Dubai Christmas Festival 2012

This will be the second Christmas that I will be spending away from home.  So I decided to make it as memorable as possible as if I am actually spending it with my family.  Good to know that this country have been open to accommodate the difference cultures of the expatriates living here.

First on the list is the Dubai Christmas Festival.  Sponsored by Philips, the festival was held at the ampitheater of the Dubai Media City.  The venue was not difficult to locate.  Once you entered the Dubai area passing Ibn Batuta Train station, you just need to be within the area of  Marina Mall.  Once you found that exit, the sign for Dubai Media City is seen.  Just follow street directions, plus the festival is noticeable with all decors and loud music.  The only problem was the parking.  There's not much space, we have to go around the area for some time till we were able to hit a jackpot.

The entrance is hard to miss, a huge signage for the festival and a booth for the tickets welcomes the visitors. Entrance rate for Adults cost AED 40 and AED 25 for kids.  Another ticket for Santa's Grotto is also sold for AED 20.00  Once we gave them our voucher, we were given two entrance tickets with raffle ticket plus a mini map of the festival.  The Christmas tree lined pathway was an encouraging sight for the arriving visitors.

And so our adventure started.  Three were plenty of booths for food and restaurant.  Further from the main Christmas tree area is the market which sells bric-a-brac that could be a funky Christmas gift.  What I love the most was the booth with carnival games. ho ho ho!  It was located at the end of the night market area.  though its not hard to miss as it is next to a ice cream truck.  I did a beeline there, I'm a sucker for this games and I rarely win but still the trill of trying to win something is just plain enticing.  Good to know there's no shooting games, I'd need my sister for that to win a prize.  A huge donut caught my eye and decided to try my luck there.  the game was hook a gift bag.  If the back you hooked has a Christmas ball inside you get to take home the huge donut displayed.  The game cost AED 15.00, first bag we got a stuffed shark. Boohoo.  Before I spend more, my husband drag me back to the center of the festival.

We got a a bench and watched the Christmas tree lighting and listen kid's choir sing.   While the Christmas concert was going, I had to scour every booth and scored myself some freebies. I love fairs like this! The festival serves draft beers at AED 35.00 per cup.  We bought from fish and chips and some sushi and dinner underneath the stars is served.

The night was almost perfect after another round of window shopping and more sample tasting I forced my husband to have another go with the donut game before we leave for Abu Dhabi.  When I got there, I was handed the hook and I was just there looking at all those  glittering gift bags, where could those balls be hiding.  Only two donuts were left for the taking for that night, After so much deliberation I hook the bag that was staring right in front of me.  And ta-dah! I won a donut! I shrieked horribly and it was unlady-like but I really don't care.  That made my night.

We left around 8:00 pm while the rest of the drinking crowd were just starting to heat up the beer station. The festival ran from Dec. 06-08, 2012.  I hope I get to catch this same festival next year and win another gift to add another stuff in our living room.