5 Things To Know on Dec. 31: New Year’s Eve Festivities

Welcome to “5 Things,” your daily resource for community events, happenings in town and other little tidbits of information. Here are five things you need to know on Monday, Dec. 31.

1. Clouds: The sky will be mostly cloudy on Monday, with no precipitation forecasted, and high temperatures into the mid-30s. The wind will also continue to blow.

2. New Year’s Eve: Several restaurants in Danvers have special New Year’s Eve events planned for Monday night. Check the events calendar here on Danvers Patch to see exact times and pricing. But there are plenty of other things going on, including alcohol-free and family-friendly Beverly’s New Year and the oldest and biggest First Night celebration in the county – First Night Boston.

3. Chinese Food: For some people, eating Chinese food in a tradition on New Year’s Eve. At some restaurants, the orders stack up so get your order in early. Here in Danvers, we have five Chinese food restaurants and we have assembled a list of them for readers. And based on a conversation on Danvers Patch’s Facebook page on Sunday, some people also plan to go to Chinese food restaurants in Beverly. We have included some Chinese food restaurants in nearby Middleton and Peabody too.

4. Early Closings: Many businesses plan to close early on Monday for New Year’s Eve. We’re not going to list them all here, so your best bet is to head out to do shopping on Monday morning or early afternoon or call ahead. For example, Danvers Fresh Marketplace plans to close at 4 p.m. and Daily Harvest Café at 5 p.m.

5. Free Coffee: If you’re planning a trip on any of the major interstate highways in Massachusetts on Monday night, be aware that you can grab a free cup of coffee along the way at any of the 18 traffic plazas in the state. The offer runs from 10 p.m. on Monday through and 5 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1. The free coffee is sponsored by McDonalds, Burger King and Gulf.

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For more of today's happenings, head over to our events calendar.

To send us a photo or suggested item to be featured in the “5 Things” column, send it via e-mail to danvers@patch.com.