Christmas market in Orchard
With Christmas season upon us, and the streets of Orchard are beautifully adorned with over-the-top decoration and light installations – something most of us look forward to seeing yearly.
But this year, it’s more than just twinkling lights that’ll be gracing your Insta-stories: Orchard Road’s first ever Europe-inspired Christmas Village is coming to town from 25 November to 25 December 2017, transforming Ngee Ann City into a winter wonderland – sans the snow, of course.
1. Endless Wonder Christmas Village
From whimsical amusement rides, pop-up booths to a Christmas Eve concert, here’s what you can look forward to at the Endless Wonder Christmas Village:
Enjoy your meals under the stars at their al-fresco dining area
With over 9 food vendors to choose from and an al-fresco dining area to have a leisurely meal with your loved ones, you can expect to feast on some of the finest grub from vendors like Word Cafe and Beirut Grill.
You’ll wanna make sure your outfit is ‘food baby’-proof, because Word Cafe will be dishing up their famous Rainbow Bagel ($10) that comes served with crispy turkey bacon and a juicy beef patty, which is then smothered with satay sauce.
Our deliciously adorable unicorn smoothie from Rainbow Works
And if you’re looking for something to help wash all that food down, you’ll love Katoshka’s thirst-quenching beverages that includes some of your local favourites like Asam Boi Special, Iced Coffee Gao, Classic Iced Limao – all priced at $3.90 each.
While you’re there, don’t miss the chance to snag their highly-raved Russet Fries ($5.90) too which comes in 3 different sauces – Special Cheese, Sambal Cheese, Sour Ranch, and Chilli Beef.
Have a mass karaoke session at this year’s Christmas Eve Countdown Concert
If you’ve been listening to your Christmas playlist ever since Halloween ended and enjoy mass karaoke sessions, head down to the Christmas Village on 24 December 2017 to enjoy a night full of singing and dancing at the first-ever Christmas Eve Countdown Concert.
Sit back and enjoy a stellar line-up of local bands, including Kings and 53A, singing along to your all-time favourite Christmas classics and English pop-hits starting from 8PM onwards.
And if you stay til’ midnight and join ‘em in counting down to the day itself, you can catch a spectacular display of pyrotechnics once the clock strikes 12!
Visit Santa at the Hitachi Santa House
Perched right at the corner of the village just next to the slew of pop-up retail booths, it’s hard to miss Santa’s house as it been all decked out in red!
If you’re still not feeling the festive mood just yet, swinging by Santa’s house might help! Adorned with mistletoes, red stockings hanging above a makeshift fireplace and a lil’ Christmas tree, plop yourself down next to Santa to snap a quick selfie or even have a short chat with him.
Even if the queue to enter Santa’s house is too long, you can still snap a picture with Santa himself and Rudolph the Reindeer as they’ll be sauntering around the village – keep a lookout for ‘em because if you’re lucky, you might just bump into these guys.
Ride on Orchard Road’s pop-up amusement rides
To get in the Christmas carnival spirit, visitors can get their kids to have a go on 3 amusement rides here at the Great Christmas Village for just $5 per ride – The Ocean Ride, The London Train, and The Tea Cup.
Alternatively, you can purchase the Family Pass priced at $15 for 4 rides. Also with every Family Pass you purchase, you’ll receive a *$10 shopping voucher for Takashimaya’s Toy Department – it’s a win-win situation!
*Note: This promotion is only valid during the weekends from now ‘til 23 December 2017 on a while-stocks-last basis. The vouchers are also limited to the first 200 Family Pass holders during the weekends from now ‘til 23 December 2017.
Shop til’ you drop at their Christmas Market
Nothing beats the festive feeling of shopping for Christmas gifts at an actual Christmas market, much like the ones we see abroad! But there’s no need to book yourselves a ticket to Europe this festive season – you can do just that here at the Great Christmas Village.
Yummy artisan goods from Kele
While there, you’ll find yourself trawling through a slew of custom-designed stalls for a range of products and food items made by local artisans – such as traditional roast turkey, pastries and fashionable knick-knacks from brands like Swiss Butchery, Kele and Megafash, just to name a few.
Venue: Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza
Period: 25 November – 25 December 2017
Operating Hours: Sun – Thu: 11AM – 10PM | Fri – Sat: 11AM – 11PM | Christmas Week: 11AM – 11PM, Daily
Be awed by this year’s Christmas light installations all over town
Themed Endless Wonder, they’ve leveled up their decor game yet again this year and came up with 5 brand new set pieces in addition to the usual arches and lights we normally see every other year.
Also for the first time ever, the Christmas lights will be turned on at 3pm, so you can head on down to snap some pictures even before the rush hour crowd arrives. And if you stay till the evening, watch as Orchard Road transforms into a magical galaxy surrounded by hues of purple, blue and silver as the sky turns dark.
We were in for a pleasant surprise as we stepped into The Walk of Wonder, which is nothing like the usual light installations we see along the streets of Orchard Road. With a silver reflective fabric blanketing a myriad of twinkling blue fairy lights, this immersive 20-metre long tunnel will have you feeling like you’re being transported into a futuristic dimension.
Head down to Forum The Shopping Mall and take your Instagram feed to a whole new level by snapping one for the ‘gram here.
Located just in front of Ngee Ann City, this isn’t like your average Christmas tree. The Tree of Time has been topped with a Christmas countdown clock, just in case you need an extra reminder!
Note: From now till 3 December 2017, vote for your favourite best-dressed building here.
Last minute Christmas shopping at the Tiffany & Co. Fragrances pop-up store
If you find yourself still scuttling about trying to find gifts for your moms or girlfriends, Tiffany & Co. Fragrances’ maiden pop-up store will be your saviour. Stationed just outside of Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, you can get first dibs on their exclusive products, and even personalise your gifts by having your loved one’s name engraved on them.
Get your names engraved on Tiffany and Co’s perfume bottle at their pop-up store.
Take care of the rest of your last minute Christmas shopping at other pop-up stores located along Orchard Road – like Casio and SK-II. And if you need a lil break, pop by Häagen-Dazs’ pop-up store – which will be open at the end of this week – for some ice-cream.
Shop! is situated just in front of ION Orchard.
Here at House of Shop!’s pop-up store, you’ll have a choice to shop from a bunch of brands like Ripcurl, The 1872 Clipper Tea Co., and even have a free mini wine tasting session at 75cl’s booth.
This wine tasting lab features 16 types of wine from places like France, Spain, and Italy. Head on down to their booth and you might just get your hands on the perfect bottle of wine to go with your Christmas feast.
Where: Located along Orchard Road between ION Orchard and Mandarin Gallery.
Period: Early November – 31 December 2017
Get into the festive spirit at Orchard Road
From now till 1 January 2018, you can take a stroll down the streets of Orchard Road – from Tanglin Mall all the way up to Plaza Singapura – to admire the extravagant light installations and decors. And if you’re looking for fun things to do besides shopping, go ahead and visit the first-ever Christmas Village happening from now till 25 December 2017 at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza.
With brand new light installations, amusement rides, and even a Christmas Eve Countdown Concert happening this year, there’s nothing quite as perfect as spending this Christmas season at Orchard Road. So bring your loved ones and have a ball of a time – it’ll be a holiday to remember!
Find out more about Christmas On A Great Street here!
This post was brought to you by Orchard Road Business Association.