A snowball fight, an outdoor ice rink, a fairground, a gingerbread house, an enormous Christmas tree and Santa Claus and his elves will be among the new features at the upcoming Dubai Christmas Festival.

With help from DesertSnow, suppliers to Hollywood and the world leaders in artificial snow and winter effects, organisers will present realistic, falling snow that won’t melt away.

An unprecedented 22,000 people visited the first ever Dubai Christmas Festival last year and new details are released by the show’s organisers for this year’s event.

Running from December 5 to 7 at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, the event has quickly become a must-attend show marked on all Christmas lovers’ calendars.  Tickets go on sale on 1 October with discounts in the early bird offers.

One of the city’s largest Christmas trees will be the focal, overlooking the new Pantomime stage. The Christmas Cookery Show will feature a host of popular chefs live on stage demonstrating how to create the best festive fare.

The event will feature a ‘North Pole’ event, allowing children to meet Santa in his Grotto, while a snowball fight area keeps them entertained.

The Christmas Market will bring together a collection of global brands, local designers and artisans who will be selling their exclusive seasonal products, ideal for unique gifts on Christmas day.

One of this year’s highlights comes from popular DIFC restaurant, The Gramercy, whose chefs will be preparing the traditional Christmas roast of turkey and all the trimmings. Other brands already signed up to take part include Sony Play Station, Hey Sugar, Nespresso, Choitrams, Smooch, Blu, Pitter Patter, Oasis Ice Cream, Apple Seeds and The Chocolate Bar.

French Bakery will display their baking skills with a festive gingerbread house while Baginskaya is sponsoring a new photo wall, complete with a variety of festive props to give visitors a keepsake from the day.

Meanwhile, you can practise your skating skills on the open air ice rink, sponsored by PIC, the independent financial advisors.

Chris Fountain, managing director of Turret Media, the organisers of Dubai Christmas Festival said: “People around the world enjoy festive celebrations, and this will be the best opportunity for the whole of Dubai to join in the festive spirit. We have worked extremely hard to take the event to a higher level, and this year there is much more to experience and enjoy. With the ice rink, snowball park, pantomime and snow falling every hour on the hour, we’re certain this year's festival will be a wonderful experience for everyone who joins us.

“In the run up, we’ll be very active on social media and will be giving our fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter exclusive behind-the-scenes information such as chats with celebrities, chefs and exhibitors, plus competitions to win free tickets.”  

Independent retailers now have the opportunity to book a space in the popular Table Top Bazaar area which will be a real market lover’s paradise featuring jewellery, paintings, homemade arts and crafts all created in Dubai and the UAE. – TradeArabia News Service