Christmas is hardly a week away and with the holidays approaching fast, most of you might be busy making plans for a short vacation with your family. If you are looking for a holiday with warm festive celebration, then Dubai is the perfect spot for you. You must be wondering why Dubai as a Christmas destination? For starters, this desert emirate sure knows how to entertain its guests and what its visitors need exactly all year around. Come to Dubai this holiday season and you would be surprised to see how this modern desert city celebrates the Christmas spirit. For many, Christmas means lots of snow, chilly mornings, Christmas trees, loads of gifts, delicious food, and Santa Claus. With a Christmas vacation in Dubai, you can reimagine the festive season this year with warm pleasant climate instead of snowy weather while the rest of the elements remain pretty much the same but celebrated on a grand scale. There is also the advantage of being able to roam on the streets rather than winding up at home due to chilly winters. So what can you expect during Christmas in Dubai? The choices are endless….Here’s a small glimpse of what Dubai looks like in Christmas Spirit.
Shopping Malls in Dubai
Dubai takes shopping very seriously. In fact, shopping is often considered as a family affair and this is why most shopping malls are jam-packed with dining venues, entertainment arenas, and recreational activities apart from shops and retail outlets. Being a major crowd puller, almost every shopping mall in Dubai transforms itself into a Christmas wonderland during the festive season. Decorated with giant Christmas trees glimmering with twinkling fairy lights, ornaments and other festive themed decors, Dubai shopping malls look like enchanting Christmas wonderlands. The ambiance buzzes with festive vibes during Season’s holidays and many retail outlets offer Christmas clearance sale and slash down prices to the extent that you can purchase goods at a steal. The most prominent malls of Dubai put up great festive offers for its guests during Christmas.
Few shopping experience not to be missed during Christmas:
The Dubai Mall offers loads of seasonal entertainments, live performances, and recreational festive activities for kids making festive shopping fun for the whole family. This year, Dubai Mall is decorated with sparkling nutcracker decorations and entertainments are also based on the same theme.
Mall of the Emirates organizes Santa Meet and Greet for kids every year. The biggest sale of the year will be held on 26th Dec 2017 from 12 am till 12 pm where shoppers can claim up to 90% discount on products.
The Santa’s Grotto at Wafi Dubai mall is quite popular among kids. The children get toys, a photo op with Santa and raffle coupons. The Mall also hosts choir performances, and sound and light shows.
This year, extend your Christmas shopping spree beyond Christmas day as Dubai Shopping Festival kicks off from 26th December till 27 Jan 2018.
Christmas Markets
Dubai Christmas markets bring together all the joyous elements of Christmas. A huge precinct dotted with Xmas trees, adorned with festive decors, colourful trinkets and shimmering lights transports you to a charming little Christmas village.
Must Visit Christmas Markets this year:
The ‘Festive on the River’ at Riverland Dubai takes you into a European themed Christmas party. The soothing hymns of Christmas carols, stunning countryside Christmas decors, stalls loaded up with festive delicacies, amazing festive entertainments and Father Christmas making kids happy are all worth every moment spent here.
Festive Market at Madinat Jumeirah combines a hint of adventure thrill with Christmas spirit. Kids can have a delightful time with snow fights and North Pole train rides, while teens and adults can dare themselves for a bungee jumping session. You can take pleasure in seasonal live music and delicious festive menus and enjoy abra rides with Santa Claus onboard.
The sprawling gardens of St. Regis Dubai, Al Habtoor City turn into a bustling market scene during Christmas as it hosts the Winter Garden Market. This Christmas event lets you indulge in an amazing array of festive food and holiday treats, enjoy live DJ and band entertainment, take part in lucky draws and win exciting vouchers. Kids would be particularly be awestruck meeting Santa Claus and will be utterly delighted taking part in themed activities.
Ski Dubai
Although you cannot expect a white Christmas, Dubai being good at making miracles happen will not disappoint you. It does give you a little glimpse of white Christmas at Ski Dubai. This small wintry wonderland is an indoor ski park located inside Mall of the Emirates that shows off its Christmas festive flair. Teeming with tons of snow and simulated snowfall, you get a genuine white Christmas complete with meeting Santa Claus, singing Christmas carols, skiing down the snow, making snowman, enjoying a snow fight and sipping hot chocolates. Don’t forget to wish the penguins here a very cheery Christmas!
Christmas Food Fiesta
Gingerbreads, hot chocolates with marshmallows, rum and raisin cakes, pot roasts, mince pies …Christmas is incomplete without festive food. In Dubai, most of the hotels are decked with festive decors, elegant Christmas trees, sparkling lights and gleaming baubles and offer special holiday menus right from breakfast till dinner.
Check out these ultimate pleasure-seeking dining experiences during Christmas in Dubai:
Traditional Hi Teas at Raffles Dubai, Ritz-Carlton Dubai offer a wide array of Christmassy flavoured festive dishes, hot beverages along with festive ambiance and seasonal music.
Check out Ruth’s Chris Steak House, The Scene, Aubaine and Irish Village Dubai to enjoy a quintessential Christmas brunch loaded with grand festive dishes and Christmas special dinner courses.
Turkey sandwich at Arrows & Sparrows and LIMA Dubai, chocolate pecan nut pie at Demoiselle by Galvin, mouthwatering Christmas candy treats and sweets at Fuzziwigs are some lip-smacking treats you shouldn’t miss on your Dubai Christmas vacation. You can even spend Christmas day at a private yacht with a scrumptious Christmas dinner at Dubai Marina.
Dubai though being an Islamic Emirate celebrates Christmas at an epic scale. The reasons being that the city has more expats than its own citizens and the immense appeal it has all over the world as the destination where nothing is impossible. Dubai receives a massive influx of tourists each year and the season’s holidays in Dubai means ideal weather, loads of shopping events and entertainment activities. If you are looking for something extravagant minus the snow, Dubai brings to you a Christmas celebration full of lights, joy, and food on a larger than life scale. Christmas is that time of the year when people take time away from work and spend time with their near and dear ones celebrating at home or going away for the holiday season to some exciting family destination. Dubai over the years has proved that it can go to any lengths to become the most popular global family destination and break barriers to come up with attractions that will leave its visitors awestruck. With Dubai’s eminent assortment of attractions and its sheer dedication to giving you a memorable Christmas vacation, ‘tis the holiday season to be jolly’ after all!