Christmas gift ideas for families
Ten presents that are still in use in March, or on the shelf in ten years: pyjamas, books, named ornaments, photographs and more.
Journal
Notes from the sets.
What to wear, what to bake, and what we have learned photographing a hundred families at Christmas.
Christmas in Dubai with kids: the 2026 guide
Festive markets, tree lightings, ice rinks and real-ish snow: where families spend December in Dubai, and what to book early.
How to get natural photos of children
Ten things we do so a four-year-old forgets the camera, from giving them a job to waiting four seconds longer.
Christmas baking with kids
Gingerbread people, iced stars and snowflakes for the tree: eight bakes children can actually do, and a recipe that works.
Festive tablescapes for a Dubai Christmas
Ten Christmas tables worth sitting down at, from red candles and tartan to pared-back linen and a bowl of clementines.
What to wear in the Christmas Room: dressy, casual or cool
Three looks for our living room set around the tree, from our Christmas 2026 outfit guide.
What to wear in the Christmas Kitchen: cosy knits or pyjamas
Two looks for the room with real flour and little hands, from our Christmas 2026 outfit guide.
What to wear for Christmas Morning: homewear or pyjamas
Two soft looks for our children’s room of frosted trees and twinkling lights, from our Christmas 2026 outfit guide.
Personalised Christmas gifts for mum from UAE brands
Gold, perfume, silk, candles and pyjamas with her name on, from eleven UAE brands.
Christmas gifts for dad from UAE brands
Camel leather, Dubai chocolate, Al Ain dates, coffee and soft pyjamas from eight UAE brands.
Christmas gifts for kids that aren’t toys: UAE brands
Ten UAE brands for children who have enough toys: personalised backpacks, storybooks, grow kits, craft boxes and soft pyjamas.
Matching Christmas pyjamas in Dubai: the UAE brands
Nine UAE brands making family pyjamas, from desert Christmas prints to soft bamboo sets in baby, children’s and adult sizes.
Baby’s first Christmas gifts and keepsakes from UAE brands
Thirteen UAE brands for a first Christmas: soft sleepsuits, a gold bangle, named blankets, name baubles, birth plaques and a memory book.
Christmas gifts for pregnant mums from UAE brands
Eleven UAE brands for a pregnant mum at Christmas: a snowflake dress, a lounge set, a pillow, a spa voucher, bump oil and a bauble for the bump.
Personalised Christmas gifts for grandparents from UAE brands
Names in gold, photographs in wood and a year in print, from nine UAE brands.
Christmas keepsake gifts for grandparents from UAE brands
Frames, vintage china, ornaments and memory books from eleven UAE brands, chosen to be used and handed down.
Christmas Eve box ideas from Dubai shops
What goes in a Christmas Eve box, and the UAE makers for the pyjamas, the book, the hot chocolate and the box itself.
Christmas chocolates in Dubai and small gifts to go with them
Camel milk chocolate, a Dubai chocolate bar, Al Ain dates, festive biscuits and a leather keyring with initials.
Christmas roast takeaway in Dubai: Christmas on the 27th
Priya works on the ward from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day. Her twins still get their Christmas, two days late and entirely on purpose.
Christmas Day brunch in Dubai with kids: table for thirteen
Four mothers, nine children and one long table: the first Christmas Day after a separation, planned to the minute and then enjoyed.
Protect a Christmas tree from pets: the tree and the cat
A real tree that smelled of home, an apartment kept at twenty-one degrees, and a cat who thought it had been delivered for him.
A wreath workshop in Dubai, and the door it couldn’t go on
A first evening out in a year, a wreath she was proud of, and a building that had rules about front doors.
Elf on the Shelf ideas for Dubai: the elf who moved too
A boy who missed home, an elf who arrived jet-lagged, and an advent countdown that slowly made Dubai feel like theirs.
Santa hire in Dubai: one Santa, eleven four-year-olds
The class rep who said yes to the nursery Christmas party, and everything she learned about booking a Santa.
Personalised gingerbread decorations: a school market stall
Two hundred gingerbread stars, a name iced on every one, and a stall at the school Christmas market that grew into a season.
Family matching pyjamas for a family of two
Every set came in fours. Megan and Isla needed two, and a Christmas Eve that was entirely theirs.
Christmas minis in Dubai: fifteen minutes with a toddler
A two-year-old who hides from cameras, a fifteen-minute session, and the frame that arrived after the crying stopped.
Christmas keepsakes: a box of new family traditions
The first Christmas after a divorce, three children, and a box that now holds three years of letters, ornaments and songs.
Ordering Christmas gifts from abroad to Dubai
When to order, how customs works at this end, post or courier, and sending gifts on to family overseas in time.
Christmas brunch in Dubai: a family planning guide
Brunch, a roast at home or a table for the whole family: how to choose a Christmas meal that works for you.
Christmas decoration: trees, wreaths and garlands
A tree that fits, greenery where it matters and room for the family to live around it.
Family matching pyjamas for Christmas mornings
Tartan, cotton, stripes and a little room to grow: choosing pyjamas everyone will actually wear.
Christmas countdown: advent calendars and Eve boxes
A calendar, a few letters and an evening box: small traditions that leave room for ordinary life.
Christmas markets in Dubai: a family planning guide
Choosing an outing, meeting Santa and finding the smaller school fairs worth making time for.
Christmas personalised gifts: keepsakes with a story
A child's name, their handwriting or one good photograph: choosing the details worth keeping.
Christmas mini photoshoots in Dubai: what to know
Choosing a session, getting the children ready and knowing where the family photograph fits.
Personalised Christmas gifts: why to order them first
Named ornaments, engraved wood and photo books: the gifts families keep, and why they need ordering in October.
When to order Christmas gifts: a Dubai timeline
Week by week from early October to Christmas week: what to order when, so nothing is still in a warehouse on the twenty-third.
What to wear for Christmas family photos
Twelve looks that photograph beautifully, the fabrics that catch warm light, and the colours we’d leave at home.
Three rooms. One season.
The Forest, The Tree and The Kitchen, built for one Christmas in Dubai and then taken down. Booking for Christmas 2026 is open now.
Book nowChoose your day and time online. Weekends go first.