Gardens By The Bay Christmas Wonderland 2015

Full Album Here: Gardens By The Bay Christmas Market 2015

 

Christmas Wonderland, 2015

The Christmas Wonderland Christmas Market is back in full force at Singapore’s very own Gardens By The Bay. This event is back from the previous year’s offering, featuring a full carnival complete with the classic rigged games, market stalls, the foam machine “blizzard”, an ice skating rink (!) and the Spalliera Luminiaire light sculptures straight from Italy.

Christmas Market at the Gardens

For those readers who are in town and have yet to visit the attraction, it runs till 3rd Jan. If one should opt to visit before Christmas, one can definitely expect to muscle with incredible crowds even on weekday nights, so be warned.

Yes that is mud underfoot. And the grass is dead. 2014.

The organizers have certainly learned from the previous year’s iteration, which was a dismal affair in comparison. While the Luminaire installations were certainly a crowd pleaser, they successfully framed a grassy patch that was trampled all to death by the enthusiastic crowds and promptly turned into a mire when the tropical rainfall came in to seal the bargain. Slippery grass, mud and crowds. Mmmm. Way to enjoy a foam “blizzard”. Fortunately, that was most definitely not the experience this December.

A jolly affair at the carnival

Instead of a light installation and food fair masquerading as a Christmas Market, the carnival this year is out in force with a full carousel, tall spiral slide and those oh so fun rigged games that come as part of the package.

Let it go. And just chill.

I usually do not enjoy mooching around crowds of humans in the sweltering heat of the tropics pretending that it is winter. Fortunately, the debut skating rink set up in the Ice Palace will undoubtedly provide a much welcome change of pace. The ice does need to stay generally solid to qualify as ice, as Elsa may have said. Regardless, the Ice Palace does provide a welcome respite from the oppressive heat outside.

“Snow”, a by-product of skating. Do you really want to build a snowman out of that?

Interestingly, there is a room full of what appears to be actual snow at the Ice Palace. Seeing as how I did not sight an actual snow blower and given the texture of the substance, I am led to believe that it may in fact be a by-product of the ice skating rink itself. That is, it may well be composed of scrapings from the rink at the end of day. Regardless of its origins, it does seem to generally please the children.

The Supertrees are alive with the sound of music

As is usual, the Garden Rhapsody of the Supertrees is in synch with the festive period and will be playing a medley of Christmas songs throughout the end of November up till the first week of January 2016. Set against the Spalliera installation and the Spiegeltent pop up restaurant by Harry’s Bar, this event is definitely the core of the Christmas Wonderland experience.

Spiegeltent in the foam “blizzard”

Having satisfied oneself with the Garden Rhapsody, one would do well to stay for the foam “blizzard”, where foam machines would spew their suds high into the air and right onto the adoring crowd. Incidentally, the suds smell vaguely of floor cleaner, leaving a freshly cleaned scent lingering in the air long after the foam has settled. Should one be fortunate enough to be in the path of the wind, one may even catch some foam in the face, which I understand to be quite a lucky occurrence.

One can then retreat to the Harry’s Spiegeltent, or any of the nearby restaurants for that matter. Nothing says food quite like a shower of foam would.

Incidentally, foam. Clean-smelling foam.

For those who are not there for the Christmas Wonderland event, the Flower Dome at the Gardens is having the Christmas Toyland floral display on till Jan 5, and there is an ongoing The Future of Us exhibit running till Mar 8 2016. However, those stories will have to wait for another time in another place.

Merry Christmas one and all!

Full Album Here: Gardens By The Bay Christmas Market 2015

For more Christmas in Singapore: Christmas In Singapore 2015