Enjoy the best that Beijing has to offer to families this weekend. As always, click the link in the event title or scan the QR codes for further details and ticketing info.

Thursday, Dec 24, Christmas Eve

Christmas Shadow and Light Night Carnival

6.20-9.30pm. Yuyuantan Park. RMB 99.

Celebrate Christmas with the Kids at Peninsula Beijing

Celebrate Christmas Eve at the Peninsula Beijing, which is all ready to celebrate a range of Christmas traditions from around the world. There will be plenty of festive kids’ activities designed to ignite their imaginations, as well as a live storytelling event with Santa Claus, a lucky draw, special prizes, and more. In fact, even if you can’t make it on Christmas Eve, the event will be running right through until Sunday, Dec 27, with two 2-hour sessions per day.

11am – 6.30pm. Peninsula Wangfujing. 

Christmas Merriment at Kerry’s Kitchen

Kerry’s Kitchen is hosting a delicious lunch and dinner buffet on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and there is something for parents and kids alike: mom and dad can enjoy the free-flow package which includes two hours of local beer, house wines, and Veuve Clicquot Champagne, while the kids can go crazy in the Adventure Zone, enjoy a clown and magic show, and get messy in the arts and crafts area.

1-9pm. Kerry’s Kitchen. From RMB 488 per person.

Christmas Eve Dinner Buffet at Grand Cafe, Grand Hyatt Beijing

Featuring a sumptuous traditional buffet dinner and handmade Christmas desserts, the Christmas Eve dinner at Grand Hyatt Beijing is set to be a real treat. All tickets include free flow of juices soft drinks, beers, house wine, and sparkling wine, and there will be great prizes given away including staycation vouchers at the Grand Hyatt itself.

5.30-10pm. Grand Hyatt. RMB 988 per adult, RMB 488 for kids 6-12, free for kids 5 and under.

Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center’s Christmas Eve Dinner and Christmas Day Brunch Buffet

The Kempinski Hotel Lufthansa Center’s plans cover all bases on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day: with a fantastic buffet including free-flow in-house wine, Paulaner beer, and soft drinks. All your favorite dishes will be there, such as glazed ham with flavorful orange gravy and a whole roasted turkey with traditional herbs, alongside Angus beef Medallions, foie gras, and a fresh seafood selection from lobster to caviar. There will be a live jazz band to keep the party going, a lucky draw for great prizes, and a children’s play area.

6-10.30pm Christmas Eve, 12am-3pm Christmas Day. Kempinski Hotel Beijing Lufthansa Center. From 698 RMB, from RMB 349 for kids 6-12. 

Christmas Eve Feast Dinner

With a range of Chinese and western dishes, free-flow drinks including festive mulled wine, a close-up magic show, clowns, and other exciting performances (including a visit from Santa Claus), the Christmas Eve feast at Tian Tian Kitchen is a great family-friendly holiday event. And that’s without even mentioning the RMB 50,000 worth of prizes to be won.

5.30-9.30pm. Tian Tian Kitchen. RMB 788, RMB 468 kids 6-11. 

Friday, Dec 25 Christmas Day

Christmas All Day Buffet at Feast

Does Feast by East have the longest buffet table in the entire city? We aren’t sure but we do know you never run out of things to, well, feast on there. As well as their delicious festive buffet, they are collaborating with local charity Roundabout to collect donations of winter clothes and backpacks for students and families in Qinghai and Yunnan Provinces.

11.30-am 9pm (dining reservation limited to 3 hours or less). Feast by EAST. RMB 488 per adult, free for kids under 6, half price for kids 7-12

Christmas Day Lunch and Dinner Buffet at Grand Cafe of Grand Hyatt Beijing

At the Grand Hyatt Christmas Day brunch, the partying begins right away, with a drinks reception featuring free-flow juices, soft drinks, beer, house wine, and a glass of sparkling wine, followed by a fabulous Christmas dinner. The special festive buffet is coupled with a live cooking station featuring distinctive delights such as roast turkey, homemade desserts, and much more.

11.30am-9pm. Grand Hyatt Beijing. RMB 398, RMB 199 kids 6-12, free for kids 5 and under. 

Christmas Lunch & Dinner

All your favorite classic Christmas treats will be on offer at the Tian Tian Christmas lunch and dinner celebration, and their great central location means you can enjoy a wander through the old Qianmen area to walk it all off afterward.

11.30am-2.30pm, and 5.30-9.30pm. Tian Tian Kitchen. RMB 198, RMB 98 kids 6-11. 

Saturday, Dec 26 Boxing Day

Sunday, Dec 27

Stone Gate Mountain Camp hike

If you’re craving a bit of exercise and fresh air after all that festive feasting, then Beijing Hikers have you covered. This Sunday, they’ll be taking on the Stone Gate Mountain Camp track, which is a private camping area in the mountains just north of Huairou City. Featuring some really gorgeous views including a frozen waterfall, this is one of their harder hikes, so it’s better suited to older kids and teenagers.

8am. Pickup at Liangmaqiao and Lido. RMB 350 per person, discounts for members and kids.

Need to keep the kids occupied over winter? Take look at these Beijing Camps for Dec 2020 – Jan 2021

Images: Courtesy of the event organizers

Every holiday season I restart the same pattern of procrastination. In November I tell myself that I’m not going to bother with Christmas decorations but when December rolls around and my Instagram feed is bombarded with pictures of friends back home and their beautifully decorated trees, I start wishing that I had put a bit more effort into the holiday season and that my living room didn’t look so bare.

Then I dig that one plastic Christmas tree I bought years ago out of storage and go into a Taobao frenzy and start searching for decorations, hoping that they’d arrive the next day (which most of them don’t). And then I desperately search through the bins at Jenny Lou only to leave disappointed because most of the Santa hats are just plain tacky. Do I really want to buy more cheap plastic goods that won’t last a month and add to the never-ending cycle of waste? I don’t think so.

This year, if I’m buying ornaments, they’re going to be meaningful and they’re going to do some good.

Enter Roundabout – the giant warehouse store that gives previously owned items a second chance all while raising money for a good cause. Lovingly known as Beijing’s own Salvation Army.

We know them as the place where we drop off our donations and buy second-hand goods but they’ve also got a wide selection of brand new items as well.

Beautiful handcrafted ornaments

Turn left as soon as you enter the store and you’ll find yourself surrounded by handmade holiday crafts and original Beijing inspired designs that’ll make beautiful holiday gifts for your friends and family.

Handcrafted wreath

Meaningful ornaments

Roundabout is a volunteer-run organization and the money from all purchases made at Roundabout goes to support children in need. So if you haven’t done your holiday shopping yet, go ahead and do some zero-guilt spending at Roundabout.

Address: Cathy View Plaza, No.2 Xiangjiang Bei Lu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Phone: 6436 8506

KEEP READING: What Else is Roundabout Good For? 

Images: Courtesy of Roundabout, Pexels

Enjoy the best that Beijing has to offer to families this weekend. As always, click the link in the event title or scan the QR codes for further details and ticketing info.

Friday, Dec 18

Christmas Market at China World Mall

One more place where you can find some handicrafts and perhaps fancier items for those colleagues on your shopping list. And if you don’t get anything you need at the market, they have all those great shops year round!

10am-6pm, 1F 5Lmeet @ Chinaworld – PICK½EAT

Saturday, Dec 19

The Beijing Pizza Cup

Come decide Beijing’s Best Pizza at the Beijinger’s 2020 Pizza Cup Final Four Taste-Off in the cozy confines of Boxing Cat Brewery on Dec 19! We’ll have five sessions, each limited to 100 participants. At the event, you will be served pizza from all Final Four contestants, drink beer and make merry – but this is key: only those present who have tasted all four can choose the ultimate champion for 2020. But scan that QR code and book your table now, because it’s selling fast!

Two-hour slots 11am-10pm, RMB 100-150/seat

Carols for a Cause

It’s a full day of festive fun for a great cause, starting with cookie decorating and games, Santa photo booth, self-defense for kids by Krav Maga Global, then both the MCF Kids Choir and International adult choir. Join anytime for yet another way to help the Migrant Children’s Foundation.

12-6pm, Jin Shang building No. 20, Xinyuanli West Rd Chaoyang, free entry.

A Very Jolly Christmas Market at Culture Yard

Culture Yard reminds you that it’s the last weekend before Christmas day, and their assortment of vendors looks truly unique: handmade stamps by the Teibido Studio, Handmade by Daria, Jules Brochenin, Comptoirs de France, Fentong, The Beijing Experience, Kashmir Heritage Crafts, Charluminous Puzzle and Art, and so much more.

11am-6pm, Culture Yard, Beixinqiao, from Beixinqiao exit C (facing Grandma’s Kitchen), turn left and continue straight for 5 minutes until you see our courtyard on your right, free entry

Sunday, Dec 20

Rumble in the Jumble Winter Solstice Bazaar

Rumble returns with “a hutong holiday market of epic proportions,” where you can enjoy all the wonderful handmade gifts you’ve come to expect from the Rumble in the Jumble vendors, including delicious treats from El Nido this time!

12-6pm. El Nido @ The Other Place, #1 Langjia Hutong, in Gulou.

Kids Club Early Christmas Hike and Gingerbread Baking

The group meets up and takes a lovely walk between two villages, which involves mostly flat land and one big hill. Smaller children may need to be carried. After the walk, you’ll take a bus into a larger village to relax with hot drinks and making gingerbread cookies.

www.beijinghikers.com, info@beijinghikers.com,+86 10 6432-2876, ¥390 / ¥350 members / ¥260 for kids 7–12 / ¥200 for kids 4–6

Festive Christmas Carols for a Cause

We all love the Zarah brunch, and now you get to add Yorkshire Pudding, German Lebkuchen, freshly baked Christmas Cookies, roasted candied almonds, and even more. Plus you just add a wee bit more to get free flow drinks for three hours.

12-3pm, Reservation highly recommended!, 186 10 8403 9807, info@cafezarah.com, Prices range from RMB 98 (6-12 years) – RMB 298

Need to keep the kids occupied over winter? Take look at these Beijing Camps for Dec 2020 – Jan 2021

Images: Courtesy of the event organizers, Pexels

There are so many wonderful holiday events this year, it’s hard to know where to start! But when I saw that Rumble in the Jumble was holding a Vintage Christmas Bazaar on Dec 12, I knew that beijingkids should be involved.

From their Dino Market last August to a recent hidden-in-a-hutong market that my kids didn’t want to leave, the Rumble gang does a really nice job of making what is basically a market for adults into a child-friendly atmosphere. It helps that many of their regular vendors bring their kids, and charities like Lost Puppies often make an appearance.

beijingkids will have some cool Christmas origami to try, a gratitude tree where children and adults alike can decorate ornamental leaves that show what they’re grateful for this year, and a few free surprises, not to mention copies of our most recent magazine issues on parenting in the digital age and how arts and life intersect in the fine city of Beijing! Most importantly, it’s a chance for us to connect with you, our readers, in person after a socially distanced year.

Stop by to say hello and see all these amazing vendors:

Rumble in the Jumble Vintage Christmas Bazaar
12-6pm. Chez Soi. Free entry

KEEP READING: We Have Spiders to Thank for Tinsel, and Other Odd International Christmas Stories

Photos: Rumble in the Jumble and Chez Soi

Enjoy the best that Beijing has to offer to families this weekend. As always, click the link in the event title or scan the QR codes for further details and ticketing info.

Friday, Dec 11

Pediatric First-Aid Training at Raffles

Nobody likes to think about bad things happening to their kids, but having up to date pediatric first-aid training could literally save a life one day. At this Friday’s training session at Raffles Medical, participants will learn how to respond to a wide range of incidents, including cardiac arrests, burns, choking, fever, and stings. The training will be led by Dr. Jennifer Caroline Chishol, who specializes in family medicine and emergency medicine and is also ALS certificated. All participants will receive a Raffles Medical Certificate and a pediatric first-aid booklet.

9am-1pm. Raffles Medical Center. RMB 560.

Saturday, Dec 12

Fit Bump with Alessia, Camila & Lainy

Three Beijing moms, friends, and professionals with a diverse range of fitness and wellness expertise will join forces to give expecting mothers a morning of connection, wellness, and fun. The morning will include dancing with Alessia, strength training with Camila, and after a tasty coffee break by Moka Bros, conclude with a prenatal yoga class with Lainey.

9am-12pm. Destination Multiculture Center. RMB 300 1 mom / RMB 500 2 moms

Mindful Mothers Present：Motivate Yourself With Radical Self-Care

This Saturday is all about moms, with this second event by the Beijing Mindfulness Center focussing on self-care, and discuss how modern women can use mindfulness to help balance the many roles they may be juggling: as parents, partners, friends, women, daughters, and careerwomen. The session is free and will serve as an introduction to an optional 8-week course that delves even deeper into these same important topics.

10am-12pm. Beijing Mindfulness Center. Free

The Hutong’s Winter Fayre

With a “warm winter” theme, The Hutong once again opens its doors to local vendors and neighboring families alike. Find everything from chocolates to jewelry to postcards, and a special mulled wine. If you’ve never attended a Winter Fayre at the Hutong’s gorgeous courtyard space, then now is the time. Plus, our sister site the Beijinger is a sponsor! 

11am-6pm. The Hutong. Free entry

Rumble in the Jumble Vintage Christmas Bazaar

Secondhand, handmade, and vintage specialties abound at this cool bazaar at Chez Soi, just opposite the Gongti Stadium site. Come along to peruse a huge range of one-of-a-kind decor, tasty food items, and gifts, and don’t forget to pop by our very own beijingkids table to add to our gratitude tree or grab another special treat. We can’t wait to see you! 

12-6pm. Chez Soi. Free entry

Christmas Art Market at El Nido

Running on both Saturday and Sunday, the El Nido Christmas Art Market is a great opportunity to get your hands on some local art, like zines, prints, and posters. Everything you’ll need for Christmas, and there will be different stalls on both days, so it’s a great opportunity to check out the diverse local arts scene.

1-7pm. El Nido. Free entry.

Sunday, Dec 13

Moka Bros’ Christmas Craft for Kids

Half the fun of the Christmas season is making crafts and preparing the house, don’t you think? This Sunday, Moka Bros are hosting special kids crafting afternoon with local artist and CAFA student Blanca Rosa. Well known in the arts community, she runs kids’ art classes at M Woods Art Gallery, embassies, and online, and has a bucketload of experience working with little ones. The Christmas crafts will be adapted to the age of the kids, but there are only 10 spots available so if you’re interested in signing up, don’t delay.

“Behind these Walls” Theatrical Experience

This Sunday, talented students from Grade 2 to 11 at Chaoyang Kaiwen Academy (CKWA) are putting on a performance of ‘Behind These Walls’, a story about a group of students who have to work together to save their beloved school. In the process, the students discover the importance of teamwork and highlight the school’s core values – courage, kindness, wisdom, and adaptability. Narrated by a group of rapping street dancers, it looks to be a fantastic show for all ages.

11am. CKWA Arts Center. Free.

Need to keep the kids occupied over winter? Take look at these Beijing Camps for Dec 2020 – Jan 2021

Images: Courtesy of the event organizers, Pexels