In the first of our posts on doing New Year On A Budget, why not consider Edinburgh's Hogmanay Festival? With coaches from Manchester to Edinburgh available at bargain prices and free entry to some of the festival's attractions, it seems like an excellent choice for the cash-strapped student that still wants to see in the New Year with a bang.
Acts include Primal Scream, Bombay Bicycle Club, Friendly Fires, The Vaccines, Mark Ronson and Jaymo & Andy George and many more.
Dan Alani spoke to Frances Sutton, one of the members of the team behind the event, to get the lowdown.
Click 'read more' for more info, and check out www.edinburghshogmanay.com to get your ticket!
The impressive  programme for the World Famous Street Party was completed with the announcement that indie favourites, and the year‟s biggest selling new band, The Vaccines will headline the Waverley Stage with special guests Kassidy, while Wild Beasts will join Friendly Fires on the expanded West End Stage.  Superstar DJ Mark Ronson, Peatbog Faeries, Capercaillie, Frisky & Mannish and The Cuban Brothers complete the Street Party headliners. Sons & Daughters will open for Primal Scream and special guests Bombay Bicycle Club at Concert in the Gardens. With seven music stages offering the very best live music and DJ sets this year‟s Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay has a stellar line-up, rivalling many of the summer Festivals, and will climax with the world‟s largest Auld Lang Syne and spectacular midnight fireworks.
Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay Street Party is expected to welcome up to 80,000 revellers from Scotland, the UK and around the world and will climax with an ambitious fireworks display, the longest in the 19 years of the event.
Launching from the iconic Edinburgh Castle and from Calton Hill, this spectacular midnight moment will herald the start of 2012 – the Year of Creative Scotland.
Pete Irvine, Creative Director of Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay said “Let‟s Party, Let‟s Play! – come and join us for three days of fantastic fun and games  at Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay. We are Europe‟s only major outdoor winter music festival, and with the quality of artists playing on one night, on one street, there‟s nowhere else in the world quite like us. We are truly the Home of Hogmanay.”
Councillor Steve Cardownie, Festivals and Events Champion for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "A line-up of world class bands and artists that would rival the best summer festival, an unforgettable carnival atmosphere with revellers from all over the globe, an absolutely sensational firework display over Edinburgh Castle - and all for less than a bottle of bubbly. There's really nowhere better to bring in 2012 than at the World's Greatest Street Party, Edinburgh's Hogmanay. And with so many fantastic events, from the magical Torchlight Procession and Candlelit Concert to the not-for-the-fainthearted Loony Dook, there‟s truly something for everyone."
Revellers are also invited to come and play on 1st January at the all new event The New Year Games which will take place in the Grassmarket and around the Old Town.  Two teams – the Uppies and Doonies – will play games in four stunning venues - Dancebase, The Hub, St Giles Cathedral and the National Museum of Scotland.  
Working with innovative Scottish artists and game design studio Hide&Seek, Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay has reimagined some of the traditional Scottish street games with the support of the Scottish Government‟s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund. Giant board games, re-imagined classics, secret missions and a huge playground in the Grassmarket invite residents and visitors to play, participate or just spectate in a fun-filled afternoon of mental stimulation and physical challenges.
Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Scotland is the home of Hogmanay and the best place in the world to see in the bells. This year‟s exciting Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay programme can only reinforce that global reputation - with a sensational line up for the World Famous Street Party, breathtaking fireworks display and fun family events, there is something for everyone to enjoy. The New Year Games on the first of January, created by exceptional Scottish artists and supported by the Scottish Government‟s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, add a new dimension to this year‟s celebrations, which I am sure will get the Year of Creative Scotland in 2012 off to a spectacular start.”
Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, added: “Scotland is the perfect stage for world-class international events, and Edinburgh is renowned for its Hogmanay celebrations making it the ideal place to welcome 2012. With 2012 being the Year of Creative Scotland, it is fitting that Hogmanay signifies the start of a programme that will celebrate Scotland‟s cultural and creative vibrancy. EventScotland is delighted to be supporting Edinburgh's Hogmanay and it is exciting to see further additions to what is already a very impressive line-up as part of Scotland‟s Winter Festivals.” 
The popular  Torchlight Procession will launch the 2011/12 Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay celebrations on Friday 30th December when torchbearers will create a river of fire from the Royal Mile to Calton Hill where the evening will culminate in a spectacular Son et Lumière display watched by over 20,000 spectators in 2010.
80,000 revellers from around the world will enjoy the Street Party, Keilidh and Concert in the Gardens with live music and DJ‟s across a total of seven stages, with giant screens, outdoor bars and the countdown to the Midnight Moment.  
The Concert in the Gardens this year features Primal Scream who will be performing their seminal album Screamadelica  and a set of their greatest hits, and who will be joined by special guests Bombay Bicycle Club, together with support from Sons and Daughters and the lucky winners of the "Hog the Street" new band competition.  
Tickets for the Enclosure have already sold out, and the remaining tickets for the Gardens are selling fast. The popular Keilidh offers the very best in traditional Scottish music with Ceilidhdonia, Hugh MacDiarmid‟s Haircut and the Jimmy Shandrix Experience birling through the bells.
And for those who can‟t make the world's biggest New Year's Party – then for the first time this year, the Party can come to them as Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay Street Party will be streamed live online.  Audiences will be able to register at www.edinburghshogmanay.com to watch the live bands, the DJ sets and the midnight fireworks from wherever in the world they might be.
The Official Edinburgh Hogmanay After Show Club at the HMV Picture House will feature, straight from the Street Party, a DJ Set from Mark Ronson and Radio 1 DJ‟s Jaymo and Andy George.
Edinburgh's Hogmanay have once again joined forces with Leith Records to find the cream of the crop of unsigned Scottish music to kick start the world's biggest New Year celebrations. Hog the Street (www.hogthestreet.com) sees the return of the new band competition that scours the country for the very best up-and-coming Scottish talent, giving them the opportunity to play alongside some of the country‟s biggest artists.
Revellers can obtain tickets for the  Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, Concert in the Gardens  and  The Keilidh, which are part of Edinburgh Sparkles winter celebrations, in one of three ways:
• Online at www.edinburghshogmanay.com
• by calling the Edinburgh‟s Hogmanay Box Office on 0844 573 8455
• or in person at The Fringe Office, 180 High Street; Tickets Scotland, 127 Rose Street
& 237 Argyle Street, Glasgow or Ripping Records, 91 South Bridge, Edinburgh.
Edinburgh's Hogmanay is part of Scotland‟s Winter Festivals and the Edinburgh Sparkles winter celebrations.