Family-friendly New Year's parties

Incredible New Year's Eve Celebration For $25 per person you can usher in 2009 with the fine folks at Incredible Pizza. There'll be a "special balloon drop, door prizes, trivia contests, and a non-alcoholic midnight toast, in addition to its unlimited buffet, go-karts, bumper cars, mini-golf, and bowling." Essentially, what they're saying is "You give us $25 and we'll keep your kids busy for a few hours," which really sounds worth it to me. Starts at 8pm, ends at 1am.

There are two locations for this event:

Pasadena location:

5950 Fairmont Parkway

Pasadena, TX 77505 Google Maps

281.998.2424

Sugar Land location:

3412 State Highway 6 South

Sugar Land, TX 77478 Google Maps

281.313.0631

Moody Garden's Festival of Lights If you want to kick it with Santa while listening to live music and getting a little bit of shopping done, head on out to Moody Gardens. This event is actually going on up until New Year's Eve, so feel free to head out there beforehand. Tickets are a wonderfully priced at $3.95 per person.

Moody Gardens

One Hope Boulevard

Galveston, TX 77554 Google Maps

800.582.4673

Ice Rink in The Woodlands Open from noon to 1am, this could be a filler activity between other daily traditions. And with tickets being either $9.50 for anyone over five, or $5 for anyone under, it's light on the pocketbook as well.

Lake Robbins Drive and Six Pines Avenue

Spring, TX 77380 Google Maps

281.419.5630

The Ice at Discovery Green If you're looking for ice skating a little closer to downtown, this is the place to go. In the Battle of the Ice Skating Rinks, they lose points for only being open until 8pm on New Year's Eve, but they gain points for having a toddler-specific rink and being about an hour closer to my house. Objectivity, schmobjectivity. $10 gets you in (includes skate rental).

1500 McKinney Street

Houston, TX 77010 Google Maps

713.400.7336

Dickinson's Festival of Lights If you're looking to recreate that 'Christmas Story' type feeling, you'll probably enjoy yourself at the 11th annual Festival of Lights in Dickinson. Naturally, the event is free, and the first 100 people to sign up receive a free Red Rider BB Gun*.

*Not at all true

Festival of Lights

1000 A FM 517

Paul Hopkins Park

Dickinson, Texas 77539 Google Maps