UAE / GULF TIME
From family-friendly festivities and seasonal markets to festive menus, beauty glow-ups and wellness resets, December is one of the most vibrant months of the year in the UAE. Whether you’re looking to soak up holiday cheer, support local creatives, indulge in limited-edition flavours or prep for party season (and beyond), these festive happenings are worth adding to your December diary.
Festive Food & Drink
This holiday season, Peet’s Coffee is spreading festive cheer in Dubai. From December 10 to 20, children can write letters to Santa at select outlets, with 15 wishes set to come true. Visitors can also enjoy seasonal favourites like the Maple Spice Latte, Iced Maple Latte and Toffee Nut Bundt Cake, along with a limited-edition Festive Cup.
This December, The Coffee Club teams up with the UAE’s youngest qualified chefs, Abdulrahman and Maitha Alhashmi, the Twin Chefs, for a limited-time festive collaboration celebrating local flavour and creativity.
The special menu features Emirati-inspired dishes such as Signature Date & Lamb Meatballs, alongside loaded flatbreads including Chicken Shawarma, Beef Shawarma and Creamy Short Rib. To finish, enjoy Savor by Twins gelato in Karak, Hibiscus and Saffron flavours, or opt for the indulgent Gelato Trio.
When: 1 December 2025 – 28 February 2026
Where: All The Coffee Club outlets across the UAE
Price: 3-course set menu for two at AED 159 (à la carte also available)
This Christmas, celebrate the season with family and friends at Ella’s Eatery on Palm Jumeirah, where a festive feast awaits in a relaxed waterfront setting. Guests can enjoy a three-hour dining experience with unlimited beverages, choosing from house drinks or soft drinks, alongside a carefully curated menu of starters, hearty roasts, indulgent sides and decadent desserts. Highlights include prawn cocktail, roast turkey and beef, Impossible meatloaf, and truffle-infused sides, with sweet treats like Basque burnt cheesecake and Christmas Eton Mess to finish. A special kids’ menu ensures little ones are catered for too.
Available on December 25 from 12 PM, advance booking is required: call 04-557 0984 or DM @ellaseatery on Instagram to reserve.
Ring in the New Year at The Strand, Palm Jumeirah, with an unforgettable evening of gourmet cuisine, flowing drinks and live entertainment. Guests can enjoy a four-hour celebration with unlimited beverages and a carefully curated set menu featuring starters like seared salmon tataki and beetroot carpaccio, mains including Black Angus tenderloin, grilled Spanish seabass, truffle and chestnut ravioli, or roasted corn-fed chicken and indulgent desserts such as crème brûlée and gingerbread cheesecake. Packages range from AED 330 for soft drinks and mocktails to AED 990 for premium spirits, with a special buy-one-get-one-free offer available earlier in the day.
Advance booking is required, call 04 430 2221 or DM @strandcraftkitchen on Instagram to secure your spot.
Kibsons is spreading festive cheer with its 2025 Christmas Shop, a one-stop destination for holiday décor, gourmet treats and seasonal essentials across the UAE. This year’s collection includes elegant baubles, ornaments, candles and Christmas socks, along with freshly sourced real Christmas trees from Denmark, with delivery, full installation, and end-of-season recycling for added convenience. Food lovers can indulge in premium chocolates, festive cakes, advent calendars and all the ingredients needed for a perfect Christmas feast, from traditional roasts to fresh fruits and vegetables. With Kibsons, holiday preparations are effortless, joyful, and brimming with festive magic.
Explore the full Christmas collection at https://www.kibsons.com/en/christmas and find everything you need to elevate your festive season.
Times Square Center is celebrating the holidays with its annual Festive December events, running daily from now until December 24. Visitors can enjoy a charming Christmas Village, festive workshops with Santa and his elves, meet-and-greets with a giant polar bear, live stage performances and a weekend pop-up market by ARTE. The events offer heartwarming, free experiences for all ages, alongside cozy cafés and restaurants for a relaxed family outing.
Beauty, Glow-Ups & Self-Care
California-born and globally renowned for its medical-grade laser facials, Skin Laundry introduces festive-only offers across the UAE until December 31, perfect for pre-party glow-ups and seasonal self-care. First-time clients can enjoy the Signature Facial for AED 249 (originally AED 915), or opt for the Hydra Glow Facial for AED 750 (originally AED 1,500).
Additional festive perks include Buy 3, Get 1 Free on treatment packages and 50% off the first month of Revive and Revitalize memberships — all available for a limited time.
If your December diary is full of parties, photos and year-end plans, Kaya Clinic’s festive campaign is an easy beauty stop to add to your list. Running all month across Kaya Clinic branches in the UAE, it offers up to 50% off services, perfect for last-minute glow-ups before the holiday rush. Choose from dermal fillers for subtle volume and definition, skin boosters and injectable hydration for a dewy “glass-skin” finish, and light/party peels for quick brightening with minimal downtime.
For a more lifted look, RF or HIFU treatments help firm and sharpen facial contours, while under-eye rejuvenation add-ons target the tired-holiday telltales (dark circles, puffiness and fine lines). You can also opt for Botox for a refreshed, photo-ready look, plus glow and party facials designed to deliver instant radiance that sits beautifully under make-up. There are even festive sculpt body contouring picks for extra confidence in your holiday outfits.
To book, call 800KAYA and for more information, visit kayaskinclinic.com (or @kayaclinicarabia on Instagram/TikTok).
New to the UAE, T-Face by Baldan is an advanced Italian facial technology designed to lift, contour and revitalise the skin in minimal time. Ideal for pre-party glow-ups or post-celebration skin resets, the treatment targets fine lines, puffiness, dullness and loss of firmness for instantly refreshed, radiant skin.
T- Face is now available at Este Medical Centre, Jumeirah.
Wellness & New Year Reset
As the festive season winds down, December is the perfect time to get a head start on healthier habits. UAE-born brand Low Calories makes clean eating easy with over 60 locations across the region, offering freshly prepared, nutritionally balanced meals, flexible plans and guilt-free desserts – proving healthy food can be convenient, satisfying and flavourful.
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