The Dandelion Chandelier Luxury Calendar is a curated list of important events in the luxury world around the globe each month. Whether your passion is Travel; Food and Drink; Planes, Yachts and Autos; Fitness and Sports; Fashion & Design; Entertainment; or The Arts, we’ve got everything you need to know, all in one place. For previous installments of the Luxury Calendar, click here. Have a brilliant month.
The luxury flock touches down in glamorous locations both sub-zero and tropical this month. From Christmas markets to Art Week in Miami to full moon dances on the beach in the Caribbean, there’s sparkle and music everywhere. As the Winter Solstice approaches, the parties light up.
Where will the month take you? Many of the top luxury vacation destinations this month happen to be islands: off the coast of Chile, in the Caribbean, and in the Pacific. There are new luxury hotels to explore in Phuket and Singapore. And of course, the glittering islands of Great Britain, Hong Kong and Manhattan await.
December is a bubbly month in the world of food and drink. Epicures and oenophiles can mix and mingle at a holiday-themed bar in Athens; a new-era steakhouse in Detroit; a pop-up craft brewery in Manhattan; a champagne party on Pall Mall in London or on the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay. Feeling more adventurous? Head to Oaxaca for the Night of the Radishes, or to Dehli for the Momo Festival. If you don’t know what a momo is, this is your chance to find out.
The speed machines are revving up for the holidays. There are auto shows in deliciously warm climates (LA, Dallas, San Diego, Bologna, Key Largo, and the Design District in Miami); a Brobdingnagian indoor boat show in Paris; air shows in Cape Town, Japan and Key West; a superyacht rendezvous in Phuket; the return of the hit show The Grand Tour; and to top it all off, a glamorous yacht race in Sydney Harbor in the days before the fireworks light up the Australian sky for New Year’s Eve.
In fitness and sports, it’s game on in American football this month, with the NCAA College Football Playoff selection and a couple of early bowl games at the end of the month. The NFL’s regular season heats up as team jockey for position in the post-season. Rugby and squash host world championships; there’s a bobsled race and a women’s ski championship race at the ultra-luxurious St. Moritz; there are marathons in the vacation destinations of Honolulu and the Cayman Islands; and a steeplechase thoroughbred horse race in Kempton, UK. Apparently, there are no holidays in the world of sports.
The attention of the contemporary art and fashion worlds turns to Miami this month. Art Week is really more like 10 days, with shows, lectures, fundraisers and parties galore. The new stores and pop-ups in Miami Beach this year include an Oliver Peoples eye wear store and The Museum of Ice Cream. Meanwhile, leading brands debut capsules and collaborations to tempt holiday shoppers. Our absolute favorite is the 10 renditions of the Lady Dior bag from a diverse group of contemporary artists. Soul Cycle has a new proprietary fragrance from Le Labo. The museums debuting fashion-focused exhibits this December include the Museum of the City of New York and the Ginza Graphic Gallery in Tokyo. There are magnificent jewels, including a fabulous blue diamond ring, up for auction. And high jewelry brand Pomellato turns a fabulous 50.
With the culture and entertainment offerings on tap, it’s an absolute guarantee that no one will be bored this December. The month will see posthumous new fiction releases from playwright Sam Shepard and writer Jenny Diski, plus a wedding guide for millennials. Hamilton the Musical arrives in London and SpongeBob Square Pants the Musical arrives on Broadway. There’s a convention in LA of comedians with popular podcasts, and plenty of cool podcasts to tune into. The slate of new film releases this month is incredible: Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep join Steven Spielberg in a film set during the (first) heyday of The Washington Post; Matt Damon gets downsized; Margot Robbie is disgraced former figure-skater Tonya Harding; and Hugh Jackman is P.T. Barnum. Oh, yeah, there’s also a new Star Wars installment that you may have heard something about. In television, there are a number of new launches and returning favorites. The Crown is back for season two! Get your tiaras ready. This is going to be big.
December is always a splendid month for the arts — the champagne problem is deciding which performances and exhibits to see. There’s a plethora of holiday vocal and instrumental concerts from which to choose in nearly every city in the world. There are Nutcrackers galore. In New York, the NY Philharmonic celebrates its 175th birthday. This month will see Opening Night at La Scala and a new production of Tosca at the Met; dance commemorations of Tisha Brown, Suzanne Farrell and Merce Cunningham; and star choreographer Michelle Dorrance’s Myelination. In visual arts, the focus is on video, sculpture, photography and drawing. The Institute for Contemporary Art opens in Miami, and there are major new exhibits opening at Boston’s MFA, the Drawing Center in New York, and the Centre Pompidou.
What else is going on?
There are magical nights planned in France this month. In Nancy, the feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated in a fairy-tale setting, with an equestrian parade, a craft market, exhibitions, theatrical performances, concerts and a spectacular fireworks display on December 2–3. La Fête des Lumières in Lyon is a traditional celebration of gratitude toward Mary, mother of Jesus. Held on December 8 each year, Lyonnaise tradition dictates that every house place candles along the outside of each window, making for a beautiful night.
In addition to Christmas on the 25th, there are many other holidays and commemorations of note. December 1st is World Aids Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection, and mourning those who have died of the disease. National Day in the United Arab Emirates, on December 2nd, celebrates the union of the original seven emirates in 1971 with fireworks, car rallies and dance shows. Hanukkah begins on Tuesday, December 12th at sundown, and concludes on Wednesday, December 20th. Boxing Day originated in England, and is still celebrated on December 26th in the UK and also a number of other countries that previously formed part of the British Empire. The African-American celebration of Kwanzaa begins that same day.
And of course New Year’s Eve will see global celebrations, fireworks, and the singing of songs (in many cases off-key). In Spain and Mexico, many will mark the occasion by eating a grape with each of the twelve chimes of a clock’s bell during the midnight countdown, while making a wish with each one. In France and other French-speaking areas, families join for feasts and parties to celebrate le Réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre. In London, Big Ben will chime – in New York, a crystal ball will drop. In Japan, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times at midnight to banish bad thoughts and behavior. In Singapore, “wishing spheres” bear the written wishes of thousands of people. For each country in its own way, it’s a moment of renewal, redemption and hope.
Wherever December takes you, we hope it’s luminous.
December 2017 Events:
— Travel
— The Arts
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