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Goodbye 2025—and Hello 2026!
Reflections and Resources for a Fun Family New Year’s Eve
Our 25th Anniversary Year in Review
2025 was certainly an exciting year here at Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park! Here are just some of the highlights:
- Our milestone 25th Anniversary Celebration with a musical show, vintage displays, and the return of some of our original mascots
- Hundreds of elementary school students getting to learn in our “living laboratory” during Natural Science Days
- The first-ever Cherry Jubilee, a “cherr-ific” summer event full of fantastic flavors and family fun
- Exciting new acts during Carnival Nights including acrobats and bubble artists
- All the sweet, silly and not-too-spooky fun of our popular Halloween event, The Great Big BOO
- Large groups getting together for company events, picnics, school dances and other special celebrations in our gorgeous venues
- A brand-new Explorer Program offering self-guided, hands-on educational adventures throughout the park
- The debut of The Party Place and the return of our popular Birthday Party packages
- More than 1,700 campers joining us for unforgettable overnight adventures during our Camp Nights events
We are so grateful to all of our Members and guests who made this (and every) year possible—and we’re excited to keep the fun growing in 2026!
Counting Down to 2026
Speaking of 2026, we hope you’ll be bringing the whole family to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Gilroy Gardens on December 31 (4pm – midnight). Enjoy the park’s exciting rides, North Pole Nights holiday fun, and a DJ Dance Party with specialty appetizers and drinks. Then join the countdown to midnight and our big fireworks show over Coyote Lake!
But if you’re not able to join us this year, don’t worry. We’ve pulled together some fun ideas and tips you can try at home to keep the whole family smiling until the clock strikes midnight.
Fun Family New Year’s Eve Tip #1: Prepare Some Tasty Treats
The chefs at Gilroy Gardens have a delicious New Year’s Eve menu planned with savory snacks and scrumptious desserts. For home cooks of all ages, we’ve got a Pepperoni Pizza Cups recipe the whole family will love! These bite-sized treats are fun to create together and perfect for fueling up before the big countdown.
Pepperoni Pizza Cups
Recipe from The Country Cook
Ingredients
- 8 ounce can crescent roll dough
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup pizza sauce, plus more for dipping
- ½ cup mini pepperoni (or regular pepperoni cut into quarters)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray 8 sections of a muffin tin with baking spray.
- Roll out the dough on a clean work surface and cut it into 8 equal-sized sections.
- Carefully press the dough into the greased sections of the muffin tin, making sure the corners of the dough overlap the sides.
- Add half of the cheese to the bottom of the cups.
- Evenly distribute the pizza sauce on top of the cheese.
- Add the pepperoni evenly.
- Top with the remaining cheese.
- Take the corners of the dough and fold them over the filling to form a package.
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, garlic, and chopped basil. Brush the tops of the cups with the butter mixture.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Pop them out of the pan immediately. (If left too long in the pan, they can get soggy on the bottom.)
- Serve with more pizza sauce on the side for dipping.
Notes
- You can use store bought or homemade pizza sauce.
- Switch it up and use any of your favorite pizza toppings–just don’t overfill the cups.
- These can be frozen for 2-3 months.
Fun Family New Year’s Eve Tip #2: Get Your Groove On
At Gilroy Gardens, we have a professional DJ spinning tunes at our New Year’s Eve Dance Party all the way until midnight. When you’re at home, you can turn up the music and keep the energy going with your own family dance party!
Just queue up the Gilroy Gardens Dance Party playlist on Spotify for family-friendly songs that are perfect for games like musical chairs or a silly round of “Finish the Lyrics.”
The main thing is to just keep moving, laughing, and making memories together!
Fun Family New Year’s Eve Tip #3: Make Every Minute Count
Of course, there’s plenty to do during the New Year’s Eve Celebration at Gilroy Gardens, including exciting rides, games, ice skating, a DJ dance party, and more. But even if you’re at home, you can plan some fun activities so waiting for midnight won’t feel quite so long.
Keep everyone excited (and awake!) with these fun activities:
- Blow up balloons and take turns popping one every hour to mark the countdown.
- Create a time capsule (inspired by the Gilroy Gardens 25th Anniversary time capsule) with mementos of 2025 that you can open up in 5, 10, or even 25 years from now.
- Get creative with our downloadable coloring pages.
- Make New Year’s resolutions as a family—and dream big for 2026!
Fun Family New Year’s Eve Tip #4: Make a Magnificent Mess at Midnight
When the clock finally strikes 12:00, it’s time to celebrate!
Skip the store-bought supplies and make your own fun with DIY confetti poppers. These are a festive way to ring in the New Year and shower your family in sparkles and smiles.
All you need are some toilet paper tubes, balloons, duct tape, paint or markers, and some homemade “confetti” (such as paper hole punches, glitter, sequins or little pompoms).
Check out the Instagram reel from @melodyinthemaking to follow the simple steps.
(And don’t worry—you can leave the cleanup until the next day!)
Fun Family New Year’s Eve Tip #5: Discover Science with a Spark
The New Year’s Eve Celebration at Gilroy Gardens concludes with a spectacular fireworks show at midnight over Coyote Lake. But if you can’t be here to “ooh” and “ahh” in person, you can still cap off your celebration at home with a fun, safe “fireworks” science experiment inspired by Science-Sparks.com.
Although this is a simple and safe science craft, be sure to get a grownup to help you. It’s a fun way to bring the sparkle indoors while learning how colors mix and rise.
Fireworks in a Glass
What You Need:
- A tall glass jar
- Warm water
- Oil
- Food coloring
What You Do:
- Fill the jar about ¾ full of warm water and then add a layer of oil.
- Carefully drop a few drops of food coloring into the oil.
- Watch what happens. Experiment with mixing in different colors (just a few drops at a time).
- Draw a picture of your “fireworks” show!
How It Works:
Oil and water do not mix! Because oil is less dense than water (meaning there is less of it in the same volume), it floats on top of water in a nice layer.
Most food coloring is water-based and therefore does not mix with oil. Instead, it sinks through the oil into the water below, leaving behind “trails” that look like fireworks streaking through the sky.
Thank You for 25 Years of Love, Learning and Laughter
As we get ready to welcome a brand-new year, we want to pause and sincerely thank every guest who visited Gilroy Gardens during this very special 25th anniversary season.
Every Membership and ticket purchase makes a difference and directly supports our nonprofit educational mission. Your continued support helps us nurture a greater appreciation of horticulture and trees—so that future generations can experience the same beauty, wonder, and joy.
While Gilroy Gardens will be closed for the winter season after December 31, we look forward to reopening in March 2026 for more exciting adventures!
