Festive Gingerbread House Making Class 2026

The Festive Gingerbread House Making Class brings a hands-on Christmas tradition to SocialBee, the café at Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, between 13 and 22 December 2026. Each guest gets a gingerbread house to decorate with colourful icing, festive candies and seasonal decorations, and the finished creation goes home with you as a keepsake. It is one of the quieter, more personal ways to mark the run-up to Christmas on Palm Jumeirah, and it sits inside a much bigger festive programme at the resort.

Building and decorating your house at SocialBee

The hotel keeps its description simple: you are given your own gingerbread house and the materials to make it look as festive as you like. Colourful icing does the job of both glue and snow, while candies and seasonal decorations add the detail. There is no competition element and no set design to copy, so a six-year-old piping wobbly snow onto the roof and an adult carefully lining up sweets along the windows can share the same table.

Because the house is yours to keep, the class works as both an activity and a small Christmas decoration. Families who book early in the 13 to 22 December window will have their house on display at home for most of the holiday season.

Small groups by design

Bookings are capped at a maximum of eight people, which shapes the feel of each session. That number suits a single family with grandparents visiting for the holidays, two families sharing a table, a handful of friends or a small team looking for a relaxed festive outing that is not another dinner. The hotel pitches the class at families, friends and holiday groups rather than only at children.

Session times are not published on the hotel’s festive page. Instead, guests arrange their slot directly with the team, so you agree the date, the time and the number of people in your group when you book.

Part of Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah’s festive calendar

The gingerbread class is one strand of a long festive season at the resort, and it pairs easily with other plans on the same property:

• Christmas Tree Lighting on 4 December, free to enter, with a live choir, mulled wine and an appearance from Santa.
• Festive Goodies at SocialBee from 10 to 31 December.
• Festive Afternoon Tea at SocialBee from 11 to 30 December, served from 2pm to 5pm and designed for two guests.
• Festive Turkey Takeaway to collect from SocialBee between 18 December and 6 January, serving up to eight people.
• Boxing Day Brunch at CLAW BBQ on 26 December from 12:30pm to 4pm.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day bring dinners and brunches across the resort’s restaurants, including Mowsem, Trader Vic’s, Jones the Grocer, McGettigan’s, Barfly by Buddha-Bar and CLAW BBQ, and the season continues into January with a Hangover Brunch at McGettigan’s on 1 January and an Orthodox Christmas seafood lunch at Mowsem on 7 January.

In practice, that means a family could decorate gingerbread in the afternoon and let the adults settle into the Festive Afternoon Tea at the same café, or combine the class with a festive meal elsewhere in the hotel.

Who will enjoy it most

Children on the school winter break are the obvious audience, and the class gives them something to make with their hands rather than another screen or mall trip. It also suits:

• visiting relatives who want a festive memory from their Dubai trip
• friends who prefer a creative afternoon to a big night out
• couples looking for a low-key Christmas activity on the Palm
• small office teams wanting a short, sociable seasonal outing

Booking your session

Reservations go through the Contact Us link on the hotel’s festive season page, which opens a WhatsApp chat with the Hilton Dubai Palm Jumeirah team on +971 54 793 2678. Mention your preferred date between 13 and 22 December, the number of people (up to eight) and whether any children will be decorating, so the team can confirm a time that works.

Looking for more festive ideas? Browse our workshops in the UAE, see the latest kids’ events in Dubai, plan the month with things to do in December or explore everything else on our things to do in Dubai page.