How are you sending off 2021? There’s still time to contemplate the proper exit strategy.

Many restaurants will be giving their staff time off from Christmas Eve through the following Monday as a thank-you for putting up with the craziness of the pandemic. Others will also shut down around the New Year, as it also falls on a weekend. But some will remain open for dining and/or takeout. Here are a few places you can celebrate NYE 2021 in the South Bay.

Immersive, the dinner theater experience in downtown Los Gatos, has transformed the former Mountain Charley’s space. The “Holidaze” entertainment continues through New Year’s Eve with a cirque variety show and a six-course dinner, with an optional beverage pairing.  A special NYE party features celebrity DJ and Hollywood star Zak Santiago. As owner Alex Hult says, “Expect the unexpected.” https://www.immersivenightlife.com

The Bywater will whip up your New Year’s Eve party essentials by prepaid pre-order, available for pickup between 11:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Friday, Dec 31. Keep the party going with French 75 kits, frozen voodoo daiquiris, biscuits and caviar, barbecue platters and more. https://www.thebywaterca.com

In Saratoga, The Basin offers a dinner for two to go for $160, featuring a choice of seared salmon in tarragon beurre blanc sauce, prime rib with salt and pepper and horseradish cream sauce or braised lamb shanks. Each meal includes sides of Brussels sprouts and kale salad, buttered chive mashed potatoes, creamy risotto, roasted garlic, rosemary and thyme vegetables (with heirloom carrots, Brussels sprouts, French green beans) and a French baguette. For dessert, there’s a chocolate Boudin cake. Pick up cold meals on Dec. 30, 4-6 p.m.; prep instructions are included. https://www.thebasin.com

Diners can welcome the New Year with a sit-down dinner at Jeffrey Stout’s Be.Steak.A at The Pruneyard in Campbell, offering two multi-course tasting menus with optional wine pairings. Seatings from 5-5:30 p.m. are $195 per person for a five-course menu, while seatings from 8-8:40pm are $270 per person. The evening includes live music, a stand-alone dessert lounge and photo booths. For reservations and menu details, visit https://www.exploretock.com/besteaka.

Toasting 2022

For those who are toasting the new year at home and want to ring in 2022 with wines that sparkle with flavor without being bubbly, here are some local vintages to help end the holiday season on a high note.

Marty Mathis of Kathryn Kennedy Winery in Saratoga has both his Lateral Bordeaux-style blend ($50) and Small Lot cabernets in screwcap now, so you can take them to parties without fear of a bad cork. Don’t forget his 2020 Gruner Veltliner for those Santas who know their way around Austria. https://kathrynkennedywinery.com/wines

Shalini Sekhar, winemaker for Neely Wines in Los Gatos, says the 2018 Home Block Chardonnay and 2018 Hidden Block Pinot Noir are her favorites right now. She used a small amount of whole cluster for this particular pinot noir that year to add a layer of spice and structure. It marks a stylistic shift for the winery. They are offering 50% off on cases of the 2016 Bee Block Chardonnay and the 2016 Hidden Block Pinot Noir. https://www.neelywine.com

Rob Jensen of Testarossa highlights these wines for the holidays: the 2018 Testarossa Rosella Vineyard Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County, $53), and the 2019 Testarossa Rosemary’s Vineyard Pinot Noir (Arroyo Grande Valley, San Luis Obispo County, $74). https://www.testarossa.com

Winemaker/owner Dan Lokteff of Wrights Station Winery and Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains has two favorites for the holidays. First is the 2019 Chardonnay, Estate Reserve ($43), barrel-fermented and aged for 10 months in 50% new French oak. “The reserve is probably the most holiday/winterish, with the bigger oak profile toning down the citrus and bringing out the caramelized apple/pear,” says Lokteff.

For the red wine crowd, there’s the 2018 Wrights Station Pinot Noir (Cave Block, $53). http://www.wrightsstation.com