hate freezing your nipples off just to see 'em. Watching the spectacle on TV is warmer, but not quite the same. The fete at Hibachi solves this problem: The Japanese eatery, behind Dave & Buster's on Delaware Avenue, offers a space to watch the fireworks live and up close from someplace warm. Tickets get you DJs, an open bar, Japanese/Caribbean-style hors d'ouevres and a midnight toast. 9 p.m., $105, Hibachi, 325 N. Columbus Blvd., 215-592-7100.

If you're truly a people person who can't get enough of those giant parties where you ring it in with, say, 1,000 of your closest friends, here's one you haven't been to yet. The Philadelphia Navy Cruise Terminal enters the NYE-gala arena with this elemental party, featuring dinner and dessert buffets, a top-shelf open bar, champagne toast and DJs. Fun touches sure to get the Old City boys hot under their popped collars: a Red Bull and vodka bar, a martini bar, a beer garden and wine troughs. The fire-and-ice theme? Look for a shot bar with an ice luge and strolling fire breathers. 9 p.m.-2 a.m., $125, Navy Cruise Terminal, Pier 1, 5100 S. Broad St., 212-201-1317.

You've done it before—sauntered up to your mirror and said, in a Madonna-like faux British accent, "Bond. James Bond." For you, there's the New Year's Eve celebration at Continental Mid-town. Tickets get you a DJ, an open bar and midnight toast, made all the more special with the addition of gold-painted Bond girls, shaken-not-stirred martinis and guns 'n' gadgets galore to give it that real Octopussy feel. 8 p.m.-2 a.m., $150-$200, Continental Mid-town, 1801 Chestnut St., 215-567-1800.

This Johnny Brenda's bash is decidedly low-key—call it the anti-NYE party. Dressing to the nines isn't necessary, but if you want to do it up a little, hitting the sixes or sevens should be adequate. DJ tunes and live music by the Spinto Band and OK Paddy, drinks, dancing and probably a little debauchery are all included. There's a cover for the party upstairs, but you can hang out downstairs for free. 9:30 p.m., $15-$18, Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave., 215-739-9684; www.johnnybrendas.com.

Feeling bad about drinking into the night while the kids are home under the watch of a morally questionable teenager? Ease the guilt by kicking off New Year's Eve the family way. Mountain Meadow's LGBT Family Dance at the William Way Center features music, games, crafts and other activities. It's open to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families from the Philadelphia area, and it ends early enough that parents can still make it to wherever they want to watch the ball drop—even if it's just in their dreams. 7:30-9:30 p.m., $20 per family, William Way Center, 1315 Spruce St., 215-772-1107.

If all of the drinking and debauchery of Eves past has left you seeking something less carnal, hang up your stupid hat and mark 2007 with an evening of sober spirit. Tenth Presbyterian Church opens its doors at 9 p.m. for 90 minutes of fellowship, singing and testifying. There's a reception for new church officers from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. and, finally, a traditional service with communion from 11:30 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. Please keep all zany 2007 plastic shades and noisemakers to yourself during the sermon. Free, Tenth Presbyterian Church, 1701 Delancey St., 215-735-7688, www.tenth.org.