Families gathered hours before festivities began in St. Pete, Tampa and Plant City, reflecting on health and being present ahead of the creative midnight drops.<\/p>\n
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014 Families from across Tampa Bay<\/a> and visitors from colder parts of the country gathered Wednesday at places like St. Pete Pier as the city prepared to host one of the area\u2019s largest New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations<\/a>, complete with food, music and a countdown to midnight.<\/p>\n The pier was being readied for the evening festivities, which were scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., less than two hours after curious visitors began stopping by along the waterfront. Food tents were going up, a Christmas tree stood nearby and families strolled along the water as they marked the final hours of 2025.<\/p>\n Several parents told 10 Tampa Bay News that 2025 had been the best year of their lives, thanks to the birth of their first or second child.<\/p>\n “We just welcomed a new sibling, our baby girl Grace,” South Tampa mom Katherine Gonzalez said shoulder to shoulder with her family, including her two-year-old son. “I’m just excited to see them grow up together and start interacting. She’s about five-weeks-old. It’s a new transition for us, so I’m excited to see what the year brings for the two of them.”\u00a0<\/p>\n Families visiting from Ohio and the East Coast said they would not want to be anywhere else, choosing Tampa Bay over places where winter temperatures were well below freezing. Even if many locals said the mid-50s to high 40s was chilly for their liking. Opting for winter coats instead of a multitude of visitors opting for sweatshirts and pants.<\/p>\n Many said they wanted to spend the final hours of the year on vacation or with friends and family rather than making resolutions.<\/p>\n “We’re not trying to make resolutions; we don’t want to break them. So if you don’t make them, you don’t break them,” the Younes Family, visiting from Toledo, Ohio, shared as they walked along the St. Pete Pier.<\/p>\n Despite cooler temperatures, spirits remained high. Some visitors even ventured into the St. Pete water, including visitor Lulu Barton on holiday from London. \u201cFor me, it’s not that cold. It’s very cold back home, obviously. It’s refreshing. It makes your body feel good. I love it,\u201d Barton said.<\/p>\n Earlier in the day, parents attending Noon-Year\u2019s Eve celebrations at Armature Works in Tampa said they likely would not make it to midnight after a full day of family activities, and trying to get kids to sleep at their typical bedtime.<\/p>\n Families reflected on what mattered most as the year came to a close. \u201cThe older we get, I feel like health and happiness, it sounds so cliche but it’s so true. We’re just happy to be together, spending quality time, making memories and spending the new year bringing in happiness, love and health,\u201d mom Tiffany Mormando said at the Armature Works extravaganza beside her family.<\/p>\n Throughout the day, parents shared their New Year\u2019s resolutions and hopes for the year ahead. Mormando summed up her goal simply: \u201cBe more present.\u201d<\/p>\n Across the region, unique midnight drops were prepped and ready to go, featuring pineapples, coconuts, oysters and strawberries. In Plant City, the second annual Strawberry Drop was set for Main Street, with festivities beginning at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n As families gathered along the waterfront and across Tampa Bay, many echoed the same sentiment \u2014 to slow down, be present and welcome 2026 surrounded by loved ones.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Families gathered hours before festivities began in St. Pete, Tampa and Plant City, reflecting on health and being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101869,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-101868","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}