It’s almost Christmas, and you know what that means: Chinatown. Well, okay, for most of you it probably means family togetherness and gifts and whatnot. But for those of us who aren’t involved in one-or-another variant of Christianity, and who don’t have a lot of family in town, what this holiday is, primarily, is a [...]

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, your branches green entice us! The centrepiece of many homes at this time of year is a decorated tree. Whether it’s fir, pine, or plastic, a well-chosen tree establishes a cozy atmosphere. While there are occupational hazards such as falling needles or ornaments that pets treat as toys, a [...]

Things opened on Christmas Day: presents under a tree, cards from dear friends, bottles of wine at the dinner table, old family wounds, and movie theatres. Yes, movie theatres. Catching a film on December 25 is a tradition for lonely souls eager to escape painful reminders of the holidays, for families and friends to flee [...]

Here we are, officially in mid-December and full-on holiday gear. Outside, the winter season really isn’t beginning to look a lot like Christmas, but fortunately that’s not the case with the seasons of Toronto’s performance companies. There are plenty of options to suit every show-goer during the holidays, be they a connoisseur of the classics, [...]

In the holiday special A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown doesn’t find his inspirational Christmas tree among hundreds displayed behind temporary fencing in the parking lot of a hardware conglomerate or a big box grocery store. Good grief, no. As overwrought with anxieties as he may be, Charlie Brown realizes, if the true meaning of [...]

“There are two kinds of people looking for Christmas gifts,” the Telegram noted 80 years ago. “Those who know what they want and those who don’t, and they both seem to be in difficulty.” With less than two weeks to go before presents are unwrapped, both types of gift hunters may be showing signs of [...]

Wouldn’t it be grand if we could revisit the days of yore, when the TTC provided holiday bus service to the North Pole? Legend has it that as Christmas approached, a fleet of special winter wonder buses were put into service. Fuelled by marshmallows, fare charged at one gumball, drivers dressed in candy cane costumes, [...]

With the holiday season upon us, local media is full of advice on how to celebrate. From picking the best Christmas tree to a litany of gift guides, there is no shortage of tips. We like to draw our inspiration for holiday cheer from the history, even though it requires traditionalists to wade through pages [...]

Every so often, when we’re struck by a particular theme or subject, we look back through all the wonderful photos that have been submitted to the Torontoist Flickr Pool, and collect our favourites. Though winter is officially three weeks away—and even with yesterday’s brief blast of flurries—it still doesn’t feel very close after Toronto’s rainy [...]

For drivers heading onto the Highway 400 ramp from the eastbound collector lanes of Highway 401, the warehouse on the right doesn’t stand out. Just another non-descript suburban light industrial building, one of the dozens that line the highways. Except, this one serves as the secret headquarters of a jolly old elf. Pass through the [...]

Ho Ho Ho! Plenty on this holiday weekend, including a traditional Christmas Eve service, a non-traditional atheist comedy show, an Island nature hike, a Monty Python screening, tons of Boxing Day music, and animation workshops for kids.