How To Celebrate Christmas in Perth, Australia

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Watching the faces on the kids as the Christmas lights are turned on in Forrest Chase is almost as magical as the lights themselves. The big switch is flicked by Santa and the city is lit up with over 100,000 twinkling lights and enchanted faces.

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Its Christmas all year long at Santa’s Secret Toy Shop in Bridgetown, but if you aren’t able to make the four-hour drive south, there are specialty stores in the metropolitan area: the Mrs Claus Christmas Kingdom and Santa’s Secret Toy Store. Myers and David Jones also have Christmas shops within their department stores, and if you’ve been good, Santa might even allow you to sit on his knee.

Santa’s Secret Toy Store, 131 Hampton Road, Bridgetown, Western Australia 00 61 8 9761 2313

Mrs Claus Christmas Kingdom, 2/109 Winton Road, Joondalup, Western Australia +61 422 228 199

Christmas Presence, 67 McCoy Street, Myaree, Western Australia 00 61 8 9330 2512

While ovens are fired up in the northern hemisphere for turkeys with all the trimmings, you’re more likely to find most backyards smoking away with barbeques and homegrown games of cricket. As “coldies” (aka, beer) are cracked open alongside cheeky chardonnays, prawns, yabbies, sausages and meaty delights are the star attraction on many menus. Once the pavlova and trifle have been devoured, many progress onto the next party, except for those lucky enough to fight off the heat in the pool or with air-conditioned kips. For others, the beach is an irresistible mecca.

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The RAC Christmas Pageant has been floating through the streets of Perth since 1972. The streets light up with floats teeming with bands, clowns, performers, personalities and of course Santa himself weave through the city on 2 December, 2017.

The city’s weekly Perth Home Grown markets add a festive flavour with homemade Christmas cakes, baked goods, gifts and everything you could ever need for Christmas down under. It doesn’t even need to be Christmas for Forrest Place to be abuzz with over 40 stalls of international street food on Friday nights at the Twilight Hawkers Market. The Perth Upmarket features the handiwork of over 200 Western Australian creatives at Winthrop Hall at the University of Western Australia on Sunday, 26 November, 2017; it could be the perfect place to get your Christmas shopping done early, plus the funds go toward raising money for Guide Dogs WA. Christmas Markets at the Quay run over the weekend of 10/11 December at Elizabeth Quay showcasing all things crafty and Christmassy, and if it gets all too much, jump on a cruise up the Swan River.

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Enjoy those festive flicks for free under the stars on an 8-metre LED screen in the Northbridge Piazza with Arthur Christmas on Saturday, 17 December and Elf on Saturday, 24 December, 2017. There are plenty of other outdoor cinemas embracing the silly season, such as Movies at the Beach at Hillarys Boat Harbour, Kookaburra Cinema and Ben & Jerry’s Open Air Cinema.

Hillarys Boat Harbour, 58 Southside Drive, Hillarys, Western Australia 00 61 8 9246 1042

Kookaburra Cinema, Allen Road, Mundaring Weir, Western Australia 00 61 8 9295 6190

Ben & Jerry’s Open Air Cinema, cnr Riverside Drive and Adelaide Terrace.

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