Dubai Harbour opens Christmas market with an outdoor ice rink and snow park

Harbour Wonderland is open to the public for free until December 30

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Meet Santa Claus, go ice skating and play in the "snow" – this is what families can expect from Dubai's newest Christmas market, which opened this week at Dubai Harbour.

Called Harbour Wonderland, it's the first festive market to be held at the up-and-coming seafront district.

Some of the highlights at the ongoing event are an outdoor ice rink, a Snow Park, a Santa Claus meet-and-greet, as well as an eight-metre floating Christmas tree at Harbour Marina.

Scroll through the photos above to see more from the market.

How might one build an ice rink in the Dubai heat? "Xtraice synthetic ice has been used, which is no ordinary ice," organisers told The National.

"Xtraice use cutting-edge technology and the highest quality materials with the greatest molecular density in the market."

As for the Snow Park, it uses artificial snow and also features a snowstorm machine, the kind used in film productions. "The futuristic 'workhorse' sprays evaporative snow, creating an amazingly realistic snowfall effect without residue or cold air," organisers said.

Giant origami-style boats can also be spotted.

Visitors can also enjoy fun family-friendly games and activities or pick up food and beverages from vendors such as Raw Coffee and Jumeirah Hospitality.

The Christmas fair runs until Thursday, December 30, from 3pm to 11pm every day.

More information is available here.

Updated: December 18, 2021, 2:55 PM