WEEKENDER: Ladurée afternoon tea, Santacon, fantastic holiday deals and more

With just two weeks to go until Christmas, we can hardly contain our excitement! This weekend, we’ve got plenty of fun ways to pass the time and get in the holiday spirit with a DIY workshop, festive parties and a fabulous holiday deal, so catch all the details here!

The great Maldives getaway
The start of a new year is fast approaching – so how about getting ahead of the pack and planning your first fabulous holiday of 2014? Flight Centre have got an awesome special offer on a wonderful Maldives getaway at the luxurious Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa – and now that Cathay Pacific offer direct flights to Male, it’s even easier to get to this slice of tropical paradise! Romance, adventure, total island bliss… the Maldives has it all, whether you fancy snorkelling in a deserted lagoon, secluded beach strolls at sunset, or a relaxing trip with friends or family accompanied by endless ocean vistas. The Flight Centre package includes return airfare, four nights accommodation at Anantara, a full board meal plan and speedboat transfers. Sounds like your holiday plans just got sorted!

SASSY SPECIAL OFFER: Get an extra HK$500 discount per person! Just mention SASSY HONG KONG to Flight Centre when you book your package.

When: Offer ends 21 December 2013; blackout periods apply
Where: Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa, Maldives
How much: Package starts from $23,999 per person, including return airfare with Cathay Pacific, four nights accommodation, full board meal plan and speedboat transfers; contact Flight Centre for more info at 2830 2866 or [email protected]

Bullets to beauty
DIY divas, it’s time to show your skills! Whether you’re in need of that extra special gift for someone this Christmas or if you’re just into creating something beautiful from scratch, Emi & Eve is holding the perfect DIY Workshop this weekend for you! Make your own cute denim pouch and cover it in prints made from a potato stamp, bring in some embellishments of your choice to add, and then finish it off with the cherry on top – a special brass heart made from recycled bullets! With all materials (and design inspiration!) provided, it’ll be a breeze to create something absolutely beautiful that’s totally unique to you. Sign up early to make sure you get a space!

When: 14 December, 3-6pm
Where: The Crafties, 1/F, Sing Kui Commercial Building, 27 Des Voeux Road West, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
How much: $605.10 per person, buy online here

Macaron magnificence
To all dessert-aholics, Ladurée is probably the holy grail of macarons… then combine that with afternoon tea at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental? Sounds like a match made in heaven! This very special Ladurée Afternoon Tea includes a three-tier set of tailor-made French savouries and world-famous Ladurée macarons, a cake buffet, tea or coffee and a special edition Ladurée X Landmark Mandarin Oriental key ring to boot – we’re swooning just thinking about it! Oh, and did we mention a dessert buffet on weekends too?! Make sure you check out the huge Christmas tree that’s completely covered in Platinum macarons too… and definitely don’t forget your cameras! P.S. We’ve heard that the tea is already waiting list only, but if you want to bypass the queues, book in for a special staycation Platinum Ladurée Package, which guarantees you a place at tea! Early Christmas present anyone? *wink!*

When: Until 7 January 2014, 3-5.30pm on weekdays and 2.30-6pm on weekends
Where: The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen’s Road Central, The Landmark, Central, Hong Kong
How much: $288 on weekdays, $308 on weekends. The Platinum Ladurée Package starts from $4800, including a one night stay, one tea set, and daily set breakfast for up to two people, plus complimentary use of the heat and water facilities at The Oriental Spa; call 2132 0088 for room reservations and more info

Free as a bird
The West Kowloon Cultural District has been pretty busy this month, with Clockenflap, Blohk Party and this weekend it’s Freespace Festival! At the same awesome venue, Freespace will also host a number of musicians, artists, performances and activities… the major difference though is that unlike Clockenflap and Blohk Party, this festival is FREE! Yep, it’s in the name, and that makes this festival oh so special. This year Freespace is bigger and better than ever, with 10 c0-curators offering 15 hours of fun and entertainment including a media art, parkour, workshops and open-call programmes by over 400 local and overseas artist units. There’s still a couple of tickets left so all you need to do is register online to get yours and be a part of this cool artsy festival that’s sure to have some strong community vibes.

When: 14-15 December, 1-11pm
Where: West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade, West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong
How much: Free entry! You need to register for a ticket though… hurry as it’s a first come, first served basis.

Santa Claus is coming to town!
As if we don’t love pub-crawls enough already… Santacon Hong Kong is here to make everything that much more fun and nonsensical! What’s Santacon you ask? Well, to quote Santacon themselves, “The Santa Claus convention occurs once a year for absolutely no reason”! You’ll get to crawl through the best bars in town, parade merrily through Hong Kong’s streets and spread some festive cheer – plus it’s also the best excuse to dress up as Santa ever! The Santa crowd will be making its way through the city on public transport such as trams, MTR and buses, catching some great drinks deals along the way, so you’d better watch out (you’d better not cry…)!

When: 14 December, 1pm
Where: Starting at Red Bar, 4/F, IFC Mall, 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong
How much: Free to join in!

Got an event you’d like us to feature in The Weekender, or have a top tip for us? Email us the deets at [email protected].