December is predictably packed with holiday-themed events. From Christmas DIY workshops to charity campaigns, you’re bound to find an event to vanquish your inner Grinch. Otherwise, you can always fill your calendar up with music, theatre, and dance performances, inspiring talks by local changemakers, or a trip to any one of the city’s cultural hubs.
DIY Workshops at PMQ
Is there anything more gratifying than making something with your own two hands? Home to more than 100 local creators, designers, artists, and entrepreneurs, PMQ is a creative hotspot. Over the past year, its many boutiques have offered DIY sessions in everything from silver jewellery to shoe-making. With Christmas approaching, look forward to a fresh range of festive workshops – think designing journals, concocting aroma stones shaped like spruce trees and more.
Dates: 1-31 December 2022
Link: Official event page
Comedy HK New Comedian of the Year Comedy Competition
Kick off the festive season with a chuckle or two! Comedy.HK is hosting its annual New Comedian of the Year Competition at The Aftermath, one of Central’s most popular venues for standup comedy. Seven budding comics will compete to win HK$1,000. Audience members will then vote for the comic they like best.
Dates: 1 December, 2022
Entry: HK$300.00
Web: Online tickets
TEDxTinHauWomen
Looking for inspiration for new year resolutions? Get an early start by tuning in to TEDxTinHauWomen. Launched in 2027, this is the only TEDx event dedicated to women in Hong Kong. This year’s event promises to cover an expansive range of themes, including solutions to our plastic waste crisis, censorship and feminism in art, the role of silence in perpetuating cycles of abuse, and what it takes to make good decisions in an emergency.
Dates: 1 December, 2022
Entry: HK$600.00
Web: TEDxTinHauWomen
Simple Gifts of Joy at Tai Kwun
‘Tis the season of excess! But does it have to be? Head to the Tai Kwun for a host of free and family-friendly events including choral music, contemporary circus, juggling, unicycling, and miming. Expect to see the Tai Kwun’s airy environs decked in Christmas finery– perfect for photo ops and Christmas cards.
Dates: 1st Dec 2022–2nd Jan 2023
Entry: Free
Link: Official event page
Craft and Sip Tea
Calling all keen crafters, sober-curious folks, and everyone at the intersection of that Venn diagram! Artisanal tea brand Plantation – the force behind the beloved, now-closed Sheung Wan cafe Teakha – is hosting a wreath design and tea workshop in collaboration with floral artist Maggie from Macau-based lifestyle brand The Grey Green. Participants will hand craft half wreaths while tasting Plantation’s new Christmas teas.
Date: 1 December, 6:30–8:30 pm
Entry: HK$1,280.00
Web: Official event page
The Nutcracker
A magical Christmas production to add sparkle to the season, The Nutcracker is back with its annual performance. With elaborate sets and costumes, plus Tchaikovsky’s well-known score performed live (or recorded) by Hong Kong Sinfonietta, this special performance will likely coax the scroogiest of your friends and family into a fitting festive mood. Sip on a flute of champagne, and enjoy 15% off dining at BluHouse or Holt’s Café at Rosewood Hong Kong.
The Nutcracker
Hong Kong Cyclothon
The Hong Kong Cyclothon is the biggest cycling event in the city, and draws thousands of amateur and professional cyclists from around the world. Proceeds from the event will go to charities that support underserved kids and youth in the city. Registration has now closed for 2022 but you can join the spectators and cheer on the cyclists. (Alternatively, rent a bike and pedal along Tolo Harbour in Tai Mei Tuk for a cyclothon of your own!)
Hong Kong Cyclothon
Yayoi Kusama:1945 to Now at M+
Museum-goers are in for a treat when in Hong Kong. Not only do the streets offer up a living gallery of public art and history, but from space to science and village traditions to teaware, the city is packed with unique museums both big and small. Now a year old, the M+ is Hong Kong’s premier arts destination, and the latest draw is its colossal display of works by iconic Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Though well-known around the world for ultra-Instagrammable works featuring polka dots and other bold prints, Kusama’s pieces tread delicate topics like creation, destruction, mental health and much more.
Dates: 12 November 2022 to 14 May 2023
Web: Exhibition page
Readcycling at Western Market
After three years, local nonprofit Readcycling is hosting its annual Bring A Book & Share event. Drop by to donate or buy secondhand books at Sheung Wan’s historic Western Market.
Dates:
Used Book Collection Counter: 1–3 December and 7–13 December from 12 to 7 pm
Book Bazaar: 7–13 December from 12 to 7 pm
Web: Official Instagram
Disney in Concert 2022
Top off your winter trip to Disneyland with the world premiere of the Spotlight Edition of Disney in Concert, performed by the Hong Kong Symphonic Winds Symphony Orchestra! The first half of the concert will be the standard Disney fare: performances of catchy and heartwarming melodies from favourite films like Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, Moana, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, The Lion King and beyond. The second half will focus solely on Frozen.
Dates: 10th–11th December 2022, 3pm & 7:30pm
Entry: HK$280.00—HK$580.00
Unik Asia Festival
Outdoor concerts are back, and Hongkongers could not be more excited. Unik Asia Festival is a fashion and music extravaganza set to take over Central Harbourfront. This buzzy fiesta will feature not only well-known local artists like Jer and Jeremy from beloved group MIRROR, but also international artists like K-pop singer-songwriters Jay B and HYOLYN, and Japanese singer and model Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.
Dates: 10th–11th December, 2022
Entry: HK$1,280.00—HK$1,680.00
Web: Online tickets
Festive Charity Campaigns
Hong Kong holds the dubious title of being one of most unequal cities in the world. This festive season, a number of local charities have launched campaigns that cater to the city’s most marginalised. Support street sleepers through ImpactHK, lend a hand to the hungry with Feeding HK, and play Secret Santa with a purpose thanks to Angels for Children.
SantaCon
Get ready for the reddest and most bearded event in Hong Kong—–the annual SantaCon. This is a pub crawl like no other. Hundreds of Santas, Mrs. Clauses, elves, reindeer, and other Christmas personnel come out in full costume and paint the town red. This year the Santas will meet in Central, and visit a number of bars and pubs, using different forms of transportation. Though the event is free, it does raise money for a local charity.
SantaCon Hong Kong
Stanley Xmas Wonder Market
Famous for some really unusual themes (past markets themes include cowboys and chemistry) the annual Stanley Plaza Seaside Christmas Market has a more conventional theme this year. The piazza of the lovely Stanley Plaza will become a bustling outdoor holiday market for four weekends in December, with beautiful lights and lots of festivities to get you in the Christmas spirit.
Stanley Xmas Wonder Market
New Years Eve Fireworks
If you’re actually in Hong Kong on the very last day of the year, consider yourself truly lucky to be able to see one of the world’s best fireworks displays. Victoria Harbour, which is stunning even on a normal day, becomes painted in millions of colours for the countdown to the new year. All along the harbour front—both on the Hong Kong Island side and Kowloon side—becomes incredibly packed with people, all looking up to the skies in anticipation. Get there early to get a good spot!
New Year’s Eve Fireworks and Countdown
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