CHRISTMAS 2022: Top 3 Places to Visit and Celebrate Christmas

CONTENT: Yiew Kai Jie

As the year is about to come to a close and Christmas is just around the corner, many Singaporeans are busy making plans to book last minute flights to celebrate Christmas abroad!

However, not everyone is looking forward to join in the hectic exodus to other countries and might want to celebrate the festive season in Singapore with their loved ones!

Although some might say that celebrating Christmas in Singapore could be rather boring, fret not as we have a list of events that are unique and guaranteed to be fun for you and your loved ones!

Museum Of Ice Cream (MOIC)

The Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) has transformed its interior into a winter wonderland for friends and families to celebrate the festive season in a sea of pink- from the wall decorations to the free-flow ice cream treats! The Pinkmas experience will be filled with various interactive moments and limited-time activations as guests slowly make their way through MOIC’s Pinkmas tree forest, take a turn at their own DIY paper gingerbread house, and sample all the different sweet treats to ring in the spirit of the season.

Visitors are also highly encouraged to dress up in their pink outfits for fantastic photo opportunities to create timeless memories with their loved ones! Once the tour of the museum is over, pop by the MOIC Cafe & Bar and dig into scrumptious treats that are only available during this festive season! Dig into the Pinkmas Sundae that features 3 frosty scoops topped with whipped cream, and decorated with Pinkmas inspired sprinkles! Another rich treat is the Gingerbread Milkshake which comes topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and a festive gingerbread cookie. Finally, end the cheery experience with a Christmas classic- Eggnog, that contains kahlua, rum, and vanilla ice cream, this sweet and creamy treat is the perfect way to top off the Pinkmas experience at MOIC.

Apart from the pink wonderland at MOIC’s physical location at Dempsey Hill, MOIC has also created a pop-up installation at 313 Somerset from now until 26th December that serves as Instagram worthy spots along the backdrop of Singapore’s famous shopping district.

Created in conjunction with Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the Pinkmas experience’s will be part of the district wide activities such as the annual Christmas on A Great Street which features a festive street light-up, thereturn of the Great Christmas Village, just to name a few. The Pinkmas adventure begins with the collection of Cone-nection Cube cards at any station located in the malls. Seek out the eye-poppingly pink melting Christmas tree topped with a cherry and sprinkle pool located at Level 1 of Orchard Gateway and come face to face with a larger-than-life Snow globe that will take one’s breath away. Continue the journey continues to Level 2 where the Horoscoops station awaits where everyone can pick out their birthday “Horoscoop” reading and seewhat Santa has in store for them for Christmas!

Complete all activities at each pop-up installation located across the two Somerset malls to redeem a limited amount of mall vouchers daily on a first come first serve basis! Also, visitors can look forward to MOIC’s ice cream cart at 313@somerset on the 2nd and 3rd of December, as well as at Orchard Gateway on the 24th and 25th of December! Visitors can indulge in scoops of 100 cups of scrumptious Pink Velvet Cake ice cream created exclusively with Ice Cream Cookie & Co!

Tickets for Pinkmas at MOIC can be purchased Online  from S$40, which includes free-flow ice cream.

The Great Bay Fiesta

The largest Christmas festival in Singapore is split into five distinct areas: The Great World Carnival by Uncle Ringo, The Great Cirque des Cascades, Ice Magic: The Great Fantasy on Ice, Tesla’s Electric Light Show and The Great Food Fiesta

Relive your childhood days with a ride at the carnival filled with a never-ending supply of giant sized plushies to win at The Great World Carnival games as well as classic rides like the Ringo Slide, Big Carousel, Pirate Ship, Bumper Car and Water Boat.

However, this year a new addition has been added for this year’s Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2023, an experiential inflatable playland reimagined and redesigned from one of OpenSea’s renowned projects, Prime Ape Planet. A first in the Entertainment and Amusement Rides industry, witness the collaboration between Uncle Ringo and OpenSea that brought the highly sought-after NFT IP of Prime Ape Planet design (from the Genesis Collection) to life, for everyone to enjoy!

Tickets are available exclusively Online starting from S$10.

The Great Cirque des Cascades

The Great Cirque des Cascades is a new blockbuster entertainment that takes place from now until 1st January 2023, at the Bayfront Event Space!

The air-conditioned 1,000-seat Big Top is one of the largest structures to have ever been built in Marina Bay, where breathtaking performances will never fail to take one’s breath away! The world class performance starts with Around The World in 80 Minutes – proudly presented by Gandey’s Circus, one of the very best international circus acts the world has to offer. This 80-minute show will feature nine premium circus acts specially curated from all over Europe, including never before seen stunts and performances in Singapore such as the crossbow slingers Duo Adrenlina, and the gravity defying Panther Troop.

If that’s not thrilling enough, watch on as the Perez Motorbiker Troupe performs breathtaking death-defying acts that includes a high-wire act performed without safety nets or safety lunges that will definitely keep guests on the edge of their seats! Motorcycle enthusiasts will be awestruck at the sight of four Perez Motorbikers performing a series of breathtakingly complex manoeuvres roaring at full speed in a cage aptly dubbed The Thunderdome.

Bookings for The Great Cirque de Cascades tickets are now exclusively available Online. Tickets prices start from S$72+. Corporate Rates, Bulk Buy Discounts and Private Buyout Rates with special entitlements are also available.

Ice Magic: The Great Fantasy on Ice

Experience winter in Singapore at the Ice Magic: The Great Fantasy on Ice, a 2,400 sqm winter playground that promises to be the largest pop-up winter-themed attraction to be built in Singapore. Transporting Singaporeans away from the scorching heatwave of our tropical island to a winter wonderland over this year’s festive season, the indoor attraction will be divided into two sections – the Snow and Ice sections.

In the Snow Section, the snow is created using the same snow-making machines used in the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. Guests can try their hand at building their own snowman, making snow angels, and even bouncing off ‘snow clouds’, all while experiencing daily snowfalls of fresh snow. This area will also house a 70m snow slope, the longest and tallest snow slope ever constructed in Singapore.

The Ice Section runs parallel to the Snow Section and holds a variety of never-seen-before attractions, including Ice Bowling and Ice Curling, a classic Winter Olympic sport. The section will also feature a 260sqm ice cycling rink, with single and tandem bikes for couples exploring new date night ideas. The pièce de résistance of the Ice Section is the 4.5m high figure-8 Ice Slide, constructed purely out of ice and complemented by intricate ice sculptures crafted by master ice sculptors from Harbin, China.

Tired of worrying that your beverage will turn warm and stale due to the heat? Fret not as guests will never have to worry about their beer going lukewarm at the Ice Bar, where guests will be served a variety of ice cold beers and bespoke ice-themed cocktails to keep themselves warm during their frosty adventures!

Tickets to Ice Magic: The Great Fantasy on Ice are available Online with prices starting from S$25

The Great Tesla Electric Light Show

For all the car fanatics out there, Tesla has partnered up with The Great Bay Fiesta for Singapore’s First Ever Tesla Electric Light Show. As The Great Bay Fiesta’s official electric vehicle (EV) partner, the popular car brand has arranged a daily light show that will feature its popular line up of vehicles – Model 3, Model Y, and Tesla Supercharger. Leveraging on the functionality of the EVs, these Tesla models will be putting up a jazzy light show with its headlights, taillights, cabin lights, and other lighting, programmed to beat in sync with the music.

Car fanatics in Singapore will also be one of the first to experience the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in Singapore at a designated test drive route alongside Marina Bay. Schedule a test drive during the event on a first-come-first-serve basis from now until 1 January 2023 and experience the beauty of EV and the power of its technology!

To register for your test drive, kindly visit this link

The Great Food Fiesta

Lastly, just like any visit to a neighbourhood pasar malam, no trip to any carnival is complete without carnival food and festive treats, so visit The Great Food Fiesta to keep the hunger pangs away when you’re visiting the festival!

Complementing the beer garden is a hearty selection of choice meats by a local yakiniku establishment, Grill by Cut, and they have specially flown in over 10 brands from Thailand and are serving up specialty Thai cuisine including grilled meats, seafood and desserts including the TikTok famous Indy Pancake Cartoon.

Pop by and support the award-winning My NoNNa’s, a social enterprise with a mission to provide meaningful employment for differently-abled persons and the elderly. My NoNNa’s serves up a mix of international cuisine such as Beef Curry or Black Pepper Chicken with Blue Pea Rice, or scrumptious Italian cuisine including Mac & Cheese and Beef Bolognese.

Last but not least, make your way down to the Ice Cream booth and indulge in unique formats such as the all-new Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough Peace Pop – a vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate coating with a cookie dough center and chocolate chips – or a Magnum Mini Cup made with velvety vanilla ice cream swirled with chocolate shards, topped with thick cracking Belgian chocolate for an indulgent experience.

Orchard Road‘s Christmas on A Great Street

Often deemed to be an annual tradition for many Singaporean families, Orchard Road has been decked out in Christmas lights and decorations for the 39th year running and the famous shopping strip has brought back more in-person experiences as the country returns to normalcy.

The focal point of the light-up, located at the junction of Orchard Road and Scotts Road, is the mesmerising main arch, with ornate Christmas trees decorated with reindeer and baubles on each side of the road to delight motorists and pedestrians as they cruise along the precinct.

Back by popular demand is the unmissable and spectacular 10-minute multimedia 3D projection show with augmented reality (AR) features that takes place each night from 7pm – 10pm on the façade of Mandarin Gallery facing Ngee Ann City. This is also home to the countdown clock for Christmas Day and the New Year’s Eve celebrations.

For the first time this year, the other façade of the same building facing Somerset will also be activated with multimedia 3D projection, delighting pedestrians all around. Spectators are treated to a specially curated Christmas show which offers a visual spectacle of past light-ups, a multi-tiered rotating carousel with galloping horses, a vibrant spinning ferris wheel, arcade games, and a stunning firework display in AR.

Making a comeback after a two-year hiatus, the much-loved Great Christmas Village returns to Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza from 7th December 2022 until Monday 2nd January 2023. The Great Christmas Village features fun-filled amusement rides and activities perfect for capturing images of festive memories, live festive music, and tantalising food & beverage (F&B) options.