Christmas in Toronto – Detailed guide of celebrating Christmas Eve & Christmas Day in Toronto, Ontario. Where to eat & what to do in Toronto!
Merry Christmas everyone!! I spent Christmas in Toronto this year with Devin & his family. We all had such a fantastic time in the 3.5 days we spent there. We decided upon spending Christmas in Toronto because Devin had an away game about an hour & a half away from the city, so we all flew in & met him at his game! Over the past 3.5 days we walked around the city of Toronto, ate at some really cool places, & got to spend a lot of quality time with one another. Last Christmas, I wrote about our time in Denmark so this year I wanted to keep the tradition alive & chat about Christmas in Toronto!
Saturday December 22:
After two delayed flights, mine from Sudbury, Canada, & the Gilligan family flights from Boston, we all finally landed in Toronto at the Billy Bishop airport. We went straight to the Baldwin Village Inn where we stayed throughout the duration of our trip & it was BEYOND perfect. We were lucky enough to have the entire house to ourselves which ended up being SO nice, especially on Christmas morning.
Baldwin Village Inn
Our first stop after the inn was obviously food…we were starving. The Baldwin Village Inn was in perfect location for really anything. There was a crystal shop a few doors down (crystals are my new life obsession), health food stores, quite a few restaurants, China Town was in walking distance, as well as, the downtown area, including the famous CN Tower, which you could actually see a perfect view of from the inn!
So after walking in & out of a few places that were open, we decided on a Japanese sushi place, called Momo San, about 3 minutes from the inn. Devin’s sister Micayla & I operate on a strict diet so taking us out to eat is TONS of fun.
I’m a huge fan of Japanese food but this menu really made my knowledge feel remedial LOL. There were so many items that I was completely clueless about.
Both Micayla & I got a the Chirashi sushi rice bowl filled with different types of sashimi & ikura, which is red caviar. It was unbelievable. Everyone was really happy with their food choices. We walked out Momo San at about 10:30pm & were ready to call it a night.
Sunday December 23:
Devin’s team played about 1.5 hours away from Toronto in Kitchener, Ontario. All of us met him at the game & brought him back to Toronto with us. On our way back, we drove through downtown Toronto & were all really craving a good hearty Italian meal, minus the gluten & dairy, haha! An Italian restaurant called Oretta came highly recommended. We were skeptical at first because we didn’t look at the menu, but were SO pleased. We ALWAYS look at the menu before eating somewhere due to food allergies. Like I said, we are so much fun to travel with LOL!
Turns out they were SO accommodating to our food allergies & even walked me through the menu so I wasn’t left with any questions. The food was beyond excellent. For appetizers, we got the Polenta Fritta which were polenta fries with a thyme honey drizzle…beyond delicious! And we also got the Fritto di Calamari. It was fried calamari, but gluten free, & it was to die for! For an entree, I got the Maccheroni al Ragu which was a bolognese sauce on top of gluten free pasta. Minus the parmigiano…of course.
The restaurant was beyond stunning & the color palette was very much up my alley…very Instagrammable. After our meal, they even sent us home with a complementary box of cookies, which was so kind of them. I would highly recommend.
Oretta
Monday December 24
Christmas Eve!! For our first full day in Toronto we decided to walk to the Kensington Market which was about a 15 minute walk from where we stayed. On our way to the market, we stopped at the most amazing crystal shop about 5 stores up from our inn called Wonderworks where we spent about an hour LOL, it was SO fun.
I was really excited to see the Toronto Christmas Market, but unfortunately it closed the 23rd & we were unable to make it since we did not spend the full day in Toronto. However, the Kensington Market is supposed to be the next best thing & definitely a must-stop in Toronto, especially during the holidays.
The “market” is basically a walkable neighborhood filled with trendy restaurants, bars, unique shops, fresh food & meat markets, bakeries, cheese shops, vintage boutiques, & more. There’s definitely something for everyone. After walking to the market, of course we were starving…again. We found a fantastic handmade burger joint called Burgernator. I got a veggie burger on a gluten free bun & it was excellent. We then stopped by a bakery that I read about online called Bunner’s Bake Shop. Bunner’s makes everything gluten free & vegan, which is music to my ears. We definitely stocked up on all of the goods from Bunner’s.
We got “Christmas Morning” fruit muffins, ginger carrot muffins, blueberry oat muffins, an incredible loaf of seeded bread, gingerbread cookies, chocolate peppermint cookies, & Devin got a chocolate chip cookie. Gingerbread has always been my ultimate favorite holiday cookie & it’s safe to say, I wasn’t disappointed…it was amazing.
We also made a plan to cook a homemade dinner for Christmas Day, so we stocked up on all of our items & ingredients while we were at the market. We got vegan & gluten free stuffing & gravy from Bunner’s….excellent by the way. And my personal favorite was the Eggnog vegan & gluten free cheesecake we got from Bunner’s as well, for dessert. We stocked up on fresh fruit & veggies from the Natural Foods Market & we got our meat straight from the meat shop!
That night for Christmas Eve dinner, we were lucky enough to get a reservation at the 360 Restaurant located at the very top of the CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto. This is the landmark that I always thought of when I pictured Toronto. It’s enormous. We actually walked to the tower, which ended up being a little further than imagined. From the inn, it looked a bit closer to us than it actually was & the cold air didn’t help either…but we made it. In order to arrive at the restaurant, we got on an elevator & went straight up the tower, overlooking the entire city of Toronto.
Downtown Toronto
The 360 restaurant was truly amazing. I sat right next to the window & the restaurant actually spun around in a complete circle. It obviously didn’t spin fast, but the floor were all of the tables sat was in constant motion. We ended up in a similar spot to where we were when we first sat down.
The menu was spectacular. You had to choose either a two or three course meal & there were some options for us eating with food allergies. I got a wonderful organic green salad with pickled squash & pears, dried blueberries, complete with a maple sunflower vinaigrette. For my second course I got the short rib which came with a medley of vegetables.
360 Restaurant & View
Dinner was amazing & the view was spectacular. After dinner, we walked down to the glass observation floor below the restaurant. We had the most perfect view of the full moon, it was stunning. Such a perfect Christmas Eve.
Tuesday December 25
Christmas Day! My favorite day of the year & my first anniversary of being engaged yay!! Devin’s mom did an incredible job of preparing everything. Everyone had a stocking on the kitchen table, each customized with our names. All seven of us, sat around the table & had the most amazing time opening such thoughtful gifts. By far my favorite part of the trip.
Christmas Morning
After the wrapping paper clean up, we all had an amazing Christmas morning breakfast complete with all the treats from Bunner’s Bake Shop, avocado toast, papaya, dragon fruit, & more.
A couple hours later after we all rested & I FaceTimed my family for a long time LOL, Devin, his parents, & I went for a walk through China Town & back through the Kensington Market which was then a ghost town. China Town was open but the majority of the other shops & restaurants were completely closed. We stopped for lunch at a thai food place called the Hungary Thai. I got a gluten free veggie pad thai & it was out of this world good.
Another good spot in Kensington Market that we were recommended but they were closed due to the holidays was Hibiscus & The Urban Herbivore. As I walked through the streets, I saw a lot of vegan & vegetarian options as well. There is definitely a lot of cute & trendy little spots to eat at.
As I mentioned earlier, we wanted to cook Christmas dinner, so Devin’s mom, Kelly & I, prepared everything & it turned out wonderful. It was a perfect Christmas & we ended the night with some Scrabble, which quickly brought out my competitive side.
Wednesday December 26
Back to Sudbury…after a long LONG day of traveling! Our flight was cancelled after we boarded the flight & sat on the runway for about 40 minutes. We ended up driving back to Sudbury which took about 4 hours. We all made it back safe & sound, which is all that matters! Devin’s family is in town for a few more days & will be able to catch two more games this weekend!!
It was such a perfect little trip to Toronto to celebrate Christmas. Christmas has always been such a special day for me, it’s never not met my expectations. Both Devin & I were so happy & thankful that his entire family including both grandmas were able to make the trip & spend Christmas all together. I know we were all feeling the love.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas & if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I hope you took some time to slow down & be with family. This time of year is my absolute favorite & I never want it to end!!
Hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into my Christmas!
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