Distillery Winter Village 2025 Guide: Explore Toronto’s Iconic Holiday Market

Even the biggest Scrooges amongst us will become festive converts at the Distillery Winter Village (now through January 4, 2026).

The picturesque Distillery Historic District—with its cobblestone, pedestrian-only streets and beautiful 19th-century buildings—is absolutely stunning during the holiday season, dressed up with twinkling lights that create a joyous atmosphere. 

Plan a few hours for your visit and soak up the magic by checking out all the sights, sounds and flavours at this year’s event.
 

Take a photo with a gorgeous, artist-decorated Christmas tree

This year’s 55-foot-tall silver fir tree is sparkling with more than 80,000 lights and 750 ornaments, including gleaming gold starbursts and Winter Village snowflakes embellished with red finials. 

Even the tree’s base is decked out for the holidays, showcasing a 12-foot performance stage, created with handpainted 3-D printed vignettes of classic Christmas scenes, including a Bachmann Big Haulers G Scale Train that moves around the entire tree.

Join in on the tradition of getting a photo by this tree—the most photographed Christmas tree in Canada!—which took 1,000+ hours of fabricating and decorating. You can’t miss this towering twinkling beauty where it holds court in Trinity Square.  

Treat yourself to delicious eats from charming food cabins

The Distillery District is a foodie fave year-round, but it’s a can’t-miss this time of year!

Cabin-hop your way through the Winter Village’s charming food cabins. There are over 40 this year, slinging up favourites such as the Spirit of York’s Yorkie Burrito, Swiss raclette and Grandma’s Handmade Dumplings, but also fresh new yummy food options you’ll want to save room for. 

Score fried carbs at Santa Spuds (where you can get spiralized potatoes on a stick), award-winning toffee at Templeman’s Toffees and Rick’s Good Eats (where you can get Punjabi-Canadian comfort food to fill your belly).

Sip on festive beverages

When you feel the winter chill, grab a mulled wine or hot cocoa at one of the heated patios or by a fire pit, or pop into one of the bars for a cocktail to warm up. 

The holidays are even jollier this Winter Village with Craig’s Cookies joining the festivities. This beloved cookie shop’s got a pop-up at Winter Village this year and it’s the only spot you can get their Holiday Hot Chocolate; it’s a rich and delicious ethically sourced Soul Chocolate blend with organic milk, with toasted marshmallow, topped with a darling mini white chocolate candy cane cookie.

Have a bit of an addiction to Dubai chocolate? Get your fix of it in liquid form at Demetre’s where they’re serving their delectable Dubai Hot Chocolate (and since you’re already on a sugar rollercoaster, you might as well tuck into their Apple Pie Monkey Bread while you’re at it–they’re serving up at the Demetre’s cabin).

Patio parties at Distillery Winter Village

And if you’re looking for the parties, find them on the patios! At Cluny Bistro, their Ugly Sweater Patio Bar gives you the opportunity to strut your stuff in your most garish (or gorgeous) knits: grab a spot by the patio’s 8-foot ball of yarn. Get your Tipsy Elf here; the nutty cocktail’s got peanut butter whiskey and hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and Skor bits. 

Meanwhile, at the Peppermint Patio at Madrina Bar y Tapas, it’s a candy cane wonderland complete with a Peppermint Mule on the menu that’s got classic Christmas flavours (peppermint schnapps and hot apple cider with whipped cream and dehydrated apple to top it all off). And the Naughty or Nice Bar is back, too, with its heated tent dressed up with a canopy of twinkling lights, where they’re serving up hot sangria and mulled wine.

Ace your holiday shopping 

Between local vendors set up in cabins and the Distillery District’s retail tenants, you can cross everyone off of your shopping list. 

Gemlet has delicate jewelry pieces for the girly girl on your list so she can sparkle during the holiday season and beyond. For friends that love to host, check out Tango Design for their handcrafted wood charcuterie boards, coasters and more. 

Spoil your favourite four-legged creatures at Sniffany & Co., where you can find Bocce’s Peppermint Bark treats and the cutest stuffies to put in their stocking. Then treat yourself to a portrait with your pet at Pawpin Clicks.

Score delicate glass ornaments that’ll pretty up your family’s Christmas tree (although you might want to pick up a few extra as hostess gifts) at Unique Glass Ornament Selection. 

Get your whole family matching FloorPlay Socks for the holidays–everyone’s sure to love the Christmas Vacation: Griswold Crew socks.

Sing along to your favourite Christmas carols

Karaoke lovers, sing your heart out at Winter Village. The McGregor Carollers will be back singing classic holiday songs outside Spirit of York Distillery, and singing along will be a breeze with lyrics projected onto an exterior wall. (Will you make like the Queen of Christmas, Mariah, and belt out “All I Want For Christmas Is You”?)

Besides carolling, you can also catch other holiday performances by the Canadian Opera Company, Mirvish Productions, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the Myriad Ensemble.

Deck your Instagram with holiday moments

The Distillery Winter Village is a jackpot for those wanting to capture festive content. 

Besides the showstopping tree and twinkling lights throughout, get those Instagram-worthy captures in the Naughty or Nice Bar, by Santa’s sleigh and reindeer and the Candy Cane Wreath.

Also, pop into the lobby of the Soulpepper Theatre, where you’ll find a whimsical Santa’s Village featuring a wintery forest filled with twinkling lights, shimmering ice crystals, and Narnia-inspired animations designed by students from OCAD University.

Finally, fancy a visit and snapshot in the space where Joyce communicated with Will when he was stuck in the Upside Down? Give your holiday family photo a little supernatural twist in the Stranger Things 5 Immersive Experience, where you can get a snapshot in the iconic Byers’ living room. 

This story has been updated with new details since it was first published in December 2021.