Christmas In

Brisbane is abuzz throughout the Christmas period. with a myriad of festive events. With so much to choose from, here are a few of the best loved family friendly traditions (all of them free), encapsulating the sights and sounds of Christmas:

Gold Lotto City Hall Light Spectacular

The grand ornate facade of the Brisbane City Hall lights up every evening from Dec 9 depicting a magical animated Christmas story every 15 mins between 7.30pm and midnight. Dec 8-25 7.30pm-12am

The Enchanted Garden

In a Christmas first, the beautiful Spectacle Garden at Roma Street Parkland is being transformed into a dazzling fairylit enchanted garden for Christmas, preceded each evening by Bamboo Lantern making workshops (3.30pm-5.30pm) to add to the Enchanted Garden's light collection. Dec 8-17 6.30pm -9.30pm

Christmas Movies in the Park

The Roma Street Parkland amphitheatre is the setting for this free program of family-friendly movies under the stars from 7pm, with food trucks available for eats from 5.30pm. Dec 8 - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation; Dec 9-  Elf ; Dec 10 - Home Alone; Dec 11 - Love Actually;  Dec 12 - The Nativity Story; Dec 13- Deck the Halls; Dec 14 - Four Holidays; Dec 15 - Dr Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Dec 16 - The Polar Express; Dec 17 - Miracle on 34th Street, Dec 8-17 5.30pm-9pm

Christmas Beach Cinema

Brisbane's unique Dive-In movies return to Streets Beach, with the chance to watch 2 nightly sessions of free Christmas movies from a rug or chair on the sand or while floating in the water. Streets Beach, South Bank. Dec 15-23 - 6pm, 8pm Free.