Christmas market is back in the Distillery District and this might be the best year yet

In the past decade or so since its inception, it’s become a common refrain across Toronto that it’s not Christmas until you see the Distillery District Winter Village on someone’s Instagram feed, and it’s kind of true.

Short of actually attending the event yourself, nothing stokes holiday cheer in some and tourist-based aggression in others quite like tapping through Instagram Stories and being met with that ubiquitous “Countdown to Christmas” sign or towering tree.

Love it or hate it, the time has come once again. The Distillery District Winter Village is back for 2024, and it’ll be taking over the historic district and surrounding areas 7 days a week until Jan. 5, 2025. Ho ho ho!

The famous “Countdown to Christmas” sign.

I hate to brag, especially at Christmas time (though I do suppose it’s still November,) but I was actually present at the innaugural Distillery District Winter Village in 2010.

Back then, I was a spry 11-year-old, attending a now-defunct alternative school that was also located in the Distillery, and the market itself was little more than a handful of plywood huts selling the usual smattering of ornaments, fudge, and even one stall that handed out entire boxes of Merci chocolates for free.

View more photos of  the Distillery District Winter Village 2024 in this photo gallery

My tween compatriots and I more than took advantage of that last one.

Today, the annual Distillery Winter Village is virtually unrecognizeable from the event’s humble beginnings, with the 2024 event boasting more than 30 different food options, nearly 60 different vendors and an unbelievable array of festive photo-ops.

Even though, as I make my annual visit, it’s only opening night, I can already tell that this year’s market is going to be the biggest (and, perhaps, best) one yet.

The crowd gathers around the tree.

The crowning jewel of the market is a 55 foot-tall tree — a real one! — bedecked in approximately 70,000 lights, thousands of replica Christian Dior (the event’s main corporate sponsor) perfume bottles and a dazzling sun emblem at its base.

On the evening of Nov. 13, the annual tree lighting ceremony was held, as more than 3,000 onlookers crammed ourselves (yes, in spite of my repulsion from crowds, I was there, too) into the narrow corridor of Trinity Street.

Thousands watch (and record) as the tree lights up for the first time this year.

In the minutes leading up to the big moment, Toronto singer Mo Guzman plays a rendition of ‘White Christmas’ on the stage as fat, fluffy snowflakes begin to cascade over all of us, not a Christmas miracle, but the product of an industrious team of Distillery ‘elves’ and strategically placed foam machines.

As Santa takes the stage at precisely 6 p.m. to light the tree, I begin to feel a familiar sense of holiday nostalgia creep up in me — even in spite of the thousands of people pushing and jostling me from every direction — and I realize that this tapped-in, Dickensian version of Christmas is precisely what makes the Winter Village so popular.

Once the crowd disperses (which happens oh-so-slowly, thanks to the cheerful McGregor Carollers drawing an audience on the stage), we’re set loose to explore everything the market has to offer this year. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning.

Send Santa your requests at North Pole Post.

This year, the market has introduced a number of new experiences, scenes and vendors to keep things fresh and festive, like Santa’s Village at Soulpepper Theatre and the North Pole Post next door, where kids (or adults, why not?) can write letters that’ll be delivered straight to the man in red.

Santa’s reindeer are looking especially round in the waist this year.

There’s also a brand-new Santa’s sleigh set-up featuring a real refurbished vintage sleigh pulled by a crew of whiskey barrel reindeer.

A real star at this year’s market is the revamped Naughty and Nice bar, which takes over the back patio at Mill Street Brewery.

The Naughty and Nice bar is the epitome of winter wonderland.

Covered by a tented roof of cascading twinkly lights, the bar has majorly upgraded into a must-visit element, striking me as the absolute best spot to sip some spiked eggnog once you’ve had your fill of exploring.

Pro-tip: if the line at Naughty or Nice is too long for your liking (and it likely will be), there’s another beverage station, The Thirsty Elf, directly behind it on the East side of Pure Spirits Mews.

As is the case every year, the market boasts a huge variety of food options that run the gamut from comforting classics like poutine to utterly outrageous.

The Yorkie Burrito at Spirit of York is a beautiful monster.

Bringing a viral food trend to Toronto for the very first time, Chef David Adjey’s Yorkie Burritos — burritos filled with braised beef pot roast, harvest veggies, roasted potatoes and so much gravy, all wrapped up in a Yorkshire pudding — served outside of Sprit of York Distillery bridge the gap quite nicely.

Feeling chilly? Tater tot poutine will warm you right up.

Various other booths throughout the market offer eats like Cinnamon Buns, Poutine, Raclette, Tater Tots in various states of dress, Donuts, Pierogis, Schnitzel and Belgian Waffles, and that’s only scratching the surface.

Whimsical Crispie is just one of more than 30 food vendors at the market.

A first-time vendor at the market, Whimsical Crispie sells rice crispy treats that are almost too cute to eat, though, with flavours like chocolate caramel, Canadian maple and a particularly intriguing “Magical Unicorn,” not cute enough.

“I’m freaked out,” founder, Sue, tells me as I pass her stall, though the smile never once leaves her face. “I feel like I need to go home and bake all night.”

For Sue, and the market’s hundreds of other vendors, this is merely day one of 50, with around 800,000 visitors passing through during its run. That’s a lot of rice crispy treats.

Revellers post in front of one of the market’s many photo-ops.

I hasten to admit, at the fear of sounding like a tourist in my own city, but I might just throw my hat in the ring and go back before the holiday season ends, if for no other reason than to annoy the Scrooges in my life by clogging their social feeds with another Distillery Winter Village post.

The Distillery Winter Village runs every day from now until Jan. 5, from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and noon to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. General admission tickets go for $15 (kids under 9 get in free), and can be purchased online through the event’s website.

View more photos of  the Distillery District Winter Village 2024 in this photo gallery