There are lots of good reasons to jingle your way into the city this Christmas. From November 30 right up until Christmas Day, the City of Melbourne has decked the streets with festive cheer and is hosting a huge number of free events as part of the 2018 Christmas Festival.
Not even Scrooge could fail to be jolly in Melbourne this silly season. Aside from all the great Christmas shopping deals happening across the city (perfect for those last-minute presents!) this year’s Christmas Festival has given some of the city’s favourite landmarks, such as Federation Square, Docklands and Melbourne Town Hall, a very merry makeover.
Make sure you head to Fed Square throughout December to see its transformation into Christmas Square. The favourite meeting spot is the official Christmas destination in the city with a giant, six-metre Christmas bauble. It’s the perfect backdrop for a Christmas selfie or impromptu Christmas card photo, and you can pose inside or outside of it. Every night from 9pm Christmas Square also features sound and light shows and there will be exclusive concerts on Fridays nights.
This year, Santa’s elves have even rigged up the Federation Square Christmas projections so you can get creative. Using “fingerpaint” technology you can turn Fed Square into your canvas and create your own light projections. You can also be mesmerised by the projections down by the harbour at Docklands.
Christmas bakers will want to schedule a trip to Melbourne’s Gingerbread Village. The Epicure team have painstakingly used 560 kilograms of gingerbread to recreate Melbourne landmarks. Plus, this year they’ve added their first ever international structure, a miniature gingerbread model of Osaka Castle (Osaka, Japan is Melbourne’s sister city).
Finally, make sure to drop into Santa’s House at Town Hall and say hello to Mr Claus. You won’t be able to miss Santa’s splendid new house out the front of Town Hall where kids are lining up to tell Santa their wish lists (astute parents may want to listen in). You can even capture the merry moment on camera for free.
You can find the free 2018 Christmas Festival at Federation Square, Melbourne Town Hall, Docklands, Queensbridge Square and in the city’s laneways until Tuesday, December 25.