Sat & Sun · 10am–6pm · free entry
A once-a-year, two-day festival at three defence museums, and the Singapore Discovery Centre leg is the one for primary-school children: a casualty relay, bridge building, a signal relay, a mini tactical challenge and SDCity, a play town for under-12s, all free, with school groups on stage both days. Entry is free but you register online first, so do it before you leave home. The optional S$10 passport adds target-lane shooting, gel blasters and drone flying, and works at all three museums. Under-5s must stay with an adult. The free shuttle from Jurong Point runs hourly; arrive by noon to get round it all.
- When
- Sat & Sun · 10am–6pm · free entry
- Where
- Singapore Discovery Centre, 510 Upper Jurong Road (also the Navy and Air Force museums)
- Cost
- Free with online registration; optional passport S$10
- Getting there
- Boon Lay MRT, then the free hourly shuttle from Jurong Point
Fri–Sun · fan zone from Fri 4pm · night paddle Sat 6–9pm
Dragon boat races on Kallang Basin on Saturday and Sunday, with a fan zone for everyone who isn't paddling: inflatable human foosball, a rowing-machine challenge, paddle decorating and jagua-ink tattoos, plus food stalls including Hong Lim Curry Puff and No Time Noodle Bar. The Kallang hasn't published race times, so treat it as an afternoon by the water rather than a fixture. The rarer thing is Saturday's Neon Night Paddle: three hours on a lit-up dragon boat with the Marina skyline ahead, S$45, no experience needed, for ages 12 and up. Fees aren't refunded and bad weather can cancel it, so check the forecast before you register.
- When
- Fri–Sun · fan zone from Fri 4pm · night paddle Sat 6–9pm
- Where
- Water Sports Centre and OCBC Square, The Kallang
- Cost
- Neon Night Paddle S$45 (ages 12+, registration closes 14 Nov or when full); no fan zone charge published
- Getting there
- Stadium MRT
Fri–Sun · free hub from Fri 7pm · Stephen Witt Fri 7.30pm
The festival opens on Friday, and a good part of it costs nothing. The Arts House is the free hub: a family Playground built round a mystery of missing library books, a stolen-diamond case whose endings were written by students, and installations, open 10am to 10pm at the weekend (a few of the free sessions inside it are already full). Of the two opening keynotes at Victoria Theatre, Stephen Witt on Nvidia on Friday at 7.30pm (S$25) is still on sale; Amitav Ghosh's on Saturday has sold out. The S$30 Festival Pass is separate: it covers more than 100 smaller sessions, first come, first served.
- When
- Fri–Sun · free hub from Fri 7pm · Stephen Witt Fri 7.30pm
- Where
- The Arts House, 1 Old Parliament Lane, and Victoria Theatre, 9 Empress Place
- Cost
- Free hub (some free sessions need registration, and some are full); Stephen Witt keynote S$25; Festival Pass S$30, Youth Pass S$15
- Ages
- Teens
- Getting there
- City Hall MRT
Fri & Sat · 11am–9pm · ends Sat
The season's first big Christmas fair, and it is over by Saturday night: 130 independent brands in a convention hall at Marina Bay Sands, decked out with trains and hot-air balloons. It's for ticking off presents from small makers rather than the mall chains, and children aged 10 and under get in free. There is no Sunday, so Friday after work is the easy slot; tickets come with a Yeo's drink.
- When
- Fri & Sat · 11am–9pm · ends Sat
- Where
- Hall C, Level 1, Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre, 10 Bayfront Avenue
- Cost
- Tickets from S$8 (via Trip.com); free for children 10 and under
- Getting there
- Bayfront MRT
Fri–Sun · 3–10pm · opens Fri
Orchard Road's Christmas starts here on Friday, four days before the street lights go on: a carnival on the Ngee Ann City forecourt round a Marvel Avengers Christmas tree by Kiztopia, with pinball, claw machines, a balloon shooting range, a train ride, a LEGO workshop and fake snow at 8pm and 9pm. No entry charge is listed. The rides and games run on a carnival card, which is the real price of an evening with children; pay for it by Mastercard and you get bonus credits (S$35 buys 35 credits, S$50 buys 70). The Grocer Bar pours cocktails for whoever is holding the bags. It's outdoors, so have a plan for showers.
- When
- Fri–Sun · 3–10pm · opens Fri
- Where
- Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza, 391 Orchard Road
- Cost
- No entry charge listed; carnival card for rides and games, with bonus credits when paid by Mastercard
- Getting there
- Orchard MRT
From Fri · snowfall 8.05pm, 9.05pm, 10.05pm
Jewel's Christmas opens on Friday, so this is the first weekend to see the 16m UNIQLO tree in the Forest Valley with snow coming down. At weekends it falls at 8.05pm, 9.05pm and 10.05pm, and every one of those falls plays in the Forest Valley, which is free. The ticketed Canopy Park upstairs has its own snowfall and a Starry Christmas trail if you want more, but the tree and the snow cost nothing. With small children, the 8.05pm leaves time for the train home before bed; the 10.05pm is for everyone else.
- When
- From Fri · snowfall 8.05pm, 9.05pm, 10.05pm
- Where
- Shiseido Forest Valley, Jewel Changi Airport, 78 Airport Boulevard
- Cost
- Forest Valley tree and snowfall free; Canopy Park ticketed
- Getting there
- Changi Airport MRT
Sat & Sun · 11am and 2pm
An hour of film music from a full orchestra – Star Wars, Harry Potter, Encanto, Moana, Frozen and 'Golden' from KPop Demon Hunters – in a relaxed performance, which means you can step out with a child who needs to and come back in. Four shows, this weekend only. The SSO recommends it for 5 and up, every person needs a ticket and babes in arms aren't admitted. Take the 11am, before the post-lunch slump, and eat by the river afterwards.
- When
- Sat & Sun · 11am and 2pm
- Where
- Victoria Concert Hall, 9 Empress Place
- Cost
- S$30 and S$40, plus booking fee
- Ages
- Ages 4–6, 7–12
- Getting there
- City Hall MRT
Sat & Sun · 11am and 2pm
SRT's Christmas show for small children, set in Santa's workshop: an hour long with no interval, which is about as long as a four-year-old's patience, and SRT recommends it for 4 and up. The run ends on 21 November, so this is the second-last weekend. The 2pm show suits families who live by the nap; weekend seats run from S$22 to S$52.
- When
- Sat & Sun · 11am and 2pm
- Where
- Drama Centre Theatre, National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street
- Cost
- S$22–S$52 at weekends
- Getting there
- Bugis MRT
Fri 7.30pm · Sat 2.30pm · previews
Wild Rice's holiday musical retelling of Journey to the West opens this week, and the weekend's confirmed shows are previews, priced at S$50 to S$95 against S$60 to S$120 once the run proper starts: Friday at 7.30pm and Saturday at 2.30pm. Wild Rice's show page names no other performance this weekend; check its booking page for any added. The Saturday 2.30pm is the one for children; Wild Rice recommends it for 5 and up, and at about two and a half hours, Friday's 7.30pm is a late night for the small ones. The run continues to 27 December.
- When
- Fri 7.30pm · Sat 2.30pm · previews
- Where
- The Ngee Ann Kongsi Theatre, Wild Rice @ Funan, 107 North Bridge Road, #04-08
- Cost
- Previews S$50–S$95
- Getting there
- City Hall MRT
Sat & Sun · 8pm · free
Free northern lights over the Supertrees for half an hour at 8pm on Saturday and Sunday (there's no Friday show). From 27 November it moves to 9.05pm for the festive season, so this is one of the last weekends to catch it before a child's bedtime. It's cancelled if it rains during the show; if the sky holds, cross the bay afterwards for Muara's 9.15pm dance at the Esplanade.
- When
- Sat & Sun · 8pm · free
- Where
- Supertree Grove, Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive
- Cost
- Free
- Getting there
- Bayfront MRT
Fri–Sun · Lil'preneurs Sat & Sun 11am–8pm · snow from Sat
Tanglin Mall's Christmas opens this weekend, and the unusual part runs on Saturday and Sunday only: the Lil'preneurs Market, where children aged 4 to 12 run their own stalls of handmade festive gifts in the Level 1 atrium (the stalls are fully booked, so this one is for shoppers). Outside there's a weekend market of small makers, a token-run carnival with a bouncy castle and a train, and, from Saturday, foam at 7.30pm and 8.30pm with artificial snow 15 minutes later, at 7.45pm and 8.45pm. Free to browse; tokens are the only cost.
- When
- Fri–Sun · Lil'preneurs Sat & Sun 11am–8pm · snow from Sat
- Where
- Tanglin Mall, 163 Tanglin Road
- Cost
- Free; carnival tokens from S$20 for 8
- Getting there
- Orchard Boulevard MRT
Fri–Sun · 10am–5pm
Wade through a dark lagoon of living, glowing plankton, then swirl it in touch tanks: the Science Centre's limited run opened on 3 November and is the strongest rain plan on this list. It isn't for under-4s, under-12s need an adult beside them, and feet get wet (booties go over your shoes, so wear closed, flat ones). Weekends are peak, so residents pay the higher rate this weekend. If you're buying the bundle with ONE Ocean, note that hall is shut until 1.30pm on Saturday for a private event; Sunday morning is the cleaner run. The Science Centre's 11.11 bundle sale ends on Friday.
- When
- Fri–Sun · 10am–5pm
- Where
- Science Centre Singapore, 15 Science Centre Road
- Cost
- Residents S$12 adult, S$10 child or senior at weekend peak rates; standard S$18 and S$14; with Science Centre entry
- Getting there
- Jurong East MRT
Fri–Sun · 10am–7pm
Mandai's festive obstacle course, in its second weekend: animal-themed agility and balance stations on the East Lawn, with more outposts inside the five parks. The S$20 village ticket covers the lawn; the outposts need park admission, so it works best tacked onto a zoo or bird park day. Mandai gives no age guidance. It's an open lawn, so go after 4pm when the heat drops, and keep the parks' covered areas as the plan for thundery showers.
- When
- Fri–Sun · 10am–7pm
- Where
- Zoolympix Village, Mandai Wildlife East Lawn, 80 Mandai Lake Road
- Cost
- Village S$20; outposts with park admission
- Getting there
- Springleaf MRT, then a bus or taxi
Last chanceFri–Sun · lunch and dinner · ends Sun
Chef Andy Fung, of Liu at Conrad Bangkok, finishes his two-week residency in the Conrad's Cantonese dining room on Sunday. It comes as four-, five- or six-course sets, a vegetarian set or à la carte, so a weekend lunch is the lower-stakes way to try it. The hotel hasn't published the residency's prices; ask when you book rather than finding out at the bill.
- When
- Fri–Sun · lunch and dinner · ends Sun
- Where
- Golden Peony, Level 3, Conrad Singapore Marina Bay, 2 Temasek Boulevard
- Cost
- Prices not published
- Getting there
- Promenade MRT
