Toronto for Christmas? Heck, YES! And for all your celebrations this holiday season if you like brightly lit trees, visits with Santa and dreamy hot chocolate. Whether you’ve got littles, tweens or teens — or you’d rather get into the festive spirit sans kids — if you’re looking for things to do in Toronto during the holidays, this is a great place to start.
And since most of us only have a weekend to spare during this busy time of year, I’ve put together the perfect itinerary for you to pack it all into two nights in the Big Smoke. (Do we still call it that or has Drake converted us all to “The Six”?)
7 things to do in Toronto for Christmas
It’s time for your festive getaway and, really, this is just the tip of the holiday iceberg; there’s so much to do in Toronto for Christmas that I couldn’t possibly jam it all into one blog post and you wouldn’t be able to fit it into just two or three days either. Arrive on a Friday afternoon and stay until Sunday evening, though, and you will definitely have time to do all of this:
1. Book a hotel that’s devoted to holiday fun.
First, you’re going to need a home base — your cheery home-away-from-home. We’ve stayed at the Chelsea Hotel many times, but this was our first holiday-themed visit and I can’t think of a better option if you’re bringing your kids. You can even book an adjoining parlour room with a pullout sofa and extra bathroom if two double beds isn’t enough space for your brood.
There’s so much happening during the holiday season at the Chelsea!
- FREE Santa Visits: take a picture with Santa in the lobby. The décor is super cute, so even if Santa’s not there when you are, it’s a fantastic little photo vignette you can use. Encourage your kids to bring Santa a letter, if you like, knowing that this Santa has been at the Chelsea Hotel every holiday season for 26 years and keeps every single letter he’s given. Santa’s available every Friday from November 21 to December 19, 2025 (3 p.m. – 7 p.m.); every Saturday from November 22 to December 20, 2025 (3 p.m. – 7 p.m.); and every Sunday from November 23 to December 21 (8 a.m. – 12 p.m.). Note that the schedule is expected to be consistent but is subject to change.
- FREE snacks and drink samples: from cookies to a candy bar, the lobby is alive with festivities for kids and grownups alike. Cookies and milk for kids with wine tasting for the adults takes place every Friday from November 21 to December 19, 2025 (3 p.m. – 6 p.m.); a candy buffet for all with espresso martini samples for the 19+ crowd every Saturday from November 22 to December 20 (3 p.m. – 6 p.m.); and there’s a hot chocolate bar and mimosa samples on Saturday, November 29 (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.).
- Paws and Claus pet pics: $35 per pet (all pets are welcome). On Saturday, November 29 (1 p.m. – 3 p.m.) in room Bb33 (lobby level), your sitting fee includes one high-resolution digital photo and a pet goody bag. There’s also a cash bar available.
- Frosting and Fun cookie decorating: $25 per child. On Saturdays, November 29, December 6, 13 and 20 (2:30 p.m. – 6 p.m.) in room Bb33 (lobby level), your fee includes an adorable kid-sized chef hat and apron set, two blank gingerbread cookies, a candy decoration bar and a cookie box to take their goodies home.
There’s even a Christmas dinner buffet or five-course meal if you plan to be in Toronto for Christmas. Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, you can certainly dine there on December 24 or 25.
Plus, the hotel is centrally located, so you can walk to most of the Toronto Christmas events listed below and take an UBER or easy public transit to the Toronto Christmas markets.
For convenient meals while you’re staying at the Chelsea Hotel, the onsite Elm Street Bar & Lounge is ideal. My family’s breakfast faves include the three eggs your way platter, avocado toast with poached eggs and the stuffed French toast, and we always order the butter chicken and root veggie salad at lunch or dinner.
2. Turn your kids into an ornament.
Get your kids Littlized and immortalize them at this moment in time as a holiday ornament at Little Canada. Take along some Santa hats or festive hairbands, memorable or matching clothing (The K Man, for example, wore a 2025 Blue Jays World Championship hoodie) — and pay them to plaster on a smile if you need to:
We did this with our kids back in 2022 and they’ve changed so much since then that we wanted to do it again. These make wonderful keepsakes for your annual tree decorating and terrific gifts for grandparents, too!
View this post on Instagram
While you’re there, be sure to check out all of the exhibits across both floors, especially the brand new Little North space. Our kids love pointing out places we’ve actually visited, like Vancouver, Tofino, Halifax and Quebec, and especially the many attractions at Niagara Falls. The details in each space are next level, with CP, GO and VIA Trains on the move, fireworks over Ottawa’s parliament buildings and thousands of little people in stadiums, on sidewalks and even in ferris wheels. It’s so neat.
One thing you shouldn’t miss at Little Canada is the “Meet the Makers” area; there’s always someone at the Maker’s Window who’s excited to talk about what it takes to keep building Little Canada. You’ll be able to touch and feel various components here and you might even see a Maker or two working on some new elements.
3. Take in a Toronto Christmas Market.
Formerly called the Distillery Christmas Market, the Distillery Winter Village has really upped its game this year. It’s always been a vibe, but it’s grown and evolved a lot over the years and we all agreed that this year it feels very much like Christmas in NYC. Book your tickets in advance and pack a little patience if you’re coming after dark, because it’s busy and there are lineups everywhere — but it’ll be worth it!
Now through January 4, 2026, this outdoor Christmas market has a little bit of everything for just about everyone, including but hardly limited to:
- A 55-foot silver fir tree dressed up in 80,000 lights
- Stranger Things 5 Immersive Experience
- Chef’s Lane
- Holiday entertainment
- Holiday-themed outdoor bars with licensed patios (some of which are also heated)
- Lots of photo opp vignettes
You can spend hours wandering from shop to shop and booth to booth, stopping for photo opps at spots like the big heart and in front of the Ugly Christmas Sweater Bar near Cluny, but I also recommend booking a dinner in the Distillery since you’ll already be there. Sure, you can eat outdoors thanks to a series of pop-ups but it’s so nice to get out of the cold and come inside for something special.
This was our first time at Cluny Bistro, and it exceeded our high expectations. With Chef Taylor McMeekin as its new executive chef, Cluny’s menu has had a bit of an overhaul. I’ve got nothing to compare it to, but everyone I know who’s dined there in the past has raved about it — and I’ll add myself to that list now. It was a WOW kind of meal that turns first-timers into regulars.
The interior alone is worth checking out; it’s industrial meets traditional, with high, exposed ceilings that peek through a unique open-concept coffered ceiling design. There’s a raw bar and bread station that both have staff prepping out in the open. Cluny is the kind of place that feels and eats upscale without pretension. You could wear jeans and a nice top or a little black dress — both fit here.
BONUS: Dine at Cluny during the Distillery Winter Village’s ticketed dates/hours and your entry into the village is FREE! Here’s how it works — when you make a reservation online, you’ll pay a deposit of $35 per person. This deposit is used towards your meal, but if you end up canceling the reservation (day of), you obviously don’t get that deposit back (to ensure you aren’t trying to be sneaky and just book to get the free entry). When you arrive at the Distillery Winter Village, you’ll simply show the reservation at the gate and they’ll let you in.
Must-try apps include the Fogo Island Snow Crab And Shrimp Dip, Cluny Caesar, Tableside Beef Tartare and Foie & Duck Candle. I’ll just need a moment of silence for The Cluny French Onion Soup, because OMG, it’s the kind of soup that I’ll crave now for months until I have time to return. It’s quite possibly the best French onion soup I’ve had anywhere, including Paris. Big B and I shared the bison shortrib and pork chop (both divine) and our teens had high praise for the steak frites and burger. The dessert cart was also a hit, with all of us declaring the Bûche De Noël the clear winner with the Gâteau Mille-Crêpe not far behind.
If you ask really nicely after dinner, your server may be able to add Cluny’s viral hot chocolate to your bill — and save you the lineup outside for one. Even if you have to line up, DO IT. This is the hot chocolate of your dreams! It’s rich but not too sweet and it’s gorgeous and Instagram-worthy to boot. We enjoyed a classic and a Dubai chocolate version and both were incredible. I can’t even believe it’s only $12 after tasting it and knowing how much hot chocolate is in the cup (it’s enough to share between two people if you’ve already had a meal). It’s definitely inspired by the Glace NY hot chocolate in Manhattan, but I think Cluny’s are even prettier.
Nighttime is magic in the Distillery, so plan to hang out after dinner as well. If you’re not already chocolate’d out, head to SOMA for any of its individual chocolates (the balsamic vinegar dark chocolate is my fave) or delicious bars.
There’s also the JellyCat pop-up at BERGO, where you can expect an around-the-shop kind of lineup in the evenings and on weekends. But they do have a lot of inventory and Miss Q found one of the bunnies that was previously sold out everywhere else. We visited on a Friday morning and there was only a lineup to check out, which took about 20 minutes, so if you have your heart set on a JellyCat but don’t want to spend two hours getting one, consider going during the day midweek. Do note, however, that this is not a JellyCat experience; it’s just a section of the store with a good selection of products.
Be sure you find your way to the big Christmas tree at the Distillery Winter Village to see how the base is designed this year, especially if you have kids who are train-obsessed, and if you want to capture a family pic without trusting a stranger with your thousand-dollar smartphone, then make your way to the Pawpin’ Clicks Photo Spot, where a professional photographer will bring you into the little hut and ensure the whole family makes it into the picture. It’s located near the big digital countdown to Christmas Day.
We paid $33 for three digital prints, which is a steal when you consider what a pro photo shoot or even “holiday minis” cost; the only downsides? You don’t actually get to choose which three photos they edit and email to you and photo delivery isn’t instant (it takes about four or five days). So, smile and hope for the best — and know they’re real photographers at work and know what they’re doing.
In the end, I was SUPER happy with the three pics Pawpin’ Prints chose for us, and they included extra (watermarked) photos in the gallery and I opted to buy a fourth picture for only $5. This may very well become an annual tradition.
4. Schedule some spa time.
The beauty of having teens (or going to Toronto for Christmas cheer while your kids are with their grandparents for the weekend) is that we can leave them in our hotel room to happily scroll TikTok while we pamper ourselves at the spa. Located less than a minute’s walk from the Elm Street entrance of the Chelsea Hotel, The Elmwood Spa is a beloved classic.
The Elmwood’s 2025 “Canvas of Calm” holiday packages are available until December 31, 2025. Canvas of Calm is inspired by Catharine Somerville’s art. A Toronto-born artist who now works between the UK and Canada, Somerville’s work offers a visual exploration of the observed world through both light and colour. Her pieces are everywhere in The Elmwood.
We did the Holiday Escape, a 3.5-hour experience (available at $256 per person/$512 per couple) that includes water therapies, a lovely restorative massage and a three-course lunch. It was, of course, the ultimate in relaxation; I usually prefer really deep-tissue massages but this restorative massage was brilliant because it featured a back and foot scrub along with some facial and scalp work. Oh, and I really liked the new menu at the terrace restaurant, too (order the fried gnocchi!). I’d also recommend ordering a mango lassi from the Juice Bar to enjoy poolside — it was really nicely made.
There are two other holiday packages as well:
- The Relaxation Masterpiece (4 hours; $365 per person) — includes water therapies, a Swedish massage, an “essential facial” and a three-course lunch
- The Winter Wellness Glow (5 hours; $325 per person) — includes water therapies, a Swedish massage, a “skin regiment LX longevity vitaminic facial,” a mani-pedi and a three-course lunch
5. Experience snow indoors.
It’s snowing in the Eaton Centre — yes, in! Even if all of your holiday shopping is done, pop into the Eaton Centre anyway. Every day until December 31, 2025, every hour on the hour from 1-8 p.m., gather around the iconic 114-foot Christmas tree in the centre of the mall for a beautiful light and indoor snow show. I don’t recall an experience like this here in all the years we’ve been come to Toronto for Christmas fun. It’s seriously great. And it’s free.
Head to nearby Simons at the north end of the mall for holiday music; there’s a list of dates and times for live music, but the piano plays by itself, too!
The Eaton Centre also features sensory-friendly visits with Santa on November 30 and December 7, 2025, so keep that in mind if you have a child with extra needs.
6. See a movie.
There’s no rule saying it has to be a holiday movie! Our stay coincided with the opening day of Wicked: For Good, and the Chelsea Hotel is in perfect walking distance to the Cineplex Cinema at Yonge and Dundas. There are also VIP theatres at this location if you’re all 19+.
7. Go ice skating.
Our visit was just a couple of weeks too early to go ice skating ourselves, but it’s a fun thing to do in Toronto for Christmas — and you don’t even need to own skates depending on the rink. Most of the outdoor rinks should be open by the first week of December, but keep in mind outdoor skating is always weather-dependent, so please check each website to plan your visit. Here are the three most-scenic options:
- The most famous place for public skating in Toronto is at Nathan Phillips Square and the location is the perfect add-on to your Eaton Centre experience. It’s free to skate if you bring your own ice skates, but you can also get skate and helmet rentals along with skate sharping for $5 to $15ish.
- Skate under the Gardiner Expressway at The Bentway Skate Trail — a 220-metre-long figure-eight course. It’s also free if you bring your own skates, with rentals ranging from $10 to $12 for kids and adults, which includes helmets. Keep an eye on The Bentway’s site for information about the 2025 winter skating.
- Evergreen Brick Works’ skating winds through gardens set under exposed beams from an old brick factory’s roof. Not only does this location offer a free public skate, but they have helmet rentals available for free! Even the skate rentals are available for a suggested fee of just $5 per pair, with monies supporting other free programming at Evergreen Brick Works.
Did you catch this content outside of the holiday season? Enjoy a multigenerational weekend getaway in Toronto, or a Toronto pet-friendly hotel stay at the Chelsea instead and bookmark this post for next time. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
DISCLAIMER: The Chelsea Hotel compensated me for this content and some of the featured Toronto Christmas events above provided gifted experiences. All suggestions and opinions are my own.
Every comment counts -- what's yours?