- Survey of 3,026 respondents.
- IL’s top choices were: New Year on the Pier (Navy Pier, Chicago); Watching the Skyline from Promontory Point + Lake Michigan Shoreline Walk (Chicago).
- Infographic included.
As the clock ticks toward another new year, Choice Mutual, a life insurance agency that specializes in final expense insurance, explored the idea that if this were your final New Year’s Eve, how would you spend it? Would you be shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers in Times Square, waiting for that famous glittering ball to drop? Dancing under fireworks on a Miami rooftop? Watching the northern lights flicker in silence above an Alaskan sky? They surveyed 3,026 respondents on how and where they would choose to spend their last New Year’s Eve.
Illinoisans’ top choices were:
#1 New Year on the Pier (Navy Pier), Chicago
If this were your last New Year’s Eve on Earth, Navy Pier would be the perfect place to enjoy a beautiful experience. Fireworks burst over Lake Michigan, reflecting across the water in shimmering streaks, while Chicago’s skyline glows behind you. Wrapped-up crowds line the pier, music drifts from inside the halls, and the whole scene feels both festive and peaceful — a perfect blend of big-city energy and waterfront calm.
#2 Watching the Skyline from Promontory Point, Chicago
On New Year’s Eve, Promontory Point would give you Chicago in its most soulful form. Standing on the stone steps, you’d look out across Lake Michigan as twilight settles, the waves tapping gently against the shore below. Behind you, the city glows with thousands of warm lights, skyscrapers rising like steel constellations. The cold air bites your cheeks, but in that invigorating, midwestern way that reminds you you’re part of the city’s winter rhythm. The contrast between the quiet lake and the bustling skyline creates a moment of calm reflection — a peaceful way to take in Chicago as the year comes to a close.
#3 Lake Michigan Shoreline Walk, Chicago
For those drawn to wide-open beauty, Lake Michigan offers a quietly magical way to spend the evening. Winter waves roll in against the shoreline as you walk, the city lights glowing softly in the distance. The lake’s steady rhythm pairs perfectly with the anticipation in the air, and now and then, fireworks flicker on the horizon.
Other choices from around the country were:
Times Square Ball Drop, New York City, New York
Times Square would deliver the most iconic last New Year’s Eve imaginable. Millions gather as the sparkling ball begins its descent, confetti swirls like a blizzard of light, and cameras capture the moment for the world. The city roars with excitement as fireworks crackle overhead and the streets pulse with energy. It’s global, electric, and unmistakably New York – the ultimate last-night celebration.
Disneyland New Year’s Eve, Anaheim, California
If you wanted your last New Year’s Eve to feel like stepping into a fairytale, Disneyland would deliver it effortlessly. The park glimmers with thousands of lights, music drifts through each themed land, and families gather with childlike anticipation as midnight approaches. When the fireworks erupt above Sleeping Beauty Castle, the entire sky becomes a cascade of color and sound, a theatrical display built to inspire awe. It’s a night filled with nostalgia, wonder, and delight – the perfect place to relive the magic of life.
Yellowstone Winter Lodge Stargazing, Yellowstone Area, Wyoming
When Wyoming doesn’t give you a formal celebration, its wilderness more than picks up the slack. Imagine spending your last New Year’s Eve near Yellowstone’s winter lodges – snow piled deep, geyser steam rising into the night, and the sky so clear it almost hums. You step outside just before midnight, breath turning to frost, wolves howling far off in the dark. No fireworks here – just stars, silence, and the feeling that you’re standing inside the Earth’s own countdown.
Waikiki New Year’s Eve Fireworks, Honolulu, Hawaii
Waikiki offers a New Year’s Eve that feels like a dream – warm sand beneath your feet, gentle waves lapping at the shore, and palm trees silhouetted against a sky bursting with color. The fireworks light up the entire beachfront, casting shimmering reflections on the Pacific, and people from around the world cheer together under the tropical night. It’s peaceful, breathtaking, and full of gratitude.
Watching the Northern Lights at Creamer’s Field, Fairbanks, Alaska
A last New Year’s Eve at Creamer’s Field would feel like witnessing Earth’s own farewell performance. Wrapped in thick winter layers, you’d stand on the open snow-covered flats as the aurora ripples across the sky in bright streaks of green and violet. The air is so cold it almost crackles, your breath hanging in the stillness as the landscape glows beneath shifting curtains of light. There’s nothing noisy or rushed here – just the slow, cosmic dance of the northern lights and the deep quiet of an Alaskan winter night. If this were your last New Year’s Eve memory, it would feel impossibly vast, strangely comforting, and beautiful beyond language.
Los Angeles Rooftop Countdown, Los Angeles, California
For a glamorous last New Year’s Eve, Los Angeles rooftops offer sweeping views of the cityscape, music, and champagne in hand. Picture your last New Year’s Eve surrounded by the twinkling lights of Hollywood, the hum of the city below, and fireworks dotting the horizon – a lively, memorable place to celebrate the countdown.
Las Vegas Strip Fireworks, Las Vegas, Nevada
The entire Strip becomes a pedestrian party as fireworks erupt simultaneously from multiple rooftops, lighting the night in vivid color. Neon signs glow, crowds cheer from every direction, and the atmosphere is electric. It’s a larger-than-life goodbye – dramatic, dazzling, and impossible to forget.
Stargazing at Mather Point, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
At Mather Point, your last New Year’s Eve would unfold in a silence so enormous it feels like the canyon itself is holding its breath with you. The last glow of sunset fades into the gorge, leaving the rock walls in dusky purples and deep blues, and then the stars begin to appear – first a few, then hundreds, then thousands. The night sky stretches overhead like a map of everything you’ve ever wondered about, reflected faintly in the shadowed canyon below. A cold breeze skims across the rim, carrying the scent of pines and dry stone. Here, on the edge of one of Earth’s oldest and greatest wonders, the end of the year feels timeless, honest, and awe-inspiring – a place of grace and beauty.
Infographic showing the top choices in each state
“Death is one of the most difficult subjects for people to talk about, yet when we gently lean into it, something interesting happens – we get clearer about what really matters to us”, says Anthony Martin of Choice Mutual. “This survey was essentially about understanding how people choose meaning, joy, and connection when everything is distilled down to one final night. Whether that meant fireworks in Times Square or a quiet moment under the stars, the answers revealed a simple truth: when faced with the end, people naturally gravitate toward whatever makes them feel most alive.”
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