It's dawn. I'm suspended in a wicker basket, courtesy of Balloon Aloft Canberra, and watch the Australian capital slowly reveal itself in soft, golden light. I see Parliament House with its quietly radical design and grass-covered roof, followed by the dignified symmetry of Old Parliament House. The National Museum of Australia, with its distinctive architecture, catches the early sun, while Lake Burley Griffin ribbons through the city, stitching together neighbourhoods and green spaces. It is quiet up here, save for the occasional roar of flame from the burner, and an unexpectedly serene way to begin Christmas.
This is Canberra in December: crisp mornings that quickly turn warm, blue skies with clouds that seem like puffs of cotton wool, and a festive season shaped by sunlight and space. Australia’s laid-back capital rewrites the northern-hemisphere Christmas script. There is no snow to chase, no mulled wine to sip. Instead, celebrations spill outdoors onto lawns, lakesides, and terraces, accompanied by cold drinks, seafood feasts, and long, unhurried afternoons.
I see the mood firsthand at the Haig Park Village Christmas Markets. Set beneath tall trees, the market feels more like a picnic than a retail hub. Locals sprawl on the grass with craft beers and chilled rosé, children dash between stalls selling flowers, handmade gifts, and baked treats, and the air carries the scent of cake. “People come here to slow down,” says Emma Lewis, who runs a small stall selling locally made cookies and cakes. “Christmas in Canberra isn’t about huddling around something hot. It’s about being outside, catching up with neighbours, letting the kids run free. The sunshine does half the work for us.”
As expected, food and drink anchor the season. A quick drive along Majura Road takes me into wine country, where some of the Canberra District’s most loved vineyards sit. Bottles from Clonakilla, especially its much-lauded Shiraz Viognier, and the cool-climate wines of Majura Vineyard often end up on Christmas tables here, served with relaxed meals built around fresh, local produce. At beautiful restaurants such as Shaw Estate and Beltana Farm, Christmas lunch is less a formal affair, more a drawn-out pleasure.
That picnic sensibility spills over naturally to Canberra’s green spaces. The Australian National Botanic Gardens, nestled against Black Mountain, are particularly inviting in December. Families arrive with rugs and baskets, settling among displays of native flora as cicadas hum in the background. The National Arboretum Canberra offers a different kind of festive escape: rolling hills planted with themed forests and lookout points that open up to sweeping views across the city.
By midday, Lake Burley Griffin becomes a focal point of activity. Paddleboarders drift past picnickers, kayaks skim the water, and lakeside restaurants fill steadily. At Water’s Edge, a popular dining spot by the shore, the difference between Canberra’s Christmas and colder climes is summed up neatly. “Unlike other places where Christmas is all about hot food and steaming mulled wine, we are different,” says a server, gesturing towards the sunlit lake. “People want light dishes, cool drinks, and time to sit and enjoy where they are.”
Across the city, hotels and homes alike embrace what locals affectionately call a “cold Christmas.” Seafood takes centrestage. At Hyatt Hotel Canberra, preparations for Christmas Day are extensive. “Seafood is always the star,” says Mohammed Abdul, Executive Chef. “This year we’re expecting more than 700 guests. The buffet reflects what people here love: prawns, oysters, crab, salmon, mussels, plenty of salads, and fresh local produce.” The spread, designed for indulgence without heaviness, is perfectly suited to a warm afternoon.
A Canberra resident loading ice into a cooler at a nearby park sums it up: “Many of us do cold Christmas. It’s how we grew up — seafood, salads, maybe a swim later in the day.”
No Christmas, however sunlit, is complete without sweet treats. At the Hyatt, the festive season brings a devoted following for Christmas high tea. “Locals are regulars,” says Anita S. Jung, the hotel’s pastry chef. “On Christmas Day, as many as 200 people come in.” The spread is lavish yet refined: up to 12 desserts sit alongside dainty sandwiches, encouraging guests to linger over carefully brewed tea (or coffee).
In the evenings, decorated trees glow in public spaces, houses compete good-naturedly along the Christmas Lights Trail, and twilight carols float through parks and gardens. The familiar markers are all there, but the atmosphere is unmistakably different.
As I slice into a lamington, Australia’s much-loved sponge cake dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut, at Sonoma Bakery, my thoughts drift to that dawn ascent in the balloon, to a city quietly promising a different kind of Christmas. A few days in, and I have realised that in Canberra, under wide skies and summer light, the season feels less like a spectacle and more like a state of mind: relaxed, quietly uplifting, and unexpectedly joyful. Kind of like a lamington!
