Christmas in Sydney 2026: lights, carols, Christmas Day at the beach and Boxing Day

What is open and closed in Sydney on Christmas Day and Boxing Day 2026

On Friday 25 December 2026 most shops in Sydney must close all day, and on Saturday 26 December any shop may open if its staff freely choose to work. Both days are restricted trading days under the NSW Retail Trading Act 2008, and NSW has three public holidays this Christmas because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday: Friday 25 December, Saturday 26 December and an additional holiday on Monday 28 December.

On Christmas Day the shops that may open are exempt ones. NSW Government guidance lists these:

• Small shops with four or fewer employees on the day and no more than two owners, such as many corner stores.
• Chemists, restaurants, cafés and kiosks, and petrol stations and vehicle service centres.
• Businesses with a hotel or small bar licence, so many pubs can trade.
• Shops in exempt local government areas, or with an individual exemption from NSW Fair Trading.
• Large stores such as supermarkets and department stores are not on the exempt list, so buy food and drinks by Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December.
• Boxing Day sales: shops may open on Saturday 26 December only if their staff have freely elected to work, so opening hours vary by store; check the store before you go.
• Monday 28 December is a public holiday but not a restricted trading day, so shops are not required to close.

Sydney Christmas lights 2026: the Martin Place tree and the city centre

The Martin Place Christmas tree is the centrepiece of Sydney’s Christmas lights, lit every day from Thursday 26 November 2026 to Tuesday 5 January 2027, with a free light show every 15 minutes from 8pm to midnight. The City of Sydney calls it the tallest Christmas tree in NSW, with more than 110,000 LED lights, a 3.4-metre colour-changing star and 330 baubles.

The season opens on Thursday 26 November 2026 with Santa’s Sydney sleigh ride and tree lighting at Martin Place; the City had not published a start time when this guide was checked. The same day the Canopy of Light installation opens in Pitt Street Mall. Choirs sing at the Martin Place tree every night in December, the Martin Place Christmas markets open late until Christmas Eve, and Santa’s House is nearby for photos. On Wednesday 23 December, from 6pm to 8pm, the Sydney Sings program puts choirs at Christmas trees across the city, including Martin Place and the Sydney Town Hall steps.

Go after 8pm for the light show and combine it with a walk down Pitt Street Mall; Martin Place station is directly underneath.

Carols in the Domain 2026: date, free entry and what to bring

The Salvation Army’s Carols in the Domain is on Saturday 19 December 2026 in the Domain, beside the Royal Botanic Garden, and runs from 1pm to 11pm with pre-show entertainment, food and drinks before the evening concert, which is televised live nationally. General admission to the Festive Lawn is free; reserved seating (chairs and beach chairs) and the TinselTown reserved picnic lawn are paid, through the official ticket site, where children aged two and under sit free on an adult’s lap.

The official FAQ asks you to bring picnic rugs and low seating and lists what is not allowed: glass, elevated chairs, large beach umbrellas, tents and marquees, tent pegs, plastic ground covers, bean bags, barbecues, sparklers and pets. Alcohol is limited to small quantities at this family event, and small shade structures must come down before the broadcast starts.

Plan your travel around the closures: the event occupies the Domain’s Phillip Precinct from Tuesday 15 to Tuesday 22 December 2026, and the Royal Botanic Garden warns of traffic delays from midday and exit delays from 10pm to 11:30pm on Friday 18 and Saturday 19 December. Use St James, Martin Place or Circular Quay stations; parking is limited to metered spaces on Mrs Macquaries Road and the Domain car park.

Christmas Day at Bondi and Coogee beaches: alcohol bans and crowds

You can spend Christmas Day on Bondi or Coogee beach, but you cannot drink there: Waverley Council classifies Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte beaches and the surrounding public streets as alcohol-free zones, and Randwick City Council has banned alcohol permanently at Coogee Beach and all its beachside parks and reserves since 28 March 2017. Smoking is banned on Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte beaches, and glass is prohibited at Coogee.

The bans exist because of Christmas Day crowds. Randwick introduced the Coogee ban after a backpacker party on the beach on Christmas Day 2016. For Christmas Day 2025, Waverley Council described the gathering at Bronte as non-sanctioned, warned revellers not to come, closed a large part of Bronte Park for construction of the new surf club, and spent more than A$250,000 on police and security checkpoints that confiscated alcohol, extra cleaning, buses, toilets and water stations. The council had not published a 2026 plan when this guide was checked.

Swim only between the red and yellow flags. Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte are patrolled from 6am to 7pm between October and April, and Coogee from 7am to 7pm during daylight saving. Our Bondi Beach guide covers the coastal walk and ocean pools.

Christmas Day lunch and dinner cruises on Sydney Harbour

A Christmas Day cruise is the simplest way to get a full Christmas meal with harbour views on 25 December, when most of the city is closed. The lunch cruise (from A$155, departing at midday) and the dinner cruise (from A$155, departing at 7pm) both leave from King Street Wharf 9 at Darling Harbour, last about three hours and include a buffet with seafood and roasts; drinks are bought separately. Both are non-refundable, so be sure of your plans before you book.

For a festive lunch in the weeks before 25 December, the Glass Boat Christmas party lunch cruise (from A$135) runs from late November through December. For more harbour cruise options outside Christmas Day, see our Sydney harbour cruises guide.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2026: start time and where to watch on Boxing Day

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race starts at 1pm on Saturday 26 December 2026, and the NSW Government lists the start location as Nielsen Park on Sydney Harbour, near the harbour entrance rather than by the Opera House. The fleet then races out through the heads on a 628-nautical-mile course to Hobart.

The race organisers recommend these land vantage points, all free:

• South Head and the South Head Heritage Trail, a 1 km loop from Camp Cove in Watsons Bay past Hornby Lighthouse (NSW National Parks rates it Grade 3, 30 minutes to 1 hour).
• North Head, on the Manly side of the harbour entrance.
• Watsons Bay, Lady Bay Beach and Christison Park in Vaucluse.
• Other eastern-suburbs headlands such as North Clovelly and Maroubra, for the fleet heading south along the coast.
• The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s race village shows the start on a big screen, and Channel Nine broadcasts it live.
• Shark Island, off Nielsen Park, is described by NSW National Parks as a place to watch the start; it has a A$7 landing fee and is reached by private boat drop-off or by Captain Cook Cruises during school holidays. Check availability with NSW National Parks before planning on it.

Sydney to Hobart start on the water: exclusion zone and boat rules

On the water, an exclusion zone around the start is in force from 12pm to 2:20pm on Boxing Day, a 6-knot speed limit and no-wash rule apply from 11:30am to 2:20pm, and kayaks, paddleboards and other small craft may not be used or anchored around the zone from 12pm to 2:20pm. NSW Maritime warns of very high vessel density and wash around South Head and North Head straight after the start, and says small boats should avoid those areas. If you are not a skipper, a spectator cruise is the practical choice: the Boxing Day lunch cruise above (from A$140) or the official vessel The Jackson (A$419), the only public spectator boat inside the exclusion zone.