8 Holiday Events in Ottawa

To help get you and your family into the spirit of the season, here are eight festive events in Ottawa that are sure to spread some holiday cheer.

The sweet tale of a girl wishing for a Christmas doll and a doll wishing for a child and a home is magically brought to life by Rag and Bone Puppet Theatre. Tickets are a bargain at $10 each; several shows run November 23 to 25 at Centrepointe Theatre and December 7 to 9 at Shenkman Arts Centre.

Be dazzled by gorgeous vignettes built with Christmas lights throughout the Upper Canada Village grounds; then take a ride on a life-sized toy train, wagon or horse-drawn carriage (as if we could choose just one). Alight at Night opened November 30 and runs weekend evenings in December and every night between Boxing Day and January 5. Don't miss lunch with Santa himself on December 15.

Enjoy free choir performances and horse-drawn carriage rides in the Byward Market, weekends in December from noon to 4 pm.

Canada's capital city knows how to do Christmas lights right. Starting December 6, Parliament Hill and all downtown parks will be aglow with thousands of radiant lights; enjoy a peaceful evening walk through the display as you oooh and aaah.

Make an ornament, decorate gingerbread men and, of course, slip a wish list to the big guy at the Cumberland Village Heritage Museum. Then wander the village at dusk in the twinkling shine of classic Christmas decor. The Vintage Village of Lights switches on each December weekend between 3 and 8 pm.

If you missed out on this classic ballet earlier in the month, catch this version presented by Ballet Jorgen, featuring backdrops based on famous Group of Seven works of art. Performances are at Centrepointe Theatre on December 15 and at the Shenkman Arts Centre on December 17 and 18.

Cheer up the post-Christmas blues with a trip to the Ron Maslin Playhouse to see their production of the fun and funny Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, a musical retelling of the famous story of the chocolate factory. Tickets are just $10 and shows run December 27 to 30, including several matinees.

Nothing brings us a little Christmas cheer faster than trimming a tree. A trip to the farm to pick out an evergreen is one of our favourite family traditions and the newest place in town to spend a cozy Yuletide afternoon is Ian's Christmas Adventure Park and Tree Farm. Our favourite of the many festive activities is visiting with the herd of eight genuine, living reindeer—bet you can't guess their names!