Upper Canada Village is a well oiled machine when it comes to celebrating the holidays. Their Halloween event ‘Pumpkinferno’ is spectacular, and similarly, their Christmas celebration ‘Alight at Night’ is one of the best ways to celebrate the holiday season.

It’s Worth the Drive

Let me start off by saying, Upper Canada Village is not a short drive from Ottawa (at least it doesn’t feel like it when you have two little kids in the car.) It’s a minimum of an hour and 15 minutes drive from the city. It took even longer for us this time around as it had started to snow, and while pretty, it made for slow driving conditions. We went on a Sunday evening, hoping for smaller crowds and it looks like we timed it well! There was no line up, and we walked right in. We were instantly met by a picture perfect setting, alight with nearly one million lights.

Things to Do

There are so many things to do once you get inside the village. You really can spend a few hours looking around. First up, we hopped on one of the horse drawn wagons which take you on a lovely 15 minute tour of the whole village. The wagons have comfortable seating, and there are at least four of them working at one time, guaranteeing you don’t have to wait for one long.

You can also book ahead of time to enjoy a romantic carriage ride for two on the Pommier Carriage. Needless to say there would be no romantic rides of any kind for my family. But we had a lovely time on the larger wagon ride.

If you’re not afraid of heights (and I’m not) you may want to try out a different view of the village. There is a 50 foot high Ferris wheel set in the fairground. Rides are included with your admission fee and are provided on a first come, first serve basis. That particularly evening the line up was only about 20 people deep, but I could see it getting much longer on a Friday or Saturday evening. Next to the Ferris wheel you can find the ‘Mistletoe Maze’. It’s a snow block-style maze made up of over 300 giant, white wrapped bales of hay. It’s a 400 foot long path and a fun place for the kids to run through and burn off some energy.

One of my favourite parts of the evening when was we visited the beautiful Christ Church. Inside, a talented singer and her pianist led visitors in cheerful Christmas carols all night long. We went in and sat down and ended up staying for quite some time. It’s a great place to warm up and rest your legs, and the kids had a blast singing along to Jingle Bells, Rudolph and many other timeless classics.

And of course, no visit would be complete without a stop to see Santa Claus. Now, I’ve seen a number of Santa Clauses already this holiday season, and I must say, the St. Nicholas at Upper Canada Village really took the cake. He just looked so fabulous! You can find the Victorian themed Santa holding court at Crysler Hall, which has been beautifully decorated and renamed ‘St.Nick’s Merry Mansion’.

There are professional photographers there to take the picture for a fee, or you can just take your own photo for free! My son used the opportunity to again reiterate to Santa that he better see a transformer under the tree this year…

And There’s More…

There is also a train ride at Upper Canada Village. We almost missed it, because you actually board it outside of the village gates back near the parking lot. We caught sight of it as we were leaving, and decided to board because my daughter had her heart set on going on a “choo choo” ride.

It’s a lovely little train which blasts Christmas tunes the whole journey long, but a word of caution. There is not much to see on this ride. It takes around 5 minutes, and it is mostly whistling through darkness. You travel through one, short tunnel that has been strung up with Christmas lights and that is it. I’m not sorry we went on it, because there was no line up. However, it was very cold and if there is any hint of a line up I would say it isn’t worth the wait.

Don’t Forget About the Food

With the long drive to and from Upper Canada Village, we planned to have dinner while we were there. There are a number of dining options, but we decided to go with the kid friendly Harvest Barn.

It’s a large, cafeteria style restaurant with plenty of tables and high chairs. I appreciate that there are always some good home-cooked specials. This time we went for the whole turkey dinner- stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberries and all! When it was time to head back out into the frosty, evening air we adults grabbed a few spiked coffees for the road (they were also serving spiked apple cider and hot chocolate too.)

The Harvest Barn seems to be the best place to go with little kids, but there are plenty of other options for dining. You can get a three course meal at Willard’s Hotel or a beer and something more casual at Cook’s Tavern. There is also a little cafe in the General Store.

Some Things to Remember

It was cold…really, really cold with blowing snow. At this time of year you must bundle up. My kids were in their full snow suits, scarves, hats and gloves and it was necessary. Upper Canada Village is located on the banks of the St.Lawrence River, so it can feel even more chilly than the thermometer reads.

A Few Details

Alight at Night is open Thursdays through Sunday. It opened on December 2nd, and runs until January 7. It will be closed on December 24 and 25. It is open from 5pm-9pm, except for Saturdays when the village is open from 4pm-10pm.

Adult tickets cost $14 plus tax. Seniors are $12, and children aged 6-12 are $10. Children ages 5 and under are free. You can get your tickets online ahead of time and beat the line up (if there is one). To purchase tickets and find out more information visit http://www.uppercanadavillage.com/events/alight-at-night/