Singapore Christmas Activities

Our kids' top two favorite Christmas in SIngapore outings:

Orchard Bus Christmas lights double decker bus tour

Tanglin Mall - look on their website for what time the snow comes,

be sure to have kids in swimsuits and bring towels.

A new attraction this year is the German Christmas market at

Gardens by the Bay. They have the German wooden huts selling

foods and snacks.  The supertrees are lit up with Christmas lights

and set to music.

There are some Christmas shows that are kid friendly this year:

PeterPan looks like a good one, we may go if we find time,

and Junor Claus at DBS looks festive and I've never been disappointed

with shows at DBS.

Marina Bay Sands Shops has a great corner for winter wonderland

to meet Santa and see elves.

I think all clubs do a Santa visit, American, British etc. I'm sure Tanglin

does as well.  

We are taking the kids to Raffles High Tea this year (never done with kids) 

becuase they have Christmas caroling and beautiful decorations and the

high tea has Christmas goodies.

I heard that you can skate with Santa at JCube ice-skating rink.

The Dutch have their Sinter Klaus come by boat early in December

to visit the Dutch kids but we have never been because we are 

usually at the Danish Christmas Fair on the same day.

I noticed this year, the decorations are very girly in front of Orchard Central,

pink, unicorns, etc.  We might walk over there at some point to show our girls.

Lastly, I saw posters for Christmas on the river, I think that might

be new this year but along the river looks like they have Christmas lights

up and a schedule for performances.

Hi all, you were asking me about Christmas events / concerts so this is what I have so far:

Sadly this year, NO Handel's Messiah :-(  I spoke to the organizers last year, wasn't it good Robin?  They just didn't have the manpower to do it.  Norah, is your choir doing a concert?

The choir leader suggested the SSO Christmas concert on 11, 12, 13, and 14 December that is at the Victoria Concert Hall, he said it's VERY popular.  I called to get tickets only single seats left, but Mateo and I are going on Thursday if you are interested to join us but you won't sit by your loved one, not sure how many single seats are left, but I did see that it is sold out on the 13th and 14th.

This same choir director suggested Requiem this wknd, but we are busy already, if you want info, let me know I will forward you his email.

If we were free, the Saturday 13th Dec concert of the Lyric Opera and the Children's choir is our all-time favourite event every year but both 1st and 4th ward Xmas parties are on that date.  They only have ONE show.

Every year our family goes to the Danish Christmas Market, it's crowded, but very European. It is this Saturday and Sunday at the Danish Seaman's church (a beautiful building), at 11am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday 22/23 November.  I have invited friends in the past and they do feel overwhelmed by the crowds, but we go right at 11am and the kids do a couple crafts, I grab all the abelskivers and Sandinavian goodies, and we eat some smorgasborg open sandwiches.

Since Mateo is part Swedish, we celebrate Santa Lucia.  This year the Swedish Santa Lucia girls will have a concert on Friday 12th of December.  Tickets are not available yet but they are around $15.  Every year, we are the only Asian family there, everyone is tall, beautiful and nordic.  We feel like shrimps.  Erika and Norah, this seems like something you wouldn't want to miss.  It's not professional or anything, but very authentic.

Here's a good list of Christmas events / concerts:

http://www.expatliving.sg/things_todo/family_fun/Christmas-shows-in-Singapore-Pantomimes-musicals-and-concerts-in-December-2014-63428.ece

Let me know if you hear or know of other concerts.

Handel's Messiah 2014
Sing-along concert
The Japanese Assoc Ladies Chorus
Eunice Ng 97307261

Singapore with Kids

There is so much to do with kids in Singapore!  I do like exploring Little India and Chinatown and other local neighborhoods with kids, it's not always easy, but we find kid-friendly corners.

These activities are divided up in general neighborhoods/areas:

CITY:

The National Museum has one room on 3rd level designed for kids (Kids at Play)

The Philatelic (stamp) museum near Armenian street is a great little museum for kids.

The Asian Civ has hidden corners for kids - dress up in Asian clothes, play on instruments etc.

The Firestation opens it's doors on Saturday mornings and kids can climb fire trucks and explore.
The river cruise on bumboats is only 45 minutes so it's a great way to sightsee with guests and see the Merlion, etc.
Everyone heads to MBS to see the view, but we prefer The Pinnacles on Duxton with kids because they can climb on structures and adults can enjoy amazing views.  

BUKIT TIMAH:

Head to the Botanical Gardens and let the kids run around and use their "trotinettes".  The Jacob Ballas Gardens is especially for children with a playground and very small splashpad.  On some week-ends they do concerts at the Shaw Theater.  Bring a picnic (bring picnic blanket) or grab pizza/pasta at Casa Verde and enjoy the music while the kids run around.

While shopping on Orchard, it's good to know there is a tiny playground on the top level of Paragon.  Kids can play there for a few minutes, it is right beside the Toys R Us.

Our favorite place to brunch is Rider's Cafe.  It works with kids b/c they have a kid's menu, there is a small playground outside the restaurant, and afterwards, we go and watch the horses at play.

MacRitichie park we love!  There is a reservoir here where you can rent kayaks/canoes, kids at a certain age can ride with an adult.  The 10km round-trip trail gets you to the tree-top walk, it's beautiful up there.

Mini golf at Fairways - off of Eng Neo - eat afterwards at Picotin.  Lovely leafy setting.
http://www.championsgolf.com.sg/#!btgc-minigolf/c14sx

SENTOSA:

There are loads of activities on this island, our family's favorite is iFly indoor sky diving and the Luges.

Our kids love Universal Studios (if you don't have a fast pass go early, right when it opens at 10am). Best ride is Transformers and the Mummy, favorite show is waterworld.

Adventure Cove is a great waterpark for kids.

SEA Aquarium and the Maritime museum is a lot of fun, but the kids felt like one visit was plenty, we didn't need our annual passes.

Tanjong Beach Club - great place for early on Saturday or Sunday before crowds arrive to play on the beach, dip in pool, and eat pancakes off the brunch menu.

VivoCity - the mall has a splash pad / playground on the upper level, great for little tots (2-5).

On Palawan Beach, there is Port of Lost Wonder.  The best water splash park in Singapore with a giant pirate ship that tips a huge bucket of water.

Mount Faber park is a great area to explore the Henderson Waves.  The cable cars is very touristy but kids think it's fun.

MARINA BAY:

Gardens by the Bay - has a great Children's park and excellent splash pool.

A good place for kids to try local food is the eateries right underneath the Singapore Flyer.

They have done the hawker stands in old-fashioned 1960s Singapore.

There is a koi pond in the middle where kids can feed the fish.
We like catching the General Cheng Ho boat (around 10am) for the morning glory cruise to Kusu Island.  This ride is a few hours long but a great way to see Singapore skyline.

WEST COAST:

West Coast park is loads of fun but we prefer other parks because of accessibility.

Haw Par Villa is an unusual Chinese mythical statues park where kids can run around.

JURONG:

The Science Center is a great indoors place for the kids, a good day to go on a rainy day.  There is actually a splash pool area outside.

The Chinese Gardens is a lovely place to see pagodas/temples with water/bridges around it, but it's the Live Turtle Museum that is a unique stop.  You can feed turtles with vegetables and fish (koi) in the water.

Kids Amaze (in the SAFRA building) is an indoor playgound with a huge slide, guns that shoot foam balls, etc.

Amped is an indoor trampoline park with about 30 trampolines all joined together.

CENTRAL:

Singapore zoo of course!  I think with kids it is wise to get the tram pass so you can take breaks and see animals while riding around.  It's hard to see all the shows, so if limited with time, the elephant one and rainforest fights back are both very good.  After seeing the animals, head over to Kidzworld to cool down - there is a KFC and a Ben & Jerry's cafe with a wonderful splash zone.

The night safari is great but if kids are used to going to bed early, it's hard to keep them awake and there are always crowds.

The new River Safari is an easy outing, it is next door to the zoo.  If you only have time for one, pick the zoo. River Safari is an extra bonus if you have time.  It is an easy loop around the park on a board walk and the boat ride is great, be sure to get a timed ticket for it.

EAST COAST:

East coast park is a fabulous playground for kids.  You can rent bikes, roller blade, and picnic/beach here.  Once we rented a bike that could sit our whole family and the kids loved that.  There is a skate park here (Extreme Skate) that is the best one in Singapore.

There's a new dining area/strip mall between Splashpark and Burger King that has recently opened and has lasertag.

We do like going from Changi by bumboat to Palau Ubin to rent bikes and have lunch and do the Coastal walk.

In the Katong area there is an indoor trampoline park outlet (Amped) same as Jurong.

PASIR RIS:

This area is quite far away but there are two reasons to go.  The Pasir Ris park is the largest outdoor park for kids and it is nice and shaded. There is horse back riding in one corner and also kampong fishing in the neighborhood.  This is the old-fashioned way kids used to catch fish in the streams with little fishing nets. The park also has a mangrove boardwalk.

ROAD TRIPS:

Kuala Lumpur has a KidZania that is an indoor playground where kids can try all sorts of professions.

Legoland is just an hour away.

Malacca can be fun with kids.

We went to Kuala Selangor (firefly park) on our way to KL.

BOAT TRIPS

http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/feb/06/top-10-day-trips-singapore