Thinking about New Year’s Eve four days before Christmas is a little like looking up from the table midway through an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet and asking: “What’s for lunch?”

Still, NYE is important—it’s the time where you leave family and reintroduce yourself to your normal life: the one where you party with your friends instead of your grandma.

In a lot of cities, if you want to see the inside of a bar on NYE, you have to book ahead and pay a cover. But this is not the case in Seattle, where many bars just buy some cheap champagne, pass it around when the ball drops, and call it a night. If you’re look for something a little more involved, restaurant critic Kathryn Robinson has got a full roster of NYE dinners from which to choose, while Arts Editor Laura Dannen has posted a great list of live acts over at Culture Fiend.

Or check out one of my four picks for the best Seattle bar parties this NYE:

If you want to eat dinner at The Pink Door on December 31st, make reservations. But from 9pm-1am, the bar/restaurant hosts a first-come-first-served soiree with the Moonspinners, a 60s inspired lounge act. Dancing begins at 10:30pm, there is no cover.

At Palace Ballroom, Tom Douglas is hosting “a retro glam New Year’s Eve party with cocktails, dinner and dancing,” from 8pm ($110, call Palace for tickets). Cheryl Serio and her five-piece band will provide music, TD suggests you go retro in 60s-inspired outfits.

Starting at 7pm, Rob Roy presents a “Versailles inspired evening” with cocktails that shimmer with celebratory ingredients like St. Germain, Lillet, absinthe, Chartreuse, and champagne. There is no cover and the bar will pass free drinks to the best dressed, so wear something sparkling.

And finally, the most Studio 54 of my NYE party picks—the one that is definitely not for the lightweights in the room—is at Havana. The staff dumps 500 white balloons into the bar and passes out free bottles of champagne at midnight: tickets are $20 at Brown Paper Tickets.