5 last-minute ideas for New Year's Eve in the Twin Cities

Can't make it till midnight? Catch Como Conservatory's annual Noon Year's Party in St. Paul. Dance to music from the DJs of Kidsdance, make ­monkey-themed noisemakers and get an up-close look at a giant African millipede. Stay for the special countdown to noon, when hundreds of beach balls will be dropped from the ceiling. (10 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Free. comozooconservatory.org.)

For something a tad more upscale, there's the New Year's Eve Soiree at the Guthrie Theater in downtown Minneapolis, where you can dance to a live DJ, "get groovy" with Guthrie artists and ring in the new year with artistic director Joseph Haj. The $125 ticket includes an open bar and hors d'oeuvres. (8 p.m. guthrietheater.org.)

Downtown St. Paul's Ordway, the nicest new music venue in town, is winding down its grand-opening year with an old favorite, the BoDeans. Fellow Milwaukee area Americana rockers Trapper Schoepp open. (8 p.m. $30-$85, or $100 for VIP. ordway.org.)

It's tradition to offer kisses at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. (If you fail to pucker up, you'll suffer a lonely year, according to long-held lore.) So pack some breath mints and lip balm (no blood-red lipstick, please), practice your air kiss and be prepared to give polite smooches to those near, if not those dear.

Eager to delude yourself by making resolutions you know will be broken by February? The free iPhone app New Year's Resolutions will help you track your goals. You can have only three, however; it will cost $1.99 to add more. (You can also just write them down on a Post-it note and stick it on the bathroom mirror.) □