Things to do in Montréal December 11 to 17

This is the week when it really and truly begins to feel a lot like Christmas – whether snow falls or not, the streets are aglitter with seasonal festivities. Go shopping for gifts, play on interactive public art, see The Nutcracker and more on stage, and hear music from choirs to rock bands.

Sparkling streets

Follow the glittering lights and happy people to Le Grand Marché de Noël de Montréal, a colourful new outdoor winter market right downtown at the Place des Arts Esplanade, December 12 to January 2, where not only can you find great presents but plenty of activities, entertainment and food and drink for the whole family. Montréal celebrates the season all around the city: Merry Montréal turns Old Montréal into a winter wonderland with fires to warm up by, free hot chocolate, Santa at the Christmas market at Place Jacques-Cartier, Christmas-themed films and more; in the Plateau at the Marché de Noël Prince Arthur along Prince Arthur Street starting at the corner of Boulevard St-Laurent see performances, watch films, shop and sample treats; Le Festival Noël dans le parc lights up Parc des Compagnons-de-St-Laurent (Mont-Royal Avenue at Cartier) and Parc Lahaie (Saint-Laurent Boulevard at Saint-Joseph) with activities and live music on weekday evenings and in the afternoon and evenings on weekends to December 25. Sit on Santa’s lap in Montréal’s downtown malls and see him in different forms at Pointe-à-Callière, the Stewart Museum  and the McCord Museum. Or take a historical approach to the season with a Victorian Christmas in Montréal. For more activities for the whole family, see our new guides to Free things to do in December and Festive fun for kids this holiday season.

Gift shopping

If you’re looking for something special, unique and Quebec-made, this weekend’s holiday sales have it all. The biggest holiday market in the land, Salon des métiers d’art, gathers hundreds of makers of clothes, accessories, toys, fine food and drink and more under one roof at Place Bonaventure downtown December 11 to 20 – along with all that great shopping (there’s also a coat check and gift-wrapping service), attend talks, demonstrations and a 5-à-7 happy hour too! The POP Montréal music festival’s Puces POP art and craft fair seems to get bigger and cuter every year, including its winter holiday version, Puces des Neiges, December 11 to 13 at 5035 Saint-Dominique in Mile End. Nearby, find handcrafted furniture, home decor, clothing, art, toys, jewelry and more at the Smart Design Mart Pop-Up Shop, to December 13 at 5354 Saint-Laurent Boulevard. Stay on trend by shopping at the Designers de la Grover winter sale of locally designed and made fashion, jewelery, home decor and more, December 10 to 13 at 2025 and 2065 Parthenais Street. Find out more about Montréal’s indie markets and traditional holiday shopping fairs, borrow our ideas for 5 essential gifts from scarves to cider, and if you’re a chronically-late gift buyer, let our list of 12 shops for last-minute gifts in Montréal show you the way to gifting success.

Light it up

Yearly public art event Luminothérapie introduces us to a whole new way to play this week: ride on 30 illuminated seesaws at the fun-for-all outdoor interactive exhibition, December 10 to January 31 at Place des Festivals – after dark, see animated digital art projected onto nearby buildings nearby and throughout the Quartier des Spectacles. Indoors, the Montréal Canadiens light a fire under the Senators, Sharks and Kings in three games this week at the Bell Centre, on Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday respectively – maybe a bit of inspiration to do some skating of our own down at the beautiful and musical Old Port of Montréal skating rink. Or sparkle on the inside as you sample the cocktail creations of some of the city’s best bartenders at the Made with Love competition on Monday, December 14 at the SAT.

Watch and listen

See the magical dancing soldiers and sugarplum fairies of Les Grands Ballets’s The Nutcracker at Place des Arts, December 11 to 30. Imaginative, high-flying Australian circus troupe Circa creates an animal-inspired world of joy, play and music in Carnival of the Animals, at La Tohu circus centre December 15 to January 3 – La Tohu also hosts the Village de Noël, with activities, warm drinks, crepes, ice skating and more December 17 to January 3. In theatre, see Tribes, a love story about a deaf man from an eccentric, intellectual family, at the Segal Centre to December 20, or opt for the tantelizing short plays of Urban Tales’ An Erotic Christmas at Centaur Theatre, December 10 to 19. On the screen, The Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium at the Space for Life immerses us in the Northern Lights in 360° film aurōrae, set to music by DJ Champion. Art and cultural hub the Phi Centre presents director Jafar Panahi’s Taxi and Sebastián Silva’s Nasty Baby on Thursday, Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes starring Andrew Garfield on December 14, the Montréal premiere of As I Am: The Life and Times of DJ AM on December 15, Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario on December 17, and more all week. And in classic style, Cinéma du Parc screens Alfred Hitchcock films all month.

 Live music

 December is rightfully packed with the music of holiday choirs and orchestras: hear the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal perform with French storyteller Fred Pellerin on December 11 and 12 and play Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and more on December 16 and 17 at Maison Symphonique; Choeur Maha and Choeur Naada sing in Montréal’s oldest chapel, Chapelle Notre Dame du Bonsecours, at 8 p.m. on December 12; and sing your heart out at the CBC Christmas Sing-In on December 13 at 3 p.m. at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul and Bourgie Hall. On the rock side of this week’s music scene, have a very Andy Kim Christmas with the legendary singer-songwriter himself alongside all kinds of Montréal stars: Sam Roberts, Ron Sexsmith, Martha Wainwright, Michel Pagliaro, Stars, AroarA, Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew on Saturday, December 12 at Théâtre Corona Virgin Mobile or go for underground sounds at Casa del Popolo as Suoni per il Popolo presents Drew McDowall, Shredded Nerve and more. Or dance Saturday night away with the original EDM productions and remixes of Kap Slap at New City Gas. On Sunday, party with the locals at the Passovah Holiday Lovedown show with two dozen artists playing from 4 p.m. until late at Bar Le Ritz PDB. American folk-rock artist Elvis Perkins comes to town with opener Kinsey on Tuesday, December 15 at Petit Campus. One of the most entertaining and curiously charismatic musicians in Montréal, the multitalented Patrick Watson plays concerts that are more like parties, December 15 and 16 at Metropolis. And if you’re a planner, start choosing your New Year’s Eve live music and parties using our 2015 Guide to NYE in Montréal.