New Year's Eve in a lake house in Masuria: how to plan New Year with your own people

In short: New Year's Eve in a lake house in Masuria suits a family or a group of friends who want to spend the night together, without a ball, evening dress or hunting for a taxi after midnight. You choose the menu and the music, the children fall asleep upstairs, and at midnight you walk down to the lake with your glasses. Our New Year offer is three nights, from 30 December to 2 January, in one house for 10 people or in two houses for 20. New Year's Eve is one night a year that everyone wants, so large houses are booked first.

Below we explain step by step how to plan New Year's Eve in a lake house: how to choose a house and share it in a larger group, when to book, what to buy before 1 January, how to celebrate safely by a winter lake, what to do nearby in the first days of the year and what it all costs. We are also honest about the rules that apply at our houses on the night.

For New Year's Eve in Masuria you can go to a hotel ball, rent rooms in a guesthouse or take a whole house. Each makes sense, but for different people. A ball means a set dinner, live music and a dance floor, but also a fixed programme, evening dress and a bill per person. A house gives you freedom: you decide what you eat, what you listen to and when the children go to bed.

1. 01your own menu and your own music in the house, with no fixed programme and no dress code
2. 02the children sleep in a bedroom upstairs while the adults stay at the table downstairs
3. 03nobody has to drive back after midnight or look for a taxi
4. 04the cost is shared by the whole group, so with 10 or 20 people it is easy to work out the share per person
5. 05a quiet New Year's Day: a late breakfast, a walk by the lake and no check-out at noon on 1 January

To be honest: in a house you organise everything yourselves. Someone has to cook dinner, and on 1 January someone does the washing-up. There is no band or DJ, and a loud party has to be agreed with the owner in advance. If you dream of dancing until dawn, choose a hotel. If you want to spend the night with the people closest to you, a house works better. A wider comparison is in our article A lake house or a hotel in Masuria.

For New Year's Eve we offer a three-night stay. You arrive on 30 December and the house is ready from 16:00. You spend New Year's Eve here, rest without hurry on 1 January and leave on 2 January by 11:00. That way nobody drives on the afternoon of New Year's Eve or on the morning of New Year's Day.

1. 01one house for up to 10 people or both houses for up to 20 people
2. 02each house: 130 m², four bedrooms (one on the ground floor), three bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen and a terrace facing the lake
3. 03bed linen, towels, Wi-Fi, Smart TV, heating and parking at the house are included
4. 04in winter from PLN 999 a night for the whole house; the booking calendar shows the exact price for the New Year dates
5. 05local tourist tax of PLN 3.50 per person per night, for adults and children from 4
6. 06a 30% deposit and free cancellation up to 30 days before arrival, which for arrival on 30 December means until 30 November

You can check and book the New Year dates on our prices page, and see the interiors and layout of the houses on Houses and gallery.

New Year's Eve differs from the summer holidays in one way: it is one particular night, and everyone looks for somewhere to stay at the same time. In summer you can move your trip by a week; at New Year you cannot. That is why large houses by the water, and especially two houses side by side for a group of 20, disappear from calendars first.

1. 01book as soon as your group is settled: there is no back-up date for New Year's Eve
2. 02with several families, collect a deposit from each of them before you book the house
3. 03use free cancellation: with us it is up to 30 days before arrival, so booking early carries little risk
4. 04if you are reading this in December, check the calendar straight away, as dates sometimes free up after a cancellation

The general rules of booking early, comparing prices and paying safely are in our article When to book a house in Masuria for the summer. They work the same way at New Year, only with a single date a year there is much less room for manoeuvre.

One house is enough for a family or a group of friends of up to 10. Four bedrooms let you separate couples, children and grandparents, and the ground-floor bedroom suits anyone who would rather avoid the stairs. Three bathrooms mean nobody queues for the shower before dinner.

With 20 people you rent both houses. They are identical, each with 130 m² and room for 10, so it is easy to split fairly, for example families with small children in one house and those who want to stay up longer in the other. Neither house has a room for 20 people at one table, so it works best when each house has dinner on its own and everyone meets by the lake for the midnight toast. The houses stand side by side, so it is easy to drop in on the other one during the evening. Just remember that no more than 10 people sleep in one house, and guests from outside the booking may be on the grounds by arrangement with us until 22:00. On New Year's Eve everyone should therefore be included in the booking.

We write more about sharing the houses in A house in Masuria for 20 people and A house in Masuria for 10 people, and about a trip with several generations in A family reunion in Masuria.

1 January is a public holiday in Poland with a trading ban, so shops are closed. Petrol stations and pharmacies, among others, stay open. On New Year's Eve many shops close early, so the easiest option is to do the big shop on 30 December, on your way to us or right after arrival, in Mrągowo.

The kitchen in each house has a hob, an oven, a fridge, a dishwasher and tableware, so you can cook a full dinner for 10. Dishes you can prepare earlier and just reheat work best: a roast, bakes, salads and cold starters. After midnight it is good to have something hot, such as soup or bigos, the Polish hunter's stew that gets better each time it is reheated.

1. 01food for dinner and breakfasts for three days, with extra for 1 January
2. 02champagne or sparkling wine, plus alcohol-free sparkling drinks for the children
3. 03tea in a flask for the walk to the lake at midnight
4. 04table decorations, candles and streamers
5. 05sausages or marshmallows if you are planning a fire
6. 06board games and cards for the long evening

If you would rather not cook, ask restaurants and caterers in Mrągowo about New Year's Eve packages. Such orders are usually placed in advance, as everyone has their hands full on 31 December.

The most beautiful moment of New Year's Eve in a lake house is walking down to the shore at midnight. The beach with a jetty is about 20 metres from the houses, so you only need to throw on your jackets. Take torches or head torches, as it is dark by the lake and the path and the jetty may be icy. Take care on the jetty and keep the children close.

A fire on New Year's Eve is a great idea, but it needs preparing. The fire pit is shared by both houses, and you order firewood from us at least one day before you light it. It costs PLN 200, so for New Year's Eve order it by 30 December at the latest. You light the fire only in the marked place, under adult supervision, and put it out completely.

A few rules worth knowing before you book:

1. 01quiet hours run from 22:00 to 7:00 on New Year's Eve too; a family dinner and a midnight toast are what our offer is about, but a party with loud music has to be agreed with us in advance
2. 02outdoor sound systems are not allowed, so the music plays indoors
3. 03fireworks, firecrackers and sky lanterns need our consent; if you are planning them, write to us before you arrive
4. 04if you book one house, another group may be staying in the other, so respect their peace

It is worth thinking about fireworks more widely. Polish rules against disturbing the peace and night-time rest, article 51 of the Code of Petty Offences, apply on New Year's Eve as well, and municipalities can add their own restrictions. Lake Krzywe lies in a quiet zone among meadows and forests where wild animals live, and the bangs scare them. That is why many groups choose a fire and a toast by the water instead of a fireworks display.

If a frost comes, Lake Krzywe may freeze, and the view of the white surface from the terrace is one of the great charms of winter. Ice is treacherous, though, and on New Year's Eve, in the dark and after a toast, the risk grows. The Polish State Fire Service reminds people of a few rules:

1. 01safe ice is about 10 cm thick, and its thickness is not the same everywhere
2. 02snow hides weak spots and adds weight to the ice
3. 03it can be dangerous near the shore and around jetties too
4. 04never go onto the ice alone, and if it cracks, head back to the shore at once
5. 05if someone falls through, call 112, do not run to them, but crawl and reach out with a scarf, a branch or a sledge

Our advice is simpler: stay off the ice during your stay, especially after dark and after drinking. For skating, choose an ice rink. You raise the toast on the shore, and children by the water are always supervised by adults.

Masuria at the turn of the year can be very different. There may be snow and frost, when the lakes freeze and the forest looks like a postcard. There may also be a thaw, rain and grey skies. Nobody can guarantee snow, so plan New Year's Eve to be good in any weather and treat snow as a gift.

The day is short: the sun rises around 7:50 and sets around 15:20, so it is light for roughly seven and a half hours. The houses are year-round and heated by gas, so it is warm inside whatever happens outside.

1. 01warm, waterproof boots and hats, as it is windy by the lake
2. 02head torches or torches for evening walks and going out at midnight
3. 03a sledge if the forecast promises snow
4. 04a travel cot for the youngest, as we have no cots
5. 05slippers and comfortable clothes for long evenings indoors

The turn of the year in Masuria is a time for resting rather than sightseeing, but a few places nearby are open in winter. Opening hours on 31 December and 1 January are often different, so check them before you go.

1. 01the ski slope on Góra Czterech Wiatrów in Mrągowo, about 15 minutes from the houses: two T-bar lifts, runs with artificial snow and floodlights, a beginners' slope and a ski school
2. 02in Mikołajki, about half an hour's drive: the year-round Alpine Coaster toboggan run, the ski slope at the Gołębiewski hotel and the Tropikana water park for a frosty day
3. 03walks along the shore of Lake Krzywe and the field tracks around the village, ideally before noon
4. 04the promenade on Lake Czos in Mrągowo for a short walk on 1 January
5. 05the Kadzidłowo wildlife park, about 40 minutes' drive, and the castles in Ryn and Kętrzyn if you fancy a trip

More winter ideas are in our article Masuria out of season and on the Attractions page.

A house is probably the easiest way to spend New Year's Eve with children. The little ones fall asleep at their usual time in a bedroom upstairs while the adults stay at the table. Older children often want to stay up until midnight, so it is worth preparing something for them: cooking together, board games or a children's countdown earlier in the evening, at 20:00 for example.

1. 01the ground-floor bedroom suits grandparents or parents with the youngest
2. 02bring your own travel cot
3. 03children by the water, on the jetty and by the fire are always supervised by adults
4. 04alcohol-free bubbly and sparklers, agreed with us in advance, are often the highlight of the evening for children
5. 05we do not accept pets, except assistance dogs, and the bangs of fireworks are very stressful for animals anyway

We write more about staying with children in Masuria with children.

Krzywe is about 282 km from Warsaw, around 3.5 hours' drive in good conditions, and 67 km from Olsztyn. In winter the journey may take longer, so check the forecast and your tyres before you set off and leave yourself extra time. There is free parking at the houses, and satnav takes you right to the door.

On 30 December the sun sets around 15:20, so for check-in at 16:00 you will arrive in the dark. Before your stay we send directions and information about access to the house. On 2 January many people are returning from holidays, so expect heavier traffic on the way back.

Here is an example for one house and 10 people, from the lowest winter price. The price per night over New Year is higher than this rate, and the New Year offer on the prices page shows the exact amount for the whole stay, so treat this as the lower limit.

1. 01accommodation: 3 nights at PLN 999, so from PLN 2,997 for the whole house
2. 02local tourist tax: 10 people for 3 nights at PLN 3.50, so PLN 105; children under 4 do not pay
3. 03firewood: PLN 200 if you order it
4. 04in total from PLN 3,302, or from about PLN 330 per person for three nights, without food and travel

Food and drinks are usually split equally, so it is easy to work out the share per person. How to plan the whole budget of a trip is in our article What does a weekend in Masuria cost.

Our Modern and Loft houses stand on Lake Krzywe, 9 km from Mrągowo, in a quiet zone where combustion engines are banned. The lake shore is about 10 metres from the terrace and the beach with a jetty about 20 metres from the houses. Both houses are year-round and heated, and bed linen and towels are included.

1. 01New Year offer: arrival on 30 December from 16:00, departure on 2 January by 11:00
2. 02one house for up to 10 people or two houses for up to 20
3. 03in winter from PLN 999 a night for the whole house, with the current price for your dates in the calendar
4. 04a 30% deposit and free cancellation up to 30 days before arrival
5. 05we issue a VAT invoice on request, for a company New Year trip for example

Check for free dates on our prices page. If you are planning a bigger party or fireworks, or have any other question, write or call before you book.

The best New Year's Eve is the one after which you wake up on 1 January to a view of the lake and have nowhere to go.