The Best Sydney Festival 2015 Christmas Gifts

This article is sponsored by our partners, Sydney Festival.

It's that time of year again. Department stores are decked out in red and green tinsel, buskers are playing those earwormy jingles, and we're all reminded of the mammoth task of Christmas shopping in the weeks ahead. This year, skip the homewares and DVD box sets and, instead, treat the important people in your life to the gift of an unforgettable experience. With Sydney Festival 2015 set to kick off in January, what better gift to give than tickets to our city's summer celebration of local and international creative talent?

Choosing between the 200 events on offer could get tricky, so we've done the hard work for you. Here are the Sydney Festival gifts we think are sure to please all the special somebodies in your life .

For your parents: The Kitchen

Tickets to this multisensory spectacle by Indian director Roysten Abel will impress any hard-to-buy-for parents. Twelve drummers on copper mizhavu drums provide the background soundtrack to a wordless performance that brings new meaning to the ritual of cooking. Visual effects, smells and sounds come together as a man and woman make payasam, a traditional Indian dessert, in this unique show that fuses folk traditions and dramatic performance theatre. And yes, you do get to eat the fruits of their labour at the end.

More parent-pleasers: Consider tickets to the Grammy-award winning Latvian Radio Choir, a screening of The Artist accompanied by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra or an intimate show with songwriter Archie Roach.

For your significant other: Disco Dome

Here's something weird and wonderful you two should try out together after dark: a walking tour of Parramatta's lost disco days. Disco Dome is your chance to travel back in time together. Enjoy cocktails and supper before taking to the streets, grooving through the music and history of the mirror-ball era. Multimedia artworks will be on display throughout the suburb's streets and laneways, featuring mind-bending installations by the likes of Justene Williams, Khaled Sabsabi and Liam Benson.

Other hot dates: Go for the balletic finger puppetry of Kiss & Cry, the sexy circus-cabaret Limbo, Irish-French chanteuse Camille O'Sullivan or RnB artist How to Dress Well.

For your best friend: Atomic Bomb!

Take your best mate out for a night of dancing to the irresistible beats of synth pioneer William Onyeabor. The futuristic Afro-funk sound of this cult musician who spearheaded new wave electro in the early '80s (before turning to born-again Christianity instead) will be brought to life with an 18-strong ensemble in Atomic Bomb!. Led by Sinkane, Money Mark, Luke Jenner (The Rapture), Alexis Taylor (Hot Chip) and Pat Mahoney (LCD Soundsystem), the show will also feature special guests Gotye and Mahotella Queens.

More fun times: There's more music to enjoy at triple j's 40 year anniversary celebration Beat the Drum, or join in the joie de vivre at So Frenchy So Chic. Also check out acrobatic ensemble Gravity and Other Myths in A Simple Space and cabaret provocateur Yana Alana in Between the Cracks.

For your niece or nephew: Masquerade

Join your favourite little person — and delight your own inner child — at this adaptation of Kit Williams' much-loved children's book, brought to life onstage by playwright Kate Mulvany. With music performed live by Mikelangelo and the Black Sea Gentlemen, Masquerade follows the courageous adventure of a little boy and his mother who find themselves in an imagined world where the moon loves the sun and hidden treasure, riddles and talking hares collide. It's sure to be a beautiful adaptation by Mulvany, who credits the book with helping her through her own childhood experience with cancer.

Also for the littlies in your life: The stunning giant puppetry of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, French-Canadian circus troupe Cirque Alfonse in Timber or the comedy-adventure story The Luck Child.

For your secret santa: Client Liaison

Usually the hardest person to shop for, this year the gift for your office colleague is sorted. Opt for the very reasonably priced tickets to Client Liaison, the Melbourne duo known for their synth-pop interpretations of classic '80s disco and '90s house beats. Nostalgic, excessive and very tongue-in-cheek, the show is topped off by its setting inside The Famous Spiegeltent, one of the last remaining Belgian-made travelling pavilions, complete with mirrors, velvet and brocade.

Other budget-friendly people-pleasers: The darkly humorous performance piece Falling Through Clouds (from the creators of The Adventures of Alvin Sputnik), the contemporary Irish play Have I No Mouth and New Zealand's country-soul trio Tiny Ruins.

For those people who are truly impossible to buy for, Sydney Festival also offers gift vouchers, valid across the entire program. The festival runs from January 8-26. See the festival website for the full program.