A veritable cornucopia of Christmas events is planned for SkyCity’s flagship casino in Auckland this year. Special food, fireworks, entertainment and much more. SkyCity Auckland will be closed all Christmas Day but leading up to it will be daily Christmas carolling, photos with Santa, light shows, a Christmas Spectacular, an interactive elf workshop and more!
SkyCity Auckland is bringing Christmas cheer to all this year.
©Rodion Kutsaiev/Unsplash
Funtacular Programme
Kirihimete (Christmas) is always a time to serve up an abundance of joy, in every way you can. SkyCity Auckland is fulfilling this role above and beyond with a myriad of activities for all. New Zealand’s highest Post Box to the North Pole? Check! Wonka (the movie) themed Elf Workshop with activities for all ages? Check! Christmas-themed light show? Check! And that’s just at Sky Tower.
SkyCity Auckland casino has its own bonanza going on! Tasty Christmas menus are up for offer at all of SkyCity’s restaurants, and there’s entertainment for both big and little kids: Special Christmas-themed raffles and bingo, Christmas Carols in the Atrium, Scotty’s SkyCity Christmas Spectacular, photos with Santa in his sleigh. And if you’re in the mood for something low-key, Federal Street has live music twice a day ‘til Christmas by local and international male soloists.
And if that’s not enough holiday cheer for you, local Council has an amazing array of entertainment too with ”Christmas in Te Komititanga”. Performances and giant decorations will bring cheer to one and all.
Sky Tower Time
The highest letter box in the country will be sending mail to the most Northern part of the world. Every kid who visits Sky Tower up through to Christmas Day will receive a special postcard. They can write their own letter to Santa on it and pop it in the post themselves! Also, in conjunction with the new Wonka movie (in cinemas from December 14, 2023), Sky Tower has created a Wonka workshop. There’s interactive Wonka fun for the whole family there, free with entry.
At sundown each day, from the 13th to the 25th of December, Sky Tower’s Christmas tree will be lit up. The biggest Christmas tree in Auckland will shine in colours of green and red to welcome and guide Santa to Tāmaki Makaurau!
Finally, we couldn’t leave out mention of the perfect Christmas Gift; Sky Tower’s annual pass. The annual pass unlocks discounts to fascinating experiences throughout the year; 15% off purchases at the Sky Tower Gift Shop (excepting alcohol), 20% off the multi-award winning interactive Weta Workshop Unleashed, the “All Blacks Experience” and, for adults only, the SkyWalk and SkyJump experiences.
SkyCity’s Kirihimete Events
Special menus and meal packages are available for Christmas at all of SkyCity’s restaurants. Though the casino itself will be closed from midnight to midnight on Christmas Day, the associated restaurants on the outside of the building will be open on the 25th.
Leading up to Christmas, the casino is rewarding its Premier members with $100,000 in prize draws! For each of the six weeks that the “Christmas Draws” offering is taking place, one mega-prize will be won! Members could win a $50,000 Mazda CX5, a 2023 Harley Davidson Sportster, or other substantial cash prizes! To enter, members must have earned at least one Premier Point in the hour before the Prize Draw (happening on Wednesdays). Ten Premier Points earns you one entry, with a limit of ten entries per day in the week leading up to the next Draw.
The good news is that anyone (of legal age) can sign up to the SkyCity Premier Rewards loyalty programme for free at any time! Simply rock up to a Premier Rewards Station inside the SkyCity Auckland Casino to get started. Swipe your Premier Rewards card when you game at the casino to start building points.
Variety – the Children’s Charity is the beneficiary of Christmas Bingo at SkyCity Auckland on December 14th. The Bingo session goes from 10 am to 11:30 am at SkyCity Theatre. It has a $1,000 must-win jackpot. There are 20 games in the session, and a 20-game book will only cost you $7. It’s for a good cause which is what Christmas is all about.
Until the 22nd, there will be Christmas Carols in SkyCity’s Atrium three days a week, every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Big names like Michael Murphy, Becks Wright, Nicola Murphy and Tanya Pene will lead the crowd through Christmas favourites. There will be two sets each day, one at 6pm and the other at 7:15pm – so you can work around the dinner needs of you, your family, or friends.
Scotty’s SkyCity Christmas Spectacular is performing up to five times a day at the base of SkyTower. It’s an interactive show starring Scotty Sky Tower, the loveable smiling mascot. Local Auckland dance schools have contributed their best performers to dance with Scotty and his Gingerbread friends. Kids and adults alike will be uplifted by the show. Keep in mind that it’s only on weekends, here’s the schedule.
And what Christmas wouldn’t be complete for the kids without a photo with Santa? The SkyCity atrium is hosting FREE shots with Santa Claus and his pixie and fairy friends. Santa will be there for two-hour sessions, three times a day, Saturdays and Sundays until the 23rd. Digital photos with Santa are free of charge and will be sent by email.
And finally, for those in the mood for something low-key, Federal Street has live music twice a day ‘til Christmas by local and international male soloists.
There’s something for everyone at SkyCity Auckland’s Christmas Festival.
