New Year´s Eve in NYC ? (New York)

Hey everyone,

We are 6 friends going to NYC for Christmas and NYE and have a few doubts regarding available options for partying in NYE.

Shall we book something in advance to avoid extremely high-priced cover during NYE? Or is there places where it would be just fine to spontaneously end up in NYE?

What do you guys, locals, recommend as best plans for NYE in NYC?

PS. Staying the whole day under the cold in Time Square is not very appealing to us... :(

Cheers,