10 Places to See Santa Claus in Toronto

Santa Claus is coming to town…and the main event is the subject of strategy sessions, spot saving and general crowd craziness. That's all fine and exciting, but if you're looking for something a little more low key for the little elves in your life, we've got 10 alternatives for smaller parades, train rides and some Christmas spectacles to delight the senses.

Get away from it all northwest of the city in Orangeville, where the crowds are much smaller, parking is plentiful and there is a very gourmet and picturesque downtown strip to round out the excursion. This year's theme is Toyland on Parade, so be prepared for wide eyes.

The theme of this year's Oakville Santa Claus parade is ‘A Canadian Christmas', so we're hoping for floats made of back bacon, plaid, hockey jerseys and maple syrup. It'll be fun, no matter what!

Santa's on the train and on a mission to visit every kid in every seat, passing out goodies along the way. The trip goes from Uxbridge to Stoufville and back again, lasting an hour.

Oh Richmond Hill, you are on the ball! This year's parade offers a #picstop to get a Santa Parade-themed photo. Santa selfie? Say cheese!

This lovely little parade focuses on helping the less fortunate and building community. The parade concludes with tree trimming, face painting and a reindeer to boot!

Beautiful Main Street Markham is the perfect backdrop for the Santa Claus parade, complete with School of Rock musical accompaniment. And since we're suckers for punishment, we'll even download the jingle bell app from the website—on parade day, just shake your phone for peals of jingle bells!

A parade and a skate with Santa? Sign us up! This festive event benefits from the bounty of families in the Mimico area and is a lot of fun—even the website delights with a countdown clock to the big day.

If the kiddos (and/or adults) are more into trains and comfort than parades, the Halton County Radial Railroad is for you. The train is like a streetcar that travels through the woods. Hope for snow to dust the trees and there's always Christmas carols on offer and a visit from Santa!

This is a sweet exhibit featuring 12 Christmas trees decorated by Toronto designers, each themed around a specific Toronto neighbourhood. Have fun pointing out the details and exclaiming how each is decorated to the hilt! A nice, short, indoor Christmas experience, and Mommy can ooooh and ahh over her favourite designers including Hilary Farr from Love it or List it and Holt Renfrew Designers.

We simply adore the classic style of the holiday windows at the Bay. Featuring vintage scenes and exquisite details (miniature Hudson Bay blankets delight), each scene is heart-warming and classic, set to traditional Christmas Carols. It's a great tradition to continue or begin for the whole family.