Ho Chi Minh City Events - December 2026

6 dated events in Ho Chi Minh City in December 2026, with the dates, the venues, what each one costs and the sources behind every line.

What is on in Ho Chi Minh City in December 2026

The first weekend of December holds three of the month's six events at once, and they are not a coincidence: all three sit inside Tourism Week #6, which runs 4 to 12 December. That is the single most useful thing to know about December — pick the food festival or the marathon on the Saturday, not both, and keep the Sunday morning clear of the road closures.

Chợ Lớn Food Story 2026 (4th edition)

Fri 4 – Sun 6 December 2026; opening ceremony 18:00 on Friday 4 December
Trung tâm Cung ứng Dịch vụ công phường An Đông, 105 Trần Hưng Đạo, Chợ Lớn, District 5

Around sixty stalls of Việt–Hoa cooking from the neighbourhood that invented Saigon's Chinese food vocabulary, plus a hands-on cooking session.

Theme this year is “Bát Bửu – Sắc vị tinh hoa”. The opening at 18:00 on the Friday has drum, lion and dragon dance; stalls open from 09:00 that day and run 07:00–21:30 on Saturday and Sunday.

The cooking experience runs 14:00–16:00 on Saturday 5 December, and there is a “food passport” to work through the stalls with.

Sources: Thanh Niên, 28 Oct 2026 · vietnam.vn (Sở Du lịch programme)

Saigon Urban Street Fest (4th edition)

Fri 4 – Sun 6 December 2026
The forecourt of the Central Post Office (Bưu điện Thành phố), District 1

Street art, live music, food and interactive installations in the most photographed square in the city.

Walk-up, no ticket published, and it runs the same three days as the marathon and the Chợ Lớn food festival — all three sit inside Tourism Week.

If you only have one afternoon in the centre that weekend, this is the one that is free, central and needs no planning.

Sources: Thanh Niên, 4 Nov 2026 · vietnam.vn (Sở Du lịch programme)

Techcombank Ho Chi Minh City International Marathon (9th edition)

Sat 5 December 2026 (5KM race day) and Sun 6 December 2026 (42.195 km, 21.1 km and 10 km)
Start: Lê Duẩn – Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, at the gate of the Zoo and Botanical Garden, District 1

24,000 runners and a route through the centre before dawn — the biggest single morning of the month, and a road-closure event you need warning about either way.

New this year: the 5KM gets its own race day on Saturday 5 December, estimated start 16:30, with the Kids Run. The 42.195 km, 21.1 km and 10 km all run on Sunday 6 December from the morning.

The start line is published: Lê Duẩn – Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, at the Zoo gate. The finish at Empire City, Thủ Thiêm is the organiser's venue sponsor for edition 9 and the aggregate route ends there, but the organiser's own FAQ still says the official 2026 location “will be published in the Athlete Handbook” — so treat the finish as expected rather than confirmed.

Either way, central roads close overnight and through the morning of the 6th. If you are staying in District 1, plan to walk.

Sources: marathonhcmc.com FAQ (organiser: race morning of 6 Dec 2026) · marathonhcmc.com 5KM race-day post (Sat 5 Dec, est. 16:30) · marathonhcmc.com partners (Empire City as venue sponsor) · VietnamNews (4–6 Dec, record 24,000 runners)

Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week #6 — “Thức cùng Thành phố – Chạm từng trải nghiệm”

Fri 4 – Sat 12 December 2026; launch 4 December at Saigon Riverside Park; run-up activities from 23 November
City-wide; launch at Saigon Riverside Park, An Khánh ward

The umbrella the whole first week of December sits inside — and the honest way to explain why the marathon, the Chợ Lớn food festival and the street fest all land on the same weekend.

Nine days of programmed activity from 4 to 12 December, launched on the Friday at the riverside park, with run-up programming from 23 November and some activity continuing to the end of December.

Read it as the frame rather than a sixth event: the three things you can actually attend that weekend are the marathon, the food festival and the street fest.

Sources: vietnam.vn (Sở Du lịch plan: 4–12/12, launch 4/12) · Thanh Niên, 4 Nov 2026 (same window and theme)

“Say Hi 2027” — New Year concert on the Saigon River axis

Saturday 26 December 2026, 19:00–23:30; fireworks 23:20–23:30
Saigon Riverside Park and Ravo Park (An Khánh ward), the Tôn Đức Thắng pavement, and Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street

27 Vietnamese artists plus ten minutes of high-altitude fireworks over the river, a week before New Year.

Approved by the People's Committee and organised by DATVIET VAC Group Holdings, the concert runs across three sites at once: the riverside parks in An Khánh ward, the Tôn Đức Thắng pavement, and a 30-minute segment inside the HOZO programme on Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street.

The artistic fireworks go up from the An Khánh riverside at 23:20 for ten minutes, high-altitude — visible from the whole river front rather than only from the park.

Sources: VietnamNet (26/12, three sites, 23:20 fireworks) · Thanh Niên (19:00–23:30) · VOH (19:00–23:30, 23:20 fireworks)

IGS German Christmas Market 2026

Saturday 5 December 2026, 16:00–21:00
International German School HCMC, 253/11 Lương Định Của, Bình Trưng ward

Christstollen and Glühwein, gift stalls and children's activities — back after a one-year pause during the school's campus move.

The Advent market the international community actually goes to: the organiser's own page names Christstollen and Glühwein, plus fashion, jewellery and toy stalls and a children's programme.

It is 25 to 35 minutes out of the centre (our own estimate), which is the whole reason it scores lower than the central events — and the only Christmas market in December that has published a date.

Sources: IGS organiser page (date, hours, full address) · dichoi.live (independent listing — stall count only)

Before you go

Book the first weekend's accommodation early: the marathon brings 24,000 runners and the city fills. Roads around Lê Duẩn close overnight on the 5th and through the morning of the 6th. The month ends with the Say Hi 2027 concert on the 26th — the riverside is the right place to be, and the riverside parks are 15 to 20 minutes from District 1. Nothing here is a ticketed indoor event except the marathon's own entry, so the month works in almost any weather.

More Ho Chi Minh City events

All 2026 Ho Chi Minh City events · November 2026 · January 2027 · 2027 calendar

Download the December 2026 iCal feed (.ics) to put these on your phone.

What has not been announced

The New Year's Eve countdown on 31 December has no published sites or programme — the city typically announces them around 26 December. The HBSO Christmas concert has no 2026 date on the record. Neither is listed as an event.