- Float On is at 136½ Church Street, on the Church Street Marketplace in downtown Burlington, VT — an easy stop to fold into your New Year's Eve plans.
- The one non-negotiable for New Year's Eve: never drive impaired. Line up a sober driver, a rideshare, or a place to stay *before* the night starts — same as you would around alcohol.
- Hosting? Keep it 21+ and private — public consumption isn't permitted anywhere in Vermont — and let edibles' delayed onset guide a slow, low-key night.
- Beat the last-minute rush: build your order on the [live menu](https://floaton.dispensary.shop) and pick it up under your name. Float On is open seven days a week, and late ('til midnight) on Fridays and Saturdays.
New Year's Eve in Burlington is downtown at its liveliest — the Church Street Marketplace busy with people, and the city's Highlight festival filling the waterfront and downtown with music, ice, and a midnight countdown. If you're an adult 21 or over planning a quiet night in or a low-key part of the celebration, cannabis can fit the evening — as long as you plan it the responsible, Vermont way. The last night of the year is the wrong one to wing it, so here's a plain guide: how to get home safely, how to host without incident, and how to get your Float On stop done before December 31 gets hectic.
How do you get home safely on New Year's Eve?
This is the part that matters more than anything else on the list: never drive impaired. Cannabis affects reaction time and judgment, and Vermont enforces impaired driving whether the cause is alcohol, cannabis, or both together. The only safe plan is one you make *before* the night begins, while you're still thinking clearly.
- Pick a sober driver, or don't drive at all. Decide who's driving before the evening starts, and make sure they stay sober the whole night — no exceptions once plans are in motion.
- Line up a rideshare or taxi in advance. New Year's Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year for rides, so expect waits and surge demand late; plan the trip home early rather than at 12:30am on a corner of Church Street.
- Or plan to stay put. If you're at a friend's or hosting, the simplest safe option is to not go anywhere — settle in and stay the night.
What are the hosting basics for a New Year's Eve gathering?
If the party's at your place, a few Vermont ground rules keep the night easy. The big one: public consumption is not permitted anywhere in Vermont — not on Church Street, not on the waterfront, not in a parked car — so a private home is the natural and legal setting for it, not a walk downtown to watch the fireworks.
Beyond that, host the way you would with any adults-only offering. Keep it clearly 21+, never share with anyone under 21, and make it easy for a guest to say no. If edibles are around, remember the effect can take two hours or more to arrive — so tell guests plainly what's what, let them go slow, and keep labeled edibles well away from the snack table where someone could grab one by mistake. New to edibles yourself? Our beginner's guide to edible dosing covers how to start low and wait.
Should you buy ahead of New Year's Eve?
Yes — and it's the single best move you can make. December 31 is one of the busier days of the year on the Marketplace, and a last-minute dash into a full shop while you're trying to get a night going is exactly the scramble you want to avoid. Decide what you want a day or two ahead, build your order on the [live menu](https://floaton.dispensary.shop), and the team will set it aside under your name for a quick pickup. If it's your first time doing pickup, our order-ahead pickup guide walks through the whole flow.
New to dispensaries entirely? What to expect your first time covers a visit start to finish, so a pre-holiday stop feels familiar before you walk in. Either way, bring a valid government-issued photo ID — everyone gets carded at the door, every visit, no exceptions.
When is Float On open around New Year's Eve?
Float On is open seven days a week. Regular hours are Monday–Wednesday 8:30am–9pm, Thursday 8:30am–10pm, Friday 8:30am–midnight, Saturday 9:30am–midnight, and Sunday 9:30am–9pm. Hours can shift around specific holidays, and December 31 is exactly the kind of date worth confirming — so if you're timing a visit tightly on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, give the shop a quick call before you head out. The store sits right on the bricks at 136½ Church Street, a short walk from anywhere on the Marketplace.
What should you keep in mind at checkout — and after?
One detail makes a busy-night stop simple: the price you see on the menu is the final, all-in price — Vermont's cannabis tax is already included — so there's nothing extra to work out at the counter. Everything you buy is lab-tested and licensed, tracked and labeled by the state, and it leaves in a sealed bag.
A couple of Vermont rules to carry into the new year: what you buy can't legally cross state lines, even to a neighboring state where cannabis is legal — so if you've got friends heading home out of state, it stays in Vermont. And keep everything in its original child-resistant packaging, stored up and away from kids and pets. Put it together and the last night of the year is an easy errand: buy ahead, plan your ride, keep it 21+ and private, and let someone else drive. That's the calm, Vermont-craft way to close out the year.