When I want to get into the holiday spirit, I go to the Toronto Christmas Market in the Distillery District.
After a few failed attempts at going to the market on a weekend, Sean and I decided a few years ago to stick to going on a weekday. It's less busy and there is no admission fee. I recommend going to the Christmas Market in the evening. The tree and twinkling lights are beautiful at night.
Other than the tree, lights and carolers, one of the attractions is the food. There is always an endless amount of food vendors at the market. This year, Sean and I decided to split the food because we knew that the portions are quite big and we wanted to leave enough room in our bellies to try different things. We shared the Gobbler Poutine (poutine topped with smoked turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce), a pretzel with a cheese fondue dipping sauce and Belgian waffles (topped with Speculoos, dulce de leche and whipped cream). Everything we ate was delicious, but my favourite dish was the waffles. The smell from the sugar and butter was so intoxicating that we couldn't resist. All of the sugary toppings made the waffles quite sweet, but we didn't mind because we shared them. Normally, when we go to the Christmas Market we get some kind of boozy drink, but when we saw the long line up we decided to stick to non-alcoholic apple cider and hot chocolate instead.
Despite the crowds, the Toronto Christmas Market captures everything I love about Christmas - the food, lights and cheerful atmosphere.
The Toronto Christmas Market is open until Sunday, December 22 (closed on Mondays).
