2026 is right around the corner, and the ball drop is not the only way that people can celebrate.
How I Met Your Mother has two New Year’s Eve episodes.
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Throughout the CBS sitcom’s nine-season run, the gang rang in the new year twice: during the first season and during the seventh season. The episodes are pretty memorable, entertaining, and emotional, and fans can watch those episodes and the entire series on Hulu, but no longer on Netflix. Take a look at the episode guide below for How I Met Your Mother’s New Year’s Eve episodes.
Season 1, Episode 11 “The Limo”
HIMYM’s first New Year’s Eve episode came in Season 1 with “The Limo.” The episode saw Ted renting a limo for the group to avoid another letdown on New Year’s Eve. Ted, Lily, Marshall, and Barney plan to attend five parties before midnight, while Robin has plans with her boyfriend, Derek, and Robin later joins the group. As the gang tries to find the best party, the limo gets a flat and is later stuck in traffic. They end up counting down to midnight in the limo with champagne, and Ted leaves the vehicle as the countdown begins.
“The Limo” is a bottle episode, meaning it is set in one location. Additionally, Director of Photography Chris La Fountaine won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series in 2006 for his efforts on the episode.
Season 7, Episode 13 “Tailgate”
Six seasons after the first New Year’s Eve episode, How I Met Your Mother did its second and final New Year’s episode with Season 7’s “Tailgate.” In the episode, Marshall visits his father’s gravesite on New Year’s Day to continue their tailgate tradition, listening to the Chicago Bears-Minnesota Vikings game on the radio. His brothers show up with the same idea, and mourners at another funeral nearby gradually congregate at the tailgating party. Eventually, Marshall tells the story of how he and the gang celebrated New Year’s Eve.
Lily and Marshall decorated the baby’s bedroom, and Lily told her dad about the pregnancy, who had a nonchalant reaction. Meanwhile, Ted and Barney opened up an impromptu bar called Puzzles in Ted’s apartment, and Robin was called in to anchor on New Year’s Eve, which became the turning point in her career.