“Are you going home for Christmas?” is how a remarkable number of my conversations have started since early December.
For those who celebrate, there is a flurry of activity associated with the holiday ― shopping, parties, children’s shows, decorating a tree and eating, lots of eating ― as the month charges towards December 25. And if you live away from your home country, there may well be another essential on the Christmas to-do list: book a flight home.
This is backed by numbers. Emirates sends out an annual warning for people to get to the airport early as it prepares to face hundreds of thousands of passengers travelling all around the world in the last two weeks of December.
Spending time with family and loved ones is a key part of the holiday as are, arguably, snow, cosy fireplace scenes and warming drinks (in much of the Northern Hemisphere), so it makes sense that people rush to board flights and seek out those tropes.
But I’m here to make the case for Christmas in the UAE.
I should start with the disclaimer that my family lives here, so I know this has affected my decision to stay in the Emirates for festivities in the past. However, on the whole, we have a history of choosing to celebrate in the UAE rather than the UK.
En masse, we have decamped to Edinburgh for Christmas once in the past 10 years, and there were things I loved about the trip, of course. Christmas markets where a hot chocolate doesn’t send you to the brink of heat stroke, the incredible lights around the city, the novelty of snow away from Ski Dubai and spending time with extended family.
However, there were things I didn’t love. Call me old fashioned, but I like waking up in my own bed on Christmas morning ― it’s where your stocking should be hung, after all ― and as you break the back of 30, several nights spent on a sofa bed aren’t conducive to a good night’s sleep.
Slumber (or lack thereof) aside, the trip is the only time I have lost the bulk of my Christmas presents. My suitcase didn’t make the connection from London Heathrow to Glasgow airport, resulting in a delay in gift-giving on my part. I thanked my lucky stars that my heaviest winter coat didn’t fit in the case, so I didn’t have to face a 3°C arrival in leggings and a T-shirt.
I’ve spoken to a good few fellow Brits who are happy they have given Christmas in the UK a miss this year. Flights home were extortionate ― one-way, direct economy tickets to London are costing as much as Dh8,563 to book this week.
It is already an expensive time of year, so the burden of an extra plane ticket can more than take its toll. Not to mention transport around the UK, which is shaping up to be treacherous during weeks of strikes, and the prospect of a white Christmas has been dampened by weeks of rain after the flurry of mid-December snow.
In my experience, people put a lot of effort into making it “feel Christmas-sy” in the UAE. Houses are decorated to the nines, people seek out the most festive cafes, bars and restaurants, and malls are transformed into grottos. So, far from feeling like a Grinch, there are plenty of places in the UAE to make a beeline for and fill your festive boots.
People also make an effort to forge new festive traditions. Many flock to the beach or desert annually on Christmas morning, relish the day spent in the sunshine (a stark departure from December 25 in European countries) and have the opportunity to celebrate with others from around the world, blending together all their favourite festive customs.
So for now, I’m more than content with a Christmas spent at home in the UAE, celebrating with my family and the friends I enjoy time with year-round. Perhaps I’ll get my fix of winter with a trip somewhere snowy come January, albeit with a much more affordable plane ticket.
The 100 Best Novels in Translation
Boyd Tonkin, Galileo Press
MATCH INFO
Pakistan 106-8 (20 ovs)
Iftikhar 45, Richardson 3-18
Australia 109-0 (11.5 ovs)
Warner 48 no, Finch 52 no
Australia win series 2-0
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Kolkata Knight Riders 169-7 (20 ovs)
Rajasthan Royals 144-4 (20 ovs)
Kolkata win by 25 runs
Next match
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN MARITIME DISPUTE
2000: Israel withdraws from Lebanon after nearly 30 years without an officially demarcated border. The UN establishes the Blue Line to act as the frontier.
2007: Lebanon and Cyprus define their respective exclusive economic zones to facilitate oil and gas exploration. Israel uses this to define its EEZ with Cyprus
2011: Lebanon disputes Israeli-proposed line and submits documents to UN showing different EEZ. Cyprus offers to mediate without much progress.
2018: Lebanon signs first offshore oil and gas licencing deal with consortium of France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and Russia’s Novatek.
2018-2019: US seeks to mediate between Israel and Lebanon to prevent clashes over oil and gas resources.
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
'O'
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
