(outdoor sparkle) While the Old Port lights up to musical accompaniment every Saturday night at 8 p.m. for December’s Telus Fire on Ice fireworks show, the Noël sur l’avenue Mont-Royal brightens up a long stretch of shop-and-restaurant-rich Mont-Royal Avenue, beginning with a joyful, candle-lit parade on December 8, starting at Mont-Royal Metro at 7 p.m. and ending at Parc Lafontaine with choirs singing, music playing and fireworks too! And throughout the month, kids and adults alike can take part in all kinds of activities, including a tree decoration workshop, December 9 at Place Gérald-Godin. And over at the beautiful Montreal Botanical Gardens, the main greenhouse is decked out for the holiday season with lights, new plant life, choir performances on weekend afternoons, and a craft fair December 7-9.

(glimmering gifts) Find professionally handmade and unique gifts at Montreal’s craft and artisanal fairs this weekend. Over 400 Quebec artists and artisans offer clothing, toys, food and much more at Salon des métiers d’art, downtown at Place Bonaventure to December 22 – Santa even drops by every Saturday afternoon. Find more creative gifts at the festive Le Marché Casse Noisette, co-organized by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, on until December 9 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. Designers, artists and other creative types set up mini-boutiques at the hip, cool Smart Design Mart, December 7-9 at 5505 Casgrain, in Mile End. Also in the neighbourhood is the Old Skool Crafts Holiday Fair, at L’Église St-Michel (105 St-Viateur W.) – it continues next weekend too, rivalling the new-skool at Puces Pop DIY & Craft Fair. And head east to Haut & Fort Noël Market at Marché St-Jacques (2nd floor, 1125 Ontario East).

(fancy food & drink) December is a time to indulge in social delights and delicious things – both are plentiful at FoodLab this month as the restaurant, located in cutting-edge multimedia centre le SAT, offers a “Grandes tablées” menu of Québécois terroir: December 10-13 try the Terrine De Gibier & Pot-Au-Feu, plus appetizers and desserts, all for $45 a person. Or warm up in nearby Chinatown with a steaming bowl of cheap and cheerful pho soup. Later, get cozy with friends and friendly Montrealers at any one of the city’s neighbourhood brew pubs.

(art & sound) Family friendly activities abound in December, including entertaining, interactive art around the city: downtown at the Quartier des Spectacles, walk through and play with musical installation Iceberg and see several large-scale projections on buildings along Sainte-Catherine and de Maisonneuve, all part of Luminothérapie. It’s also worth the trip to Maison de la Culture Maisonneuve to make your own music inside The Improbable Igloo, an igloo-shaped dome made of speakers by artist Alexis O’Hara, on until December 20. And fans of the band Sigur Ros won’t want to miss a screening of Sigur Ros: Valtari Film Experiment at the Phi Centre on December 9.

(comedy & theatre) Comedian Jeff Dunham’s show on December 9 at the Bell Centre is sure to be funny and strange and puppet-filled, just like Christmas, right? Later in the week, check out the hilarious DeAnne Smith headlining and Al Lafrance hosting “giftalicious” stand-up comedy show Let’s Do This! – it costs a mere $5 or a wrapped present if you want to be a part of a wacky gift exchange – at Mainline Theatre, December 13. Children’s theatre experts Geordie Productions add entertaining new twists to the classic tale of Robin Hood, December 7-16 at the Centaur Theatre. And for more traditional holiday theatre there’s Les Grands Ballets The Nutcracker, December 13-30 at Place des Arts.

(classical tunes) The sounds of Christmas are writ large when The Montreal Symphony Orchestra teams up with the Montreal Bach Festival to present Bach’s Christmas Oratorio performed by internationally renowned Collegium Vocale Gent, December 12-13. On December 8, The Orchestre Métropolitain performs Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6, while on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, Les Choralies Christmas concerts find harmony at Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours in Old Montreal. Le Choeur Gospel Célébration sings its Noël Divin program of Christmas and holiday-themed music at The Gesù on December 9. And at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on December 9, the Cantivo Vocal Ensemble gives a performance free of charge and on December 12, soprano Hélène Guilmette sing cantatas and traditional songs.

(rock n’ roll) Friday night brings much-loved Australian multi-instrumentalist Xavier Rudd to Metropolis and Loreena McKennitt to Place des Arts, while the skyrocketing love for the indie-rock of Half Moon Run peaks at Le National, Alaclair Ensemble adds hip hop to modern art at the MACM, and Keys N Krates’ electro-hip-hop fills the dancefloor at Le Belmont. More dancing is in store with electronic music producer Jacques Greene, Doldrums and more live on Saturday night at the SAT. Sunday, December 9 sees The Faint playing their album Danse Macabre, with Trust opening, at Club Soda. Since Monday is the new Friday, why not make a night of it with NYC’s St. Lucia at Divan Orange on December 10. On Tuesday, Rock and swoon to the electro-orchestral-tinged sound of The Breezes, with Montreal’s CFCF at Sala Rossa.

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(hot shop) Shop for holiday gifts or yourself at the annual souk @ sat art and design fair – it’s hip, it’s cool, it’s very Montreal, with over 100 professional artists and designers selling unique clothing, jewellery, handbags, furniture, home accessories, toys, art and more. The sale happens November 30 to December 2 at the Société des Arts Technologiques downtown, where you can also stop for a bite at their FoodLab restaurant. Find more Quebec-made creations, from clothing to gourmet food, at Le Marché Casse Noisette, also known as The Nutcracker Market, a non-profit market co-organized by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens – it’s one of many of Montreal’s December craft and artisanal fairs. Environmentally conscious shopping meets eco-education and entertainment – including a Green Santa! – at the Recycling-Artists Eco Fair at the Biosphère ecological centre in Parc Jean-Drapeau, November 30-December 2. And in Mile End, check out Marché de Noël du Mile End at Ecole Lambert-Closse (5840 St-Urbain), November 30 until 9 p.m. and December 1, 10am-5pm., featuring food, gifts and more.

(winter wonderlands) Montreal’s first snowfall has come and gone already, but more picturesque snow days are certainly on their way – and with them, winter sports! The huge outdoor skating rink in the Old Port opens December 1 – if you get there before 11 a.m., skate for free! If you get there afterwards, it’s only $6 anyway, with rentals available on site too. Later on December 1, the TELUS Fire on Ice fireworks show lights up the sky over the Old Port starting at 8 p.m. And over at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, wander through an indoor forest of Christmas trees, decorated in different styles with traditional and hand-painted decorations by local associations and cultural groups. Access to the museum’s permanent collections is free at all times, as are the museum’s weekend art workshops and tours for kids and families.

(comedy gold) Some big names in comedy come to Montreal this week, but while Jerry Seinfeld’s December 1 at Place des Arts is sold out, there’s still a chance to see Robin Williams in freewheeling conversation with fellow comedian (and director and author) David Steinberg on December 5 at Place des Arts. Not only is Williams’ career in television, film and on stage on the interview agenda, but so is his personal life – sure to be strange, hilarious and entertaining. On a smaller but just as funny scale, New York City veteran comic Al Lubel treads the Montreal Comedy Works stage November 30 and December 1. And family-friendly circus, musical and epic adventure show Loucho the Clown continues at Theatre Ste-Catherine to December 2.

(immersive art) Montreal lights up throughout the month with Luminotherapie, works of high-tech art located throughout the Quartier des Spectacles in the downtown core. Follow the story of an iceberg in interactive installation Iceberg – human movement actually transforms the physical structure and the sounds within, and look out for the many videos of Le Jour des 8 Soleils, projected on buildings throughout the Quartier. Create a professional self-portrait at the WonderWall collective art project at ArtLab (5524 St-Patrick), all day December 1 and 2 – you don’t need any art experience to be a participant and all materials will be supplied. And the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal holds its Giant Inventory Sale of Musée Publications – all publications are on sale for $2, cash only – December 4-5.

(film lands) At the end of Montreal’s film festival season, we find a celebration: Image+Nation has spent 25 years bringing LGBT films from around the world to Montreal, with plenty of good ones this year too, playing at Cinema du Parc until December 2 – feature length dramas this weekend include Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, Nicole Conn’s A Perfect Ending and more. Also at Cinema du Parc is Montreal’s Brazilian film festival, November 30-December 6, featuring premiers of new Brazilian films along with directors present for Q&A sessions after screenings.

(opera & theatre) Opera de Montreal holds its 17th annual Gala fundraiser with some of the companies most adored singers performing arias and ensembles from productions past and present – held at the beautiful new Maison symphonique de Montréal on Sunday, December 2 at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, in theatre, David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Good People, set in Boston’s working-class Irish “Southie” neighbourhood, continues at the Centaur to December 6. Contemporary painting gets the dramatic treatment in Red, based on the work and life of artist Mark Rothko, at the Segal Centre to December 16. And live it up with a night of vaudeville on December 6 at the Segal, with live music from Bad Uncle, comedians Mike Paterson, Tim Rabnet and Ryan Wilner, burlesque and circus acts, and  more.

(dancing days) The fairytale of Snow White is turned into an urban, dreamy, often funny dance odyssey in Où est Blanche-Neige?, choreographed by Manon Oligny as part of this winter’s Parcours Danse events – see a free performance at Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme at Place des Arts on December 4 at 5 p.m. and a free performance of Alors, Dansez Maintenant! on December 5 at 11:45 a.m. Persian music and contemporary dance combine in Śūnya, at the Segal Centre on December 1. Dance Cité presents Nancy Leduc’s Projet Harlequin, inspired by reading Harlequin romance novels as a teenager, to December 8 at Théâtre de Quat’sous (100 Pins W.). And up-and-coming dancers perform short pieces at the Bouge d’ici Mash Up, hosted by Miss Sugarpuss on November 30 at Shift Space (1190 St-Antoine W.).

(warm-up music) Back home after European tours, Montreal’s Jonas and the Massive Attraction show off their rock-pop stuff at Club Soda on Friday, November 30. On Saturday, December 1, Montreal musician Ariane Moffatt returns with her bilingual blend of jazz, electro and folk, with electro-pop makers Young Galaxy at the Corona Theatre, while jazz-blues entertainer Leon Redbone is at Sala Rossa – and on a different, but also Montreal-based note, Grim Skunk get their rock-punk-world-beat on at Club Soda. Sunday, December 2 is the right kind of day for the Gospel Celebration 30th Anniversary, featuring the wonderful Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir and special guests at Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts, 8 p.m. On Monday, December 3, get into the soulful, kind of jazzy, kind of rock music of Rachael Yamagata at Sala. On Tuesday, December 4, it’s NYC folk-pop group Pearl and the Beard at Sala. And on Thursday night, spend an evening with Loreena McKennitt at Place des Arts, or chill out with the Americana-style rock of Band of Horses at Metropolis, or dance to the electro-beat of Diamond Rings and Mozart’s Sister at Sala.

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The Christmas spirit is truly in the air at another big fair, Le Marché Casse Noisette, known in English as the Nutcracker Market. More Montreal and Quebec creations are around every corner at this fair, where gourmet food, jewelry, clothing, bath and beauty products and much more abound among the Christmas trees and tinsel, November 29-December 9 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.

Hip, cutting-edge design is what the annual souk @ sat is all about, with over 100 professional artists and designers selling unique, often made-in-Montreal clothing, jewellery, handbags, furniture, home accessories, toys, art and more. The sale happens November 30 to December 2 at the Société des Arts Technologiques (1201 St-Laurent), a high-tech education centre, music and entertainment venue, and also home to the inventive FoodLab restaurant.

With a pro style similar to souk’s, Smart Design Mart lets vendors set up approachable mini-boutiques in a huge industrial loft space, where everything from locally designed clothing to home decor to food can be found in a range of prices. The Mart is open on the evening of December 7 and during the day December 8-9 at 5505 Casgrain, in the bagels-and-coffee-and-cool neighbourhood of Mile End.

Also in Mile End is the holiday version of Pop Montreal’s Puces Pop Craft & DIY Fair, an always-lively mix of hip, quality hand-made items for winter and beyond, all infused with plenty of love and care – happening the evening of December 14 and during the day December 15-16 at Saint-Enfant-Jesus Church (5035 Ste-Dominique). For those looking for more traditional craft-fair fare, stop by the Old Skool Crafts Holiday Fair, December 8-9 and 15-16 at L’Église St.Michel (105 St-Viateur W.). And if you’re in town November 17-18, check out the creative goods at Expozine, one of the largest small press fairs in North America, where authors, artists and zine makers impress live and on paper – also held at the Saint-Enfant-Jesus Church.

Explore more of the city by heading south-east to the Haut & Fort Noël Market, dedicated to Quebecois designers and creators of “ideas, objects and furniture made here”– happening December 6-9 and 13-16 at Marché St-Jacques (2nd floor, 1125 Ontario E.). As with all the craft fairs in Montreal, the artists are right there to talk about their work and answer any questions – there’s something special about this kind of face-to-face meeting, and so often we get a good story to go with our purchase, not to mention a warm, fuzzy holiday feeling.

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