Congratulations! You made it to the end of the year. What a year it has been, huh? This December, we’ve got a calendar full of Christmas events, NYE fireworks, and cool pop ups and events like Once Upon A Time on The Orient Express, Culture Cartel and the True Colors Film Festival.
Christmas Wonderland
There's no denying that the annual Yule event holds a special place in our hearts. Just like most other events this year, Christmas Wonderland is reimagined as a hybrid event where you can enjoy the beautiful lights at the Gardens, along with enchanting online experiences such as a Zoom call with Santa, fun games, festive performances, and retailers offering their festive products which you can purchase with a click of a button. No need to squeeze your way through the crowd to get your Christmas shopping done this year!
Christmas: Changi Festive Village
While we can’t have a winter holiday overseas this year, we can most definitely have a tropical Christmas at Changi Airport. Think colossal dinosaur displays, tokidoki-themed activities, glamping stays, craft workshops, weekend festive markets and loads more. Get up close to majestic prehistoric creatures, admire beautiful Christmas lights and decorated trees, embark on a go-kart race, have a ‘snow holiday’ without leaving the country, and even enjoy a staycation or ‘glampicnic’!
Singapore Tea and Coffee Festival
Tea and coffee lovers can finally put down your arms and come together in peace for the Singapore Tea and Coffee Festival. This year, discover new exciting flavours and combinations to the world’s favourite caffeinated drinks and artisanal brands from all around the world. Join workshops, live chats and catch live sales events. To complement the virtual marketplace, shoppers can also look forward to concurrent physical experiences at participating brand outlets located islandwide.
Culture Cartel
Culture Cartel is not just for the hypebeasts. Get a load of art, tattoos, toys, fashion and music with exciting programmes that feature masterclasses, talks, and music and dance performances. This year, the main star of the show is none other than the innovative, online marketplace, which comes with a custom-designed, 360-degree rotatable interactive digital booth that features pop-ups complete with visuals and videos of participating brands, product launches, exclusive campaign highlights, and 3D products rendering and gamification options!
True Colours Film Festival
Switch up your Netflix viewing with a 10-day feast of full-length and short films that shine a new light on universal experiences: connection, diversity, hope, dreams and transformation – and they’re completely free! Presented by The Nippon Foundation, the True Colors Film Festival will open on International Day of Persons with Disability, and features films including 37 Seconds (Japan) about a young comic book artist with cerebral palsy, Elsewhere (Italy) which reveals the thoughts of a person with Down Syndrome, and Over the Horizon (Russia) which follows a blind photographer and traveler who shares his world with sighted people.
Whisky Journey
Explore and experience over 1,000 whiskies from 20 distilleries at the best whisky bars and restaurants in Singapore over 10 days, taking place at multiple venues. From unique tasting menus to whisky pairings to elusive bottles (which are on sale), this one is for whisky lovers. And even if you’re a novice, the experts are more than happy to share their nuggets of wisdom!
Once Upon A Time on The Orient Express
All aboard The Orient Express! The iconic train comes to town for a pop-up this festive season, making Singapore the first country outside France to host an event featuring the magnificent train. Spanning over 2000sqm, the attraction will feature two original train carriages, classified as National Treasures of France and a 158-year-old locomotive shipped from France to Singapore, along with 300 precious items such as uniforms, shields, a pullman car, affiches, Louis Vuitton original luggage, priceless porcelain, and more.
Malay CultureFest
Learn more about Malay culture and embark on a virtual, interactive cultural adventure that introduces the diversity in Malay artistic and cultural expressions through performances, talks, workshops, and cultural activities. Then, head down to the Malay Heritage Centre for the special exhibition Urang Banjar: Heritage and Culture of the Banjars in Singapore, which traces the migration history and contributions of Singapore’s smallest sub-ethnic Malay community.
Santa Run for Wishes
Do good and burn some calories this Christmas with the annual Santa Run for Wishes which returns this year with a brand-new virtual format and fun activities for the whole family. Choose from the 2km, 5km, 10km, or 50km race categories, and spread a little Christmas cheer with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. All proceeds from the race go towards granting the wishes of children with critical illnesses!
New Year's Eve Fireworks
The NDP fireworks display this year was set off at 10 different locations so that residents can catch 'em in the comfort and safety of their neighbourhoods. Similarly, this year's NYE fireworks will follow suit, setting off at the various heartland locations. Marina Bay is also showcasing two light shows in December, starting with works by students from various institutions. These kaleidoscopic visual creations will be projected onto the façades of the Fullerton Hotel Singapore, ArtScience Museum, and the Merlion statue, while the second light show will see the Marina Bay skyline illuminated with 60 light rays beaming from The Promontory.