Christmas Markets in Dubai 2026: Dates, Entry and What to Expect

The short answer: Dubai has three confirmed Christmas markets this year: the Madinat Jumeirah Festive Market (4 to 27 December, free entry), Winter City at Expo City Dubai (11 to 31 December, tickets from AED 60, with a Disney+ theme this year) and the new DXB Winter Festival beside Dubai Festival City Mall (widely reported to run 1 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, ticketed). Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, is not an official UAE public holiday, and this year it falls on a Friday, a normal working day for most private-sector staff. Mass is held at St Mary's Catholic Church and Holy Trinity Church, both in Oud Metha, and most five-star hotels run a Christmas Day brunch.

Dubai's Christmas markets this December

These three are confirmed on the organisers' own listings for 2026. We checked each one directly rather than relying on last year's dates, since markets move around the city and some don't come back at all (more on that below).

Madinat Jumeirah Festive Market

The longest-running of the three, and still the prettiest. It takes over Fort Island at Souk Madinat Jumeirah from 4 to 27 December, with a 36-foot Christmas tree, oversized wrapped presents and a live band playing carols most evenings. Entry is free, first come first served, so there is no booking link to chase.

Opening hours run Monday to Thursday from 3pm, and Friday to Sunday from midday, both into the evening. The Friday-to-Sunday blocks fall on 4–6, 11–13, 18–20 and 25–27 December, so Christmas Day itself opens the final one. For the kids there is a snow fight zone, a North Pole train ride, a Venetian carousel, abra rides with Santa and gingerbread house decorating. For the adults, mulled wine and festive food stalls around the souk's waterways. Go on a weekday evening if you want to actually see the tree without queuing for a photo.

Winter City at Expo City Dubai

Now in its fifth year, Winter City runs at Al Wasl Plaza from 11 to 31 December, 4pm to 10pm daily. This year's edition is themed with Disney+ under “Once Upon a Holiday,” with zones built around Disney, Pixar and Marvel Studios stories, including Frozen, Toy Story and Home Alone. Snow falls under the Al Wasl Dome after dark, there's a letters-to-Santa post box, a complimentary meet and greet with Santa and Mrs Claus, and a winter market selling crafts and food.

General admission starts at AED 60; an Express Gate Pass is AED 175 and a paid Santa meet and greet add-on is AED 75 (prices as listed when we checked, so confirm before you buy). Children aged three and under go free, as do People of Determination with one accompanying carer. Expo City Dubai sits on the Red Line at Expo 2020 Metro station, which is the easiest way in if you want to skip parking.

DXB Winter Festival at Dubai Festival City

This is a new one for 2026: a festival-style market on the waterfront beside Dubai Festival City Mall, covering around 20,000 square metres with more than 150 vendors, open-air cafes, a Christmas tree, Santa's grotto, fairground rides, entertainment stages, workshops and daily parades. One ticket covers everything inside.

Here's the honest caveat: the organiser's own site says only that the festival runs “from National Day through Christmas, New Year's Eve and Orthodox Christmas,” welcoming in 2027, without printing exact open and close dates. Several outlets separately report a run from 1 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, with hours of 4pm to midnight on weekdays and 2pm to midnight at weekends, and a 25% early-bird discount on the first 10,000 tickets if you register on the festival's own site before general sale. Treat those dates as reported rather than official until the organiser confirms them, and check ticket prices there too, since none were published when we checked.

Two markets from past Decembers didn't make this list. The Winter Garden at Habtoor Palace and the Magical Christmas World Christmas market at Dubai Autodrome both ran in past years, but neither had a confirmed 2026 return on its organiser's own channels when we checked, so we've left them off rather than guess. Worth a quick check nearer the date if you know the venue well.

Christmas Day in Dubai

Christmas Day, Friday 25 December 2026, falls on a Friday this year. The UAE weekend is Saturday and Sunday, so unless your employer gives you the day, plan on Christmas lunch rather than a long Christmas morning, or book a day's leave. Dubai's churches hold their biggest services of the year around it, and hotels across the city run Christmas lunches and brunches, much like their Friday brunch format but dressed up for the occasion.

Christmas Mass in Dubai

St Mary's Catholic Church, on Zabeel Road in Oud Metha, is the busiest Christmas service in the country. In past years it has drawn crowds well into six figures across its Christmas Eve and Christmas Day masses, with services in multiple languages. Holy Trinity Church, also in Oud Metha, holds a late Christmas Eve service and several services on Christmas Day itself, alongside its regular Sunday pattern of 9.30am and 7.30pm Holy Communion.

Both parishes publish their exact Christmas timings close to the day, usually in late November or early December, so the 2026 schedule wasn't out when we checked. Check Holy Trinity's own website or St Mary's noticeboard nearer the date, and arrive well ahead of time: parking around Oud Metha is tight on Christmas Eve night.

Christmas brunches

Most five-star hotels, from Palm Jumeirah to Downtown and the Marina, run a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day brunch with a turkey-and-trimmings menu alongside their usual spread. December is the busiest month of the year for Dubai hotels, so book a table as soon as a hotel opens its Christmas menu rather than waiting for the week itself.

Is Christmas a public holiday in the UAE?

No. Christmas Day is not on the UAE Cabinet's official list of public and private sector holidays, so most employers are not required to give it as paid leave. Some companies choose to grant a day or two around it anyway, at their own discretion, but that's a company policy rather than a national holiday. The nearest confirmed official holiday is New Year's Day, Friday 1 January 2027. Check the UAE government's public holidays page for the confirmed list if you're planning leave around it.

For most families with children in private school, this doesn't matter much: the school winter break runs Monday 14 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, so Christmas and New Year both fall inside it regardless of whether work gives you the day. See our UAE winter break guide for exact dates by curriculum and school.

Before you go: tips for Dubai's Christmas markets

• Weekday evenings are quieter. All three markets get busy on Friday and Saturday nights, especially the final weekend before Christmas. A Tuesday or Wednesday evening gets you the tree, the lights and the food stalls without the queue.
• Dress is still public-space dress. These are open-air venues inside hotels and public plazas, not nightclubs, so keep shoulders and knees reasonably covered even at an evening market.
• Alcohol is served only in licensed venues. Expect mulled wine at the hotel-run market rather than at every stall, and don't carry a drink out of a licensed area.
• Park early or take the Metro. Expo City Dubai sits directly on the Red Line. Dubai Festival City has no Metro station, so budget extra time for the mall's car parks on a weekend evening, or take a taxi.
• Book brunches and any ticketed slots well ahead of the final weekend before Christmas, which is when every hotel and market in the city is at its busiest.

Dreaming of a white Christmas instead?

If Dubai's fake snow isn't quite the thing and you'd rather see the real version, our escorted group tours spend Christmas in Europe's own markets and squares: Europe Highlights, Christmas, Great Britain, Christmas, Spain and Portugal, Christmas and the longer Classic Europe, Christmas and New Year tour, which runs through to welcome 2027 as well. For picking which country does Christmas best, see our best Christmas markets in Europe guide.

Family flying in for Christmas?

If parents or siblings are visiting from abroad over the break, we arrange the UAE visit visa for them: see our UAE visa services page for the documents and processing time, and get it moving well before the mid-December rush, since visa centres slow down along with everything else in the city.

Frequently asked questions

Is Christmas a public holiday in the UAE?

No. Christmas Day is not on the UAE Cabinet's list of official public and private sector holidays. Some employers grant leave around it anyway, at their own discretion, but it is not a national day off.

What are the dates for Dubai's Christmas markets in 2026?

The Madinat Jumeirah Festive Market runs 4 to 27 December, Winter City at Expo City Dubai runs 11 to 31 December, and the new DXB Winter Festival beside Dubai Festival City Mall is widely reported to run 1 December 2026 to 10 January 2027, though the organiser's own page did not print exact dates when we checked.

Is entry to Dubai's Christmas markets free?

The Madinat Jumeirah Festive Market is free, first come first served. Winter City at Expo City Dubai charges from AED 60, and the DXB Winter Festival is ticketed, with its price not announced when we checked.

Where can I attend Christmas Mass in Dubai?

St Mary's Catholic Church and Holy Trinity Church, both in Oud Metha, hold the main Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. Each publishes its exact 2026 timings closer to the day, usually in late November or early December.

Does it actually snow in Dubai at Christmas?

No. Dubai's winter weather stays mild, typically in the low-to-mid 20s Celsius by day in December; any snow you see at a market, such as the snowfall under the Al Wasl Dome at Winter City, is a special effect. See our winter in Dubai guide for what the weather is actually like.

What else is on in Dubai around Christmas?

The Dubai Shopping Festival and Global Village's Season 31 both run through December, and New Year's Eve brings fireworks across the city a week after Christmas. See our Dubai Shopping Festival, Global Village and New Year's Eve in Dubai guides.

Plan your Christmas in Dubai with Holidayys

We can help with any part of this: a UAE visit visa for family flying in for the holidays, a hotel booked around the market dates, or a seat on one of our escorted Europe tours for a proper white Christmas. Message us on WhatsApp +971 4 589 0001 or use our contact page to talk through dates and budget.

Related guides

• UAE winter break 2026-27
• New Year holiday in the UAE 2027
• Global Village Dubai 2026–27
• New Year's Eve in Dubai
• Winter in Dubai
• Dubai Shopping Festival

Last checked 4 November 2026 against Jumeirah's own listing for the Festive Market; the DXB Winter Festival's own site, Travel And Tour World and Curly Tales for the winter festival's dates and programme; the Emirates News Agency (WAM) and Gulf News for Winter City's dates, ticket prices and Disney+ theme; and Gulf News for the UAE's public holiday rules. The DXB Winter Festival's organiser had not published exact dates or ticket prices on its own page when we checked, so treat those as reported rather than confirmed. We could not confirm a 2026 return for the Habtoor Palace Winter Garden or the Dubai Autodrome's Magical Christmas World, and 2026 Christmas Mass timings were not yet published at either Oud Metha church. Dates, prices and opening hours change, so confirm with the organiser before you go.