For the past few years I have rung in the New Year with hundreds of strangers dancing in clubs in England and Vancouver. This year I wanted to do something a little bit different.

Chris and I wanted to have a low key evening. We purchased tickets to VanDusen Botanical Garden. For the month of December, every year, they host the Festival of Lights. The garden houses over 1 million lights.

Even though it was freezing out (literally, it was -1 C), we bundled up and headed to the gardens. Parking was awful. The parking lot was bursting full and we had to search elsewhere for a parking spot. We ended up on a side street about five minutes down.

Once we parked and walked to the entrance, you felt like you were in a winter wonderland. The main pond in the gardens had dancing lights that changed when the music did. It was enchanting to watch.

After watching the lights we walked around the different gardens. We came across the Jardins De Paris, which was my favourite, as it featured an Eiffel Tower lit up with Christmas lights.

We took in everything the Festival of Lights had to offer. The cold started to chill us to the bone so we decided to go back home. I recommend checking out the event if you are in the area in December.

We ended the night having dinner at the Cactus Club Cafe. We had calamari, steak and drinks. A nice couple also sent us over some shots. After dinner we went home to a bottle of bubbly to watch the clock strike midnight. While my evening wasn’t full of dancing and loud music, it was a nice change.

How did you ring in the New Year?