It may only be mid-October, but before we know it, Diwali, Halloween and UAE National Day will be behind us and we'll be in the throes of the 2022 festive season.
This year, as has become a modern tradition, there is a crop of new Christmas films being released on streaming sites and in cinemas.
Here we round up the new Christmas movies for 2022.
'Falling for Christmas'
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Chord Overstreet, George Young
Release date: November 10
Watch it: On Netflix
Netflix has made a name for itself with cheesy Christmas films in recent years, and Falling for Christmas looks set to be its 2022 show-stopper.
Lindsay Lohan makes her movie comeback in festive fashion. With all the tropes of a holiday classic, newly engaged spoiled hotel heiress Sierra Belmont (Lohan) gets into a skiing accident. She wakes up in a small town with amnesia, unable to remember her name or where she came from.
Cue the handsome stranger (Overstreet), with a precocious daughter, who takes her in in the run-up to Christmas.
'Spirited'
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell, Octavia Spencer
Release date: November 11
Watch it: On Apple TV+ and in cinemas
With an A-list line-up of Reynolds, Ferrell and Spencer, Spirited is one of the most anticipated festive flicks of the season.
It a modern musical Charles Dickens adaptation, reinterpreting the classic A Christmas Carol.
With all the classic tropes of the Dickens' novel, Reynolds plays Ebeneezer Scrooge, a "miserly misanthrope who is taken on a magical journey".
The ghosts of Scrooge's Christmases past, present and yet to come are featured, with Ferrell taking on the role of the present.
The film will have a limited run in cinemas from November 11, ahead of its streaming release on November 18.
'Christmas with You'
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr, Aimee Garcia, Gabriel Sloyer
Release date: November 17
Watch it: On Netflix
Christmas with You, starring 1990s heart-throb Prinze Jr, looks like it also ticks off plenty of festive film tropes.
Angelina is a burnt-out pop star, who grants a young fan's Christmas wish in small-town New York. Naturally, she doesn't just find that the good deed has a morale-boosting impact, she also finds love in an unexpected place.
'The Noel Diary'
Starring: Justin Hartley, Bonnie Bedelia, James Remar
Release date: November 24
Watch it: On Netflix
Author Jake Turner (Hartley) returns home at Christmas to settle his estranged mother's estate and discovers a diary that could hold the secrets to his past.
'Violent Night'
Starring: David Harbour, Beverly D'Angelo, John Leguizamo
Release date: December 2
Watch it: In cinemas
If Die Hard is the archetypal anti-Christmas film, Violent Night might be coming for its crown.
Starring Stranger Things actor Harbour as Santa Claus, as we've never seen him before, he is a jaded take on Father Christmas.
However, it is down to Santa to save the day when a group of mercenaries take a wealthy family hostage on Christmas Eve, just before ol' Saint Nick arrives to step in and save the day.
Based on the trailer, the film will be packed with violence and a few gory moments. There are also plenty of seasonal puns — think "time for some season's beatings" and "these bad men are on my naughty list"— along with the title itself.
'Scrooge: A Christmas Carol'
Starring: Jessie Buckley, Luke Evans, Olivia Colman
Release date: December 2
Watch it: On Netflix
There is not one but two new takes on the Dickens classic A Christmas Carol this year. Netflix is throwing its Santa hat in the ring with Scrooge: A Christmas Carol, voiced by a star cast that includes Buckley, Evans, Colman and Jonathan Pryce.
Evans lends his voice to Ebenezer Scrooge and Johnny Flynn is Bob Cratchit, while Colman is the Ghost of Christmas Past and Trevor Dion Nicholas voices the Ghost of Christmas Present.
'Pinocchio'
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Cate Blanchett, Christoph Waltz, Finn Wolfhard
Release date: December 9
Watch it: On Netflix
Although it's not an all-out Christmas film, the story of Pinocchio is a classic pantomime tale, so it's likely that family members of all ages will gather in front of the tree this December to watch Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro's reimagining of the story.
The film is a stop motion take on the Carlo Collodi tale, immortalised in Disney's 1940 animation.
It tells the story of the fabled wooden boy, with a slightly darker edge from previous retellings, but with the same foundations of adventure and love.
'Best. Christmas. Ever.'
Starring: Brandy Norwood, Heather Graham, Jason Biggs
Release date: TBC
Watch it: On Netflix
A film that looks set to be a Christmas comedy, every year Jackie (Norwood) sends a humble brag-filled holiday newsletter that makes her old college friend Charlotte (Graham) feel like her life isn't up to scratch.
This year, however, a twist of fate lands Charlotte and her husband Rob (Biggs) on Jackie’s snowy doorstep only days before Christmas. Charlotte quickly seizes the opportunity to prove her old friend's "perfect" life can’t possibly be that perfect.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
