chloedickensonLast Updated on 15th December 2023
This post about the best things to do at Christmas in Singapore contains affiliate links.
Are you wondering how to celebrate Christmas in Singapore? This ultimate guide to the best things to do at Christmas and New Year in Singapore is for you!
We first spent Christmas in Singapore in 2019 as part of our first backpacking trip in Southeast Asia and it was an experience that I’ll never forget! From the incredible Christmas shopping in Singapore to the magical Christmas lights to the delicious Christmas lunch in a beautiful hotel to all the wonderful Christmas events happening throughout the holiday season, Christmas in Singapore really is a truly remarkable experience!
If you’re planning a festive trip to Singapore, you’ll want to be prepared for all the fun and festive activities you can enjoy while you’re there.
Here’s my ultimate guide on how to spend Christmas and New Year in Singapore!
Read more: YOTEL Singapore Orchard Road
1. Visit Gardens by the Bay
Spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Singapore is pretty epic and there’s one place in particular that fits the “epic” bill when it comes to Singapore’s festivities.
Gardens by the Bay at Christmas time truly is one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever enjoyed.
Alongside their regular Garden Rhapsody light and music show, the Gardens also put on an epic Christmas performance, complete with a winter wonderland-style spectacle, Christmas decorations and fake “snow”!
We visited Gardens by the Bay on Christmas Eve and after visiting the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, we headed to the Supertree Grove to pay a visit to the Christmas Wonderland that was hosted there.
There’s a plethora of Christmas activities to be enjoyed including festive funfair games, wooden cabins housing delicious Christmas-themed cuisines, plus plenty of music and games for the whole family.
At 7.45 PM and 8.45 PM every night, the whole Supertree Grove springs into life and puts on a magical light show. It gave me goosebumps to watch and my eyes filled with tears at the sheer magic and beauty of it.
I think if I could recommend just one place to visit at Christmas in Singapore, it would be Gardens by the Bay.
2. See the lights and displays on Orchard Road – Singapore at Christmas
Orchard Road is one of the greatest and most popular shopping districts in Singapore but at Christmas time it really comes to life.
On our second visit to Singapore in December 2023, we actually stayed at the YOTEL Singapore hotel branch which is located right in the heart of Orchard Road! It’s the perfect little base for a quick trip to Singapore as it’s easily accessible via the MRT and it’s right on the doorstep of one of the best shopping districts in the country!
The whole street is decked out in fancy Christmas decorations and huge Christmas trees and all the designer and high-street shops are kitted out with festive goodies.
You don’t actually even need to spend a penny on Orchard Road to soak up its festive atmosphere; simply just being surrounded by all the Christmas shoppers will make you feel all Christmassy!
The best way to see all the sights and attractions on Orchard Road is by taking a Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour as this allows you to see the street from above on the open-top bus and you can also jump on and off the bus as many times as you like!
3. Visit Universal Studios at Resorts World Sentosa
While Universal Studios Singapore certainly isn’t a place that can only be enjoyed at Christmas time, it does offer a certain charm and festive spirit during the holiday season.
We visited Universal Studios between Christmas and New Year while we were in Singapore and it was so fun to enjoy all the rides and soak up all the festive cheer.
The whole place was decorated with elaborate Christmas lights and decorations and Michael Bublé was blasting through the loudspeakers all throughout the theme park!
The rides themselves aren’t especially any more festive than usual, but you can enjoy Christmas-themed meals and sweet treats at one of the many on-site restaurants, and there are also numerous festive parades and shows all throughout the park at different times of the day.
I’d definitely recommend a visit to Universal Studios if you’re looking for a fun and unique thing to do at Christmas in Singapore!
4. Go Christmas shopping at all the malls
As well as the bountiful shopping opportunities on Orchard Road, you can also take advantage of one of the 103+ malls that are dotted around all over the city.
Of course, there are the classic and infamous Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, but there are also dozens more to explore and enjoy at Christmas time.
As I mentioned above with regards to Orchard Road, you don’t even necessarily have to buy anything at the malls if you don’t want to. Just seeing all the Christmas trees and festive decorations is sure to get you in the spirit.
If you did want to pick up some Christmas shopping or souvenirs to take home with you, however, then you’ll certainly be spoiled for choice!
5. Enjoy Christmas Dinner in Singapore
Once we’d decided that we’d be spending Christmas and New Year in Singapore, we knew we also wanted to indulge in a traditional Christmas Dinner.
While many travellers we know opted to eat BBQ food on the beach in Thailand, or tuck into some noodles in Malaysia, Matt and I were determined to hold on to a bit of tradition from back home and we knew we wanted a proper Christmas Dinner.
After quite a bit of extensive research, we decided to have our Christmas Dinner at the Fullerton Bay Hotel in their Landing Point restaurant and I’m so glad that we did.
The Christmas Dinner cost $102 SGD (£61) each which is by far the most expensive meal we had during our first backpacking trip, but after conducting our research, we concluded that the Fullerton Bay Hotel offered the best value for money.
It was a buffet-style dinner which we were a little apprehensive about at first as we’re so used to having a plate loaded up for us back at home but it certainly made a nice change and it meant that we could choose everything we wanted.
It also meant that we could go up to the buffet as many times as we liked and as the buffet was available from 7.30 PM to 10 PM, we took full advantage and stayed for almost the entire time!
The main Christmas Dinner selection consisted of a plethora of meat, fish and pasta dishes, all readily available for you to go and help yourself.
I personally loved the turkey roulade giblet with stuffing and cranberry sauce, the Wagyu beef cheek with red wine jus (this was incredibly luxurious and very intense in flavour), plus helpings of veg and lashings of gravy.
While it certainly wasn’t the same as our families’ home-cooked Christmas Dinners back in the UK, it did feel exceptionally lovely to indulge in a proper traditional dinner so we felt a bit more at home.
As for the dessert table, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wider selection of sweet treats in my life!
There was everything from chocolate moose to red velvet cake, to chocolate roll, to strawberries and chocolate cake, to pineapple and coconut cake!
One thing we’re always apprehensive about when it comes to eating out in Asia and especially with regards to desserts is that Matt is severely allergic to peanuts and hazelnut and so usually we just avoid the dessert table.
However, the staff at the Fullerton Bay Hotel actually brought out the head chef who was in charge of the Christmas Dinner menu and he talked us through every dessert item and reassured us which ones had nuts in and which ones didn’t.
He also plated Matt up an entire platter of nut-free and Matt-friendly desserts which is why the plates below look so full of delicious goodies!
This was an extra special touch that we were incredibly grateful for and it made our Christmas Dinner at the Fullerton Bay Hotel even more special and enjoyable!
Obviously, I haven’t eaten Christmas Dinner anywhere else in Singapore but I honestly can’t recommend the Fullerton Bay Hotel enough if you’re looking for a reasonably priced (by Singapore’s Christmas standards, at least) and truly incredible place to enjoy your Christmas Dinner in Singapore!
The Landing Point restaurant at the hotel also has spectacular views over the Marina and Marina Bay Sands which also heightened our experience even further.
6. See all the Christmas Trees in Singapore
This might seem like quite a generic thing to do at Christmas in Singapore but it’s also a surefire way to get you in the festive spirit!
Back home in the UK, one of my favourite things to do during the festive period is to drive around my hometown of York and admire all the Christmas trees and beautiful decorations.
Seeing as I couldn’t indulge in this tradition last year, we made it our mission to see as many as we could in Singapore instead.
Being one of the biggest and boldest cities in Asia, Singapore certainly doesn’t hold back when it comes to festive decorations and you can see an enormous Christmas tree or thousands of twinkling lights almost everywhere you look.
7. Watch the fireworks on NYE at Marina Bay Countdown
The Marina Bay Countdown fireworks display on New Year’s Eve was undoubtedly one of the most surreal and incredible experiences of my life and it was 100% the best firework display I’ve ever seen!
The show began at around 10.30 PM where they set off hundreds of fireworks, well before the countdown even began!
There were also many drones amongst the fireworks in the shape of a fish, a bird and even a man running!
It was the most extravagant thing I’ve ever seen and I loved every single second of it!
Top travel tip: There are so many places to watch the fireworks display around Marina Bay but you will need to get there a couple of hours early in order to get the best view. We grabbed a spot on the pavement outside of the Fullerton Bay Hotel, behind some barriers, and we arrived just before 10 PM and it was already unbelievably busy!
You also don’t need to pay to watch them or gain entry to any access points on the opposite side of the Marina to Marina Bay Sands. However, I think you have to pay to watch them on the hotel side and where they actually set them off which is on a floating island near Marina Bay Street Circuit…
Christmas in Singapore – conclusion
If you’re heading to Singapore for Christmas and New Year, I hope you have a truly incredible time! It’s sure to be an experience you’ll never forget!
Related posts:
- 25+ Things To Do In Singapore
- The Best Affordable Restaurants In Singapore
- Gardens by the Bay Singapore
- Hop on Hop off Bus Tour Singapore
Pin for later – Singapore at Christmas
Which activity are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustgirl_16.
*Prices in this post are accurate as of the currency exchange rate in February 2020.
