A Christmas Story by World Christmas Market runs at METT Hotel Singapore and Fort Canning Park from 10 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, and admission is free every night. If gifts and year-end dinners have already used up your December budget, this is a festive night out in the middle of town that costs nothing to walk into.
The festival comes from DareDreamer, the Singapore creative company behind World Christmas Market. The organisers are promising a 38-foot real Christmas tree, giant nutcrackers, illuminated reindeer, and a 42-piece full orchestra on opening weekend. It works for a date, a group hangout or a family outing, and the dog is invited too.
Third Edition, New Address
This is the third World Christmas Market, and the first to leave the waterfront. It launched in 2024 at The Promontory at Marina Bay. In December 2025 it came back as Togetherland by World Christmas Market at Bayfront Event Space, a site of about 20,000 square metres according to the organisers. For 2026, it moves inland to the lawns around METT Hotel, a five-star hotel in a listed building inside Fort Canning Park, steps from Orchard Road.
Gracelyn Lin, co-founder of DareDreamer, calls this “this first Christmas at Fort Canning” and is upfront about what that means. “We’re not claiming a tradition. We’re hoping to earn one,” she said. That’s a modest pitch for a festival opening with a full orchestra, and it’s an honest way to start life at a new site.
The Tree Gets Top Billing
The festival is split across three spaces. The Piazza is the one to plan your evening around, because it’s where the 38-foot real tree stands, surrounded by more decorated trees across the grounds. The tree-lighting and opening ceremony takes place there at 7.30pm on Thursday, 10 December. Gates open at 5pm that night, which gives you two and a half hours to eat and find a good spot before the lights go on.
Giant nutcrackers and illuminated reindeer are dotted across the grounds as photo backdrops. Lin describes the full set-up as “a 38-foot real Christmas tree that stops you in your tracks, to nutcrackers standing guard and reindeer glowing across the lawns.” For your camera roll, start with the tree after dark, since the whole festival is built around it, and save the nutcrackers for the couple’s photo. Matching outfits optional.
Shop, Craft, Then Share a Table
The Story Terrace covers festive shopping and gifting, along with hands-on workshops. It’s the home of The Long Table too, where, in the organisers’ words, “strangers and friends alike gather to share a meal.” For a group chat that can never agree on dinner, that’s the move we’d make. One table, everyone together, and nobody arguing over where to eat.
The Merry Grounds is the food and festive market, with seasonal flavours and festive drinks. Free entry gets you through the gate, but it’s still a market, so set aside a budget for whatever ends up in your hands. Food lovers planning a bigger festive feast can look back at our Christmas Foods 2024 round-up for ideas.
42 Musicians on Opening Weekend
The music starts big. The organisers say a 42-piece full orchestra will perform on opening weekend. On other scheduled dates through the season there are brass sextets and saxophone quartets, plus choirs and other musical acts. Between sets, a soundtrack of Christmas classics and newer festive favourites plays across the grounds.
If you can only make one trip, aim for opening weekend, because that’s when the organisers have scheduled the full orchestra. The market, workshops and photo spots stay open until 3 January 2027, so the shopping can wait. A live orchestra under a freshly lit tree is the bigger draw!
Bring the Dog, Bring the Date
DareDreamer pitches the festival at people gathering with loved ones, couples on a festive date night, and pet owners bringing their furry friends. Pets are welcome, subject to venue and operational guidelines, so check those guidelines on the World Christmas Market website before you clip on the leash.
According to the organisers, the festival is open from 5pm to 11pm, Monday to Thursday, and 4pm to 11pm, Friday to Sunday, so it fits easily after work. On Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, it runs 4pm to 1am, which makes it a free place to welcome 2027. If you’re planning several festive outings, our Christmas in Singapore 2026 guide lists the other events with confirmed dates.
A Hotel Marking 100 Years
METT Hotel is the co-host. Tomas Stoila, managing director of Sunset Hospitality Group Singapore, said the team is “delighted to open our grounds.” He added that the timing feels “particularly meaningful” as the hotel’s “iconic building marks its 100th anniversary.”
If you’d rather end the night sitting down, the hotel has four dining concepts. They include L’Amo Bistrò del Mare, an Italian coastal restaurant, and the Canning Bar & Lounge. That pairing makes for a tidy date plan: tree-lighting first, then dinner indoors.
Small-business owners can get involved as well. DareDreamer is inviting retail, food and beverage, and craft vendors with “distinctive, well-presented offerings” to apply for a spot at The Story Terrace or The Merry Grounds through the World Christmas Market website.
🗓️ Date: Thursday, 10 December 2026 to Sunday, 3 January 2027
⏰ Time: Monday to Thursday, 5pm to 11pm; Friday to Sunday, 4pm to 11pm; Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, 4pm to 1am
📍 Location: METT Hotel Singapore and Fort Canning Park (enter from the Festival Entrance at Carpark C)
💰 Price: Free admission
🎄 Opening night: Gates open 5pm; tree-lighting and opening ceremony 7.30pm on 10 December
🐾 Pets: Welcome, subject to venue and operational guidelines
🔗 Details: World Christmas Market website
Put 7.30pm on 10 December in your calendar for the tree-lighting, then keep the rest of opening weekend free for the orchestra. Before you head out, check the World Christmas Market website for the programme and the pet guidelines. Fort Canning has never hosted this festival before, and a free night under a real 38-foot tree is a fine way to help it start a new tradition!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of World Christmas Market.
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