Let the holiday season begin! In between the hustle and bustle of shopping, parties and family get-togethers, take time to enjoy the holiday happenings taking place in the GTA. Here are some family-friendly events you won’t want to miss!

Christmas Market

The Toronto Christmas Market takes over the Distillery Historic District for another year of holiday magic and romance. Now in its eighth year, this market ranked as one of the world’s best Christmas markets by Fodor’s Travel, USA Today and Mashable. Take in sparkling Christmas light canopies, traditional music and carols, dance performances and family-friendly activities like Santa’s House, a ferris wheel, carousel and life-sized gingerbread house.

A Christmas Carol
The world premiere of A Christmas Carol, the family musical with a scrooge loose, is set to take the stage at Toronto’s Elgin Theatre this winter. A Christmas Carol marks the first time Ross Petty Productions has tackled a classic of the holiday season. Cyrus Lane will make his Petty Panto debut as everyone’s favourite Christmas curmudgeon, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Swedish Christmas Fair
The two-day Swedish holiday extravaganza returns to the Harbourfront Centre. With family-friendly activities to help get you in the Christmas spirit, from craft making to holiday shopping, warm up to the sounds of children singing carols at the Lucia Pageant, experience Sami culture, and participate in folk dancing.

The Nutcracker

The National Ballet of Canada presents it’s annual Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker. The classic story takes place on Christmas Eve in Imperial Russia and tells the tale of Marie and Misha. The two are brought into the magical world of the Nutcracker, complete with Sugar Plum Fairies, rat kings, and more. The Nutcracker comes to life and battles the rat king to find the Sugar Plum Fairy.

CP Holiday Train

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train returns to Toronto to close out Canada 150 this November. Ring in the holidays as the train brings it’s 19th annual tour to Lambton Yard, where it will feature entertainment by Colin James and Emma Lee. Since its first tour in 1999, the train has raised more than $13 million and four million pounds of food for communities along CP’s routes in Canada and the U.S.

What holiday events are you participating in this year? Let us know with a comment below!

Happy planning!