It’s a slightly sad thing to admit at 26 years of age but I don’t think I had ever been to a legitimate Christmas market until this week.
No, I’m not a grinch (most of the time), and yes, I’ve been to plenty of Santa Claus parades, tree lighting ceremonies and holiday-themed shows in the past.
But the Winter Village in Toronto’s Distillery District was a first of its kind experience for me this past Tuesday — and my feelings on the adventure were mixed.
Since I went at the beginning of the week and in November, entry to the event was free. So, naturally, I felt slightly less guilty about paying for an Uber ride to commute there.
Between Thursdays and Sundays, general admission to the Winter Village is currently $15. Beginning Dec. 16, every day flex and express gate entry tickets will be priced $18 and $30, respectively.
When I arrived just after 7 p.m., my first impression was that the area reminded me a lot of a trip I took to Scotland two Decembers ago. The cobbled streets, hanging lights, old buildings — it felt very familiar.
Unlike Edinburgh’s streets, the laneways of the Distillery District are mostly privately owned by the condo developer Cityscape. The company purchased the heritage buildings in the former Gooderham & Worts campus in 2001 and converted it into a mixed-use entertainment and housing neighbourhood.
Christmas markets have historic roots in Europe. Traditionally established for residents to stock up on meats and essentials, they have evolved into extravagant gatherings that take over many of the continent’s big cities throughout the holiday season.
I don’t think Canada is as well known for its Christmas markets, but our own staples like maple syrup and ice skating are hard to compete with.
I thought I chose a reasonable time of the week to go to the Distillery District, but the market was still packed. Attendees distracted by the lights led to me witnessing about six different pedestrian-on-pedestrian collisions during the hour I spent there. I’ll admit, it was pretty funny.
The lineups though? Not as funny. Dozens were waiting for hot chocolate, hot waffles — pretty much anything hot.
I was hungry, so I chose an option that had a shorter line: a food stand called Pierogi Miska.
Now, my standards for pierogies are unreasonably high since my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie has a significant Croatian presence. The Croatian Corner is a popular eatery up north and they make incredible pierogies, so my bar was set.
I had never tried the dish outside the Sault before, so I gave this local vendor a chance and ordered their smoked bacon rendition — and I did not regret it.
For $20 after taxes, the order was a modest serving of eight pieces. But the meal came loaded with bacon, onion, sour cream aioli, smoked paprika aioli and green onion. The flavours were great and it filled me up, so mission accomplished.
My next task: finding (hopefully) affordable Christmas decorations for my apartment.
I walked over to Bergo Designs — a lifestyle store — to see if there were any holiday knickknacks that would suit my condo. But after checking the price tags, I quickly realized I’d be walking out of there empty handed.
Decorations in general are expensive, so it’s no knock to Bergo. But a festive, small wooden house — which easily fit in the palm of my hand and weighed as light as a feather — cost $40. Wild.
A few shelves away, this cute figurine of a joyful dog wearing a Santa hat caught my eye. But for $66? Not a chance. For me, that’s almost the cost of groceries in a week. I just couldn’t justify the purchase.
In the end, I wound up buying decorations at Dollarama and felt better. (Regular readers of Newbie Notebook will know I’m a dedicated bargain hunter.)
The only welcome surprise I noticed at the Bergo store was the affordability of Christmas cards. Most of the ones I saw were between $3 and $4. I didn’t catch any that exceeded $6 — and they were great quality. Compared to those Hallmark cards that can go up to $8 or $9, I thought that was a fair price for a Christmas market in 2024.
Then of course after trying to save money, I spent almost $4 on a single chocolate chip cookie from Santa’s Workshop. For all the tasty cookies I provided the big man over the years, he didn’t exactly return the favour. This one wasn’t soft and warm like I was expecting, nor did it have enough chocolate chips — oh well.
The market was much larger and busier than I had imagined. The giant Christmas tree was neat to finally see in-person, while the carollers, elves and other village staff made the overall experience a little brighter.
As predicted, I did end up feeling guilty for taking an Uber ride to the Distillery, so I braved the cool temperatures and made the 30-minute walk back home.
