With a week to go until the big day, it’s time to get yourself well and truly into the Christmas spirit.
And, luckily for UAE residents, there are plenty of festive events happening over the next week that will ensure you come away filled with holiday cheer.
Whether you are looking for fun for the whole family, or wanting to settle down in front of a Christmas classic, here are some of the best events happening in the run-up to Christmas …
Dubai’s Winter Wonderland
JBR has been transformed from ultimate beach to ultimate festive destination with the return of Winter Wonderland DXB. The Christmassy village is open until Thursday, January 7, and this year features a digital pavilion, a "glice-skating" rink, tube sliding and regular visits from Santa.
Until Thursday, January 7; Sundays to Thursdays, 12pm to 12am, Fridays and Saturdays, 10am to 12pm; activity prices vary; Winter Wonderland DXB, JBR The Walk, Dubai; @winterwonderlanddxb
Nakheel Mall’s festive rooftop market
The Palm Jumeirah's Nakheel Mall has opened up its rooftop space to make way for a festive pop-up market. The space is home to a number of stalls for last-minute shopping, and will also feature live music and entertainment in the run-up to Christmas. There's also an ice-skating rink, if you are feeling extra festive.
Until Saturday, January 2; Sundays to Thursdays, 2pm to 10pm, Fridays and Saturdays, 12pm to 10pm; free; Nakheel Mall, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai; nakheelmall.ae
Souk Madinat Jumeirah’s Amphitheatre cinema
Every night until Saturday, December 26, Souk Madinat will be screening a Christmas classic – and the best part? It's completely free. Expect to see films including The Polar Express, Disney's A Christmas Carol, Elf and Jingle All The Way screening over the next week. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis, so get there early for some on-screen nostalgia.
Until Saturday, December 26, 7.30pm; free; Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai; 04 366 8888, jumeirah.com
'Beauty and the Beast' onboard the 'QE2'
Dubai's floating hotel, the QE2, will be hosting a daily showing of Beauty and the Beast at its onboard theatre until Sunday, December 27. The production tells the story of the classic 18th-century fairytale, which sees a handsome young prince transformed into a monstrous beast, with true love the only way the spell can be broken. The performance is suitable for all ages, with under 3s able to attend for free.
Daily (excluding Friday, December 25) until Sunday, December 27, 11am and 3pm; from Dh120; QE2, Port Rashid, Dubai; 060 0500 400, theatrebyqe2.com
Snow cinema at Ski Dubai
Where better to get into the festive spirit than among the snow at Ski Dubai? Get all cosy and settle down for a Christmas classic at its pop-up snow cinema, which will be showing classics including The Grinch, Frozen 2 or Daddy's Home 2. Screenings will take place daily at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm, and you have the option of adding a meet-and-greet with Santa while you're there.
Daily, until February 2021; 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm; from Dh100; Ski Dubai, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai; 0800 386, skidxb.com
Christmas at Town Square Dubai by Nshama
Christmas has arrived early at Town Square Dubai Park, where a giant decorated tree takes pride of place. Santa will be stopping by each day for a meet-and-greet with children, while families can show off their skills at a pop-up ice rink.
Daily, until Saturday, January 9; from 4pm; Dh10 for residence pass holders, Dh15 for visitors; Town Square Dubai Park; nshama.ae
Abu Dhabi’s Winter Wonderland
Christmas shopping doesn't get more festive than at Abu Dhabi's The Galleria Al Maryah Island. The mall's Winter Wonderland has returned, with a host of events over the holiday season to make shopping extra special. Back this year are the mall's Christmas-themed sensory rooms, which will offer an immersive festive experience; think giant candy canes, fresh gingerbread aroma and the sound of sleigh bells surrounding you. Children can also post their last-minute letters to Santa at the North Pole post box.
Daily, throughout December, 10am-12am; free; The Galleria, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi; 02 493 7400, thegalleria.ae
Sleigh season at Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi
Join your favourite characters as they get into the festive spirit at Warner Bros World Abu Dhabi. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Tom and Jerry will be performing a daily Jingle Bell Rockout alongside all the Looney Tunes for the whole family to sing along to. The attraction is also promising festive cheer and treats around every corner.
Daily, until Saturday, December 2, 12pm-8pm; from Dh295, family offers available; Warner Bros World, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi; wbworldabudhabi.com
Visit Ferrari World’s gingerbread factory
Until Christmas Eve, families have the chance to visit Ferrari World’s Italian gingerbread factory, where you can get to work decorating your very own gingerbread house using festive treats such as candy canes and frosting. The experience costs Dh200 for a family of four.
Daily, until Thursday, December 24, 12pm-5pm; Dh200 for a family of four (additional to park entry); Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island; ferrariworldabudhabi.com
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 5
Keita 1', Mane 23', 66', Salah 45' 1, 83'
Huddersfield 0
Company%20profile
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to donate
Text the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
6025 - Dh 20
2252 - Dh 50
2208 - Dh 100
6020 - Dh 200
*numbers work for both Etisalat and du
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')
Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20NOTHING%20PHONE%20(2)
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SPECS
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Henderson, Pickford, Pope.
Defenders Alexander-Arnold, Chilwell, Coady, Dier, Gomez, Keane, Maguire, Maitland-Niles, Mings, Saka, Trippier, Walker.
Midfielders Henderson, Mount, Phillips, Rice, Ward-Prowse, Winks.
Forwards Abraham, Barnes, Calvert-Lewin, Grealish, Ings, Kane, Rashford, Sancho, Sterling.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
More coverage from the Future Forum
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
MATCH INFO
Group B
Bayern Munich v Tottenham, midnight (Thursday)
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The Byblos iftar in numbers
29 or 30 days – the number of iftar services held during the holy month
50 staff members required to prepare an iftar
200 to 350 the number of people served iftar nightly
160 litres of the traditional Ramadan drink, jalab, is served in total
500 litres of soup is served during the holy month
200 kilograms of meat is used for various dishes
350 kilograms of onion is used in dishes
5 minutes – the average time that staff have to eat
Mountain%20Boy
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England squad
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
Danilo (Real Madrid) - £27m
Douglas Luiz (Vasco de Gama) - £10.8m
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams