Bangkok Events - December 2026

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December is cool, dry and busy: two public holidays early in the month and then the countdown season, which in Bangkok is a riverside affair, with the biggest fireworks display staged over the Chao Phraya at ICONSIAM.

Festivals and listings

Amazing Thailand Countdown at ICONSIAM

27-31 December 2026 (New Year's Eve show on 31 December)

A five-day riverside festival at ICONSIAM's River Park that climaxes with a long fireworks and drone display over the Chao Phraya on New Year's Eve. The riverside is free to watch from the promenades; the mall's restaurants sell out well in advance.

Where: ICONSIAM River Park and the Chao Phraya riverside, Bangkok

Tickets: Riverside viewing free; VIP zones and hotel dinners ticketed

Why go: The river doubles every firework, and there is no better free New Year seat in the city than the opposite bank.

Sources: Bangkok countdown district guide, Bangkok Post - New Year at ICONSIAM

Public holidays

Father's Day / HM King Bhumibol's Birthday

Saturday 5 December 2026, with the substitution holiday observed Monday 7 December

A national public holiday that doubles as Father's Day. Because the 5th falls on a Saturday, the following Monday is substituted. Government offices and banks close; malls stay open.

Sources: Thai public holidays 2026, Thailand public holidays 2026

Constitution Day

Thursday 10 December 2026

A national public holiday marking the 1932 transition to constitutional monarchy. Banks and public institutions close; most private businesses trade normally.

Sources: Thai public holidays 2026, Thailand public holidays 2026

The River of Thailand

The river stretches from the north all the way into the Gulf of Thailand, with the Chulachomklao Fort being placed near the end where it joins with the sea.

Starting quietly in the hinterlands the river is formed from the confluence of two smaller rivers, the Ping and the Nan. Together at Nakhon Sawan (also called Pak Nam Pho) they come together quietly in a rual setting some 200km north of Bangkok.

Due to the winding course of the river it takes almost 350km for it to reach the city and the sea.

Many tributaries and canals intersect the alluvial plain that is created by the Chao Phraya river, and the Tha Chin river which starts from it and runs parallel into the sea.


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