• A child poses with Santa Claus at the Harbour Wonderland Christmas market at Dubai Harbour. All photos: Ruel Pableo for The National
    A child poses with Santa Claus at the Harbour Wonderland Christmas market at Dubai Harbour. All photos: Ruel Pableo for The National
  • Origami-style Christmas-themed boats can be seen at the ongoing event.
    Origami-style Christmas-themed boats can be seen at the ongoing event.
  • Visitors pose in front of the origami-style boats.
    Visitors pose in front of the origami-style boats.
  • Children playing in faux snow.
    Children playing in faux snow.
  • The Snow Zone is popular with children.
    The Snow Zone is popular with children.
  • Children play fairground-style games.
    Children play fairground-style games.
  • Fun activities such as arts and crafts are available for children.
    Fun activities such as arts and crafts are available for children.
  • Children can also enjoy getting their faces painted.
    Children can also enjoy getting their faces painted.
  • An outdoor ice rink at Harbour Wonderland.
    An outdoor ice rink at Harbour Wonderland.
  • Stalls selling food.
    Stalls selling food.
  • Visitors take photographs with Santa Claus.
    Visitors take photographs with Santa Claus.
  • A view of the market.
    A view of the market.
  • The market runs until December 30.
    The market runs until December 30.

Dubai Harbour opens Christmas market with an outdoor ice rink and snow park


Katy Gillett
  • English
  • Arabic

Meet Santa Claus, go ice skating and play in the "snow" – this is what families can expect from Dubai's newest Christmas market, which opened this week at Dubai Harbour.

Called Harbour Wonderland, it's the first festive market to be held at the up-and-coming seafront district.

Some of the highlights at the ongoing event are an outdoor ice rink, a Snow Park, a Santa Claus meet-and-greet, as well as an eight-metre floating Christmas tree at Harbour Marina.

Scroll through the photos above to see more from the market.

How might one build an ice rink in the Dubai heat? "Xtraice synthetic ice has been used, which is no ordinary ice," organisers told The National.

"Xtraice use cutting-edge technology and the highest quality materials with the greatest molecular density in the market."

As for the Snow Park, it uses artificial snow and also features a snowstorm machine, the kind used in film productions. "The futuristic 'workhorse' sprays evaporative snow, creating an amazingly realistic snowfall effect without residue or cold air," organisers said.

Giant origami-style boats can also be spotted.

Visitors can also enjoy fun family-friendly games and activities or pick up food and beverages from vendors such as Raw Coffee and Jumeirah Hospitality.

The Christmas fair runs until Thursday, December 30, from 3pm to 11pm every day.

More information is available here.

Updated: December 18, 2021, 2:55 PM