A Brisbane Christmas

Hey peeps!

Today I am doing a collaboration post with Alisha from Pink Daisies, so make sure you check her post out once you've read my post (tell her I sent you!). Our collaboration is all about what we do in our cities in the holiday season, so today I'm going to tell you about all the fun activities to do in Brisbane over the holidays. We may not have snow in Brisbane (in fact, we often have quite the opposite! It reaches temperatures in the mid to high thirties a lot of the time, or about 95 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit), but we do Christmas quite well in my opinion! There’s plenty to do (and most of it is free, which is ALWAYS a bonus!).

The first thing you can do in Brisbane at Christmas time is drive around looking for Christmas lights! I love seeing all the houses in my neighbourhood (and city) light up to celebrate the festive season. There are some particularly good ones that start setting them up in September! I think there is an app you can use to find all the Christmas light displays near you (I highly recommend checking out the lights in Bald Hills and Bridgeman Downs).

Another thing you can do at Christmas time in Brisbane is doing your Christmas shopping in the Queen Street Mall. There are loads and loads of stores in which to buy the perfect gift for your friends and family. As I don’t have a job, I don’t really do Christmas shopping, but I do love shopping with my friends over the school break. There are plenty of sales going on, especially at this time of year. On the 26^th of December they have the Boxing Day sales which I go to with my mum and her sister. We have a lot of fun and get really great discounts on lots of things.

One of my favourite things to do in the city is go to Streets’ Beach. It isn’t an actual beach; it’s a man-made beach right next to the Brisbane River. It’s a great way to cool off without having to drive to the actual beach considering how hot in can get in Brisbane. Streets’ Beach is in South Bank, which has loads of shops, cafes, and restaurants nearby. My favourite one is Max Brenner’s Chocolate Bar, but it does get quite busy so get in there before the line gets too long!

Right next to the Queen Street Mall, there is King George Square. At King George Square, starting at 7pm up until Christmas, every 15 minutes there is a light show on the City Hall. This year there was a visual story projected up onto the City Hall which was an Australian take on a Christmas story. I went to the light show one year and it was really good. I think it is mostly for children so if you have any of those, I highly recommend the light show in King George Square.

Every year, starting at 7pm every night during December, there is a Christmas parade down the Queen Street Mall. It starts at the Edward Street end and finishes at the end of the Queen Street Mall. There are many Christmassy floats in the parade, including Santa (obviously), the three wise men, and reindeer. I have been to see the parade once as well. As I have gotten older and grown out of believing in Santa, the elves, et cetera, I haven’t really done many Christmassy things in the city. In saying that, I would highly recommend the Christmas parade for the younger folks.

That is my top five things to do in Brisbane city at Christmas time. Do check out Alisha’s post as well (linked up above). She lives in Oregon so she has a different experience of the holiday season.

What do you do in your city at Christmas time?

Love, Nicky x

PS: Merry Christmas (or whatever you celebrate)!