December in Caboolture runs warm and busy, and from Caboolture Motel on Lower King Street the season is an easy one to settle into. This guide covers three things: where the Christmas lights tend to cluster, a couple of air-conditioned places to eat when the heat sets in, and what stays open when everything winds down on Christmas Day.
When do the Christmas lights and events start in Caboolture?
The Caboolture Christmas season usually kicks off in late November rather than December. The anchor most years is the free community carols night at Centenary Lakes Park, a picnic-and-blanket evening a few minutes from the motel that tends to open proceedings, often paired with twilight markets selling local craft and handmade gifts. From there, residential light displays start switching on across Caboolture’s streets, and the wider City of Moreton Bay usually runs an organised light walk with large-scale illuminated installations set out across parkland. The catch is that exact dates and locations shift from one year to the next, so we do not want to send you out on the wrong night. The reliable move is to check the City of Moreton Bay What’s On calendar a week or two before you arrive, which lists the current carols date, any light walk and the street displays worth a slow drive past. Head out after about 7:30pm, once it is properly dark and the day’s heat has dropped off. A few of the bigger home displays collect gold-coin donations for charity at the gate, so it is worth having a couple of coins in the car, and the streets that go all out tend to draw a slow, friendly procession of families doing the same loop.
Where can you eat in Caboolture when it’s hot?
When a December afternoon climbs into the thirties, the answer is an air-conditioned pub or club, and Caboolture has two solid ones close by. The Sundowner Hotel at 8 Aerodrome Road is about five minutes away, with a cool bistro and a classic pub menu of parmigianas, steaks and beer-battered chips, plus a dedicated kids’ menu and a sports bar if you want the cricket on. It runs all-day dining from 11:30am to 8:30pm Friday to Sunday, with separate lunch and dinner sittings midweek. The Caboolture RSL on Hasking Street, about four minutes from the motel, is the other reliable escape from the heat, a large club with several bars and two food outlets open daily, plus daily specials once you sign in as a visitor. Both get busy through December, and guests tell us the RSL fills fast on weekend nights, so an earlier sitting is the easy call. If the heat has beaten you entirely, both do takeaway you can bring back and eat beside the saltwater pool.
What’s open in Caboolture on Christmas Day?
Plan Christmas Day around closures rather than assuming things are open. Most shops, and the Morayfield and Caboolture shopping centres, close entirely for the day. Service stations and the odd convenience store usually stay trading if you have forgotten something. A handful of clubs run a pre-booked Christmas Day lunch, and those bookings fill weeks in advance, so if you want a sit-down meal you need to lock it in early and ring the venue directly to confirm. The simplest approach for a quiet Christmas is to shop on Christmas Eve and use your room’s kitchenette and tea and coffee facilities, which turns the closures into a lazy morning by the pool rather than a scramble. The shops swing back open for the Boxing Day sales the very next morning, so any missed supplies are only a day away.
Quick questions from our guests
Where are the best Christmas lights near Caboolture Motel?
The free community carols at Centenary Lakes Park usually open the season, and residential light displays switch on across Caboolture’s streets through December. Displays and dates change year to year, so check the City of Moreton Bay What’s On calendar close to your stay for the current list and any organised light walk.
Do I need to book Christmas lunch in Caboolture?
Yes. The clubs and pubs that run a Christmas Day lunch take bookings that fill weeks ahead, so ring your chosen venue as early as you can. Through the rest of December, the Sundowner Hotel and Caboolture RSL run their normal dining without a booking, though weekends get busy.
What’s open in Caboolture on Christmas Day?
Expect most shops and the shopping centres to close. Service stations and convenience stores usually stay open, and a few clubs run a pre-booked Christmas Day lunch. It pays to buy anything you need on Christmas Eve, then use your room’s kitchenette for the quiet day.
How hot does Caboolture get in December?
December in Caboolture is proper subtropical summer, warm and humid with plenty of days in the low thirties and the odd afternoon thunderstorm rolling through. Mornings are the cooler window for anything outdoors. For the rest, the plan is shade, air conditioning and the saltwater pool back at the motel.
Is anything on for New Year’s Eve in Caboolture?
New Year’s Eve options change each year, from family fireworks nights to club events, so the City of Moreton Bay What’s On calendar is the place to check closer to the date. If you want a night out, book any NYE dinner or event early, as the popular ones sell out.
December is one of the easier months to base yourself in Caboolture, with the carols, the lights and a cool feed all a few minutes from your door, and air-conditioned rooms and a saltwater pool to come home to. If you are still sorting dates, take a look at what else is on around the Caboolture local area, then check our current accommodation offers and book your December stay direct.
Image credit: John Robert McPherson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons