If you have time for a road trip in the midst of all your shopping, wrapping, baking and decorating, there’s a lot of fun to be had in Ottawa, Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais this week. Christmas events abound, of course—everything from pet photos with Santa and village carolling to a one-man performance of A Christmas Carol in Ottawa and karaoke at a winery. But if you want a little break from the fa-la-la-la-la, you can see butterflies in flight, learn to salsa dance or see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Wherever your travels take you, drive safely!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Tiptoe among the butterflies at the Canadian Museum of Nature
- Catch a concert in Ottawa, Shawville, Brockville, Cornwall and beyond
- Shop a flea market after hours in Carleton Place
- Chat with new people at a Perth coffee shop
- See a Christmas play … or not
- Count birds for science
- Curl up with a local Christmas rom-com
- (Salsa) dance the night away in Ottawa
- Hit one last craft sale
- Hear carollers in Inkerman
- Sing at a winery near Kemptville or in Wakefield
- See The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Mayfair
- Learn to make a watercolour gift in Ottawa
- See The Nutcracker in Cornwall
- Celebrate the season with your pet in Ottawa, Smiths Falls or Renfrew
- Take a ghostly tour of the Bytown Museum
- Be dazzled by festive lights all over
- Get a photo with Santa in Cornwall
- Banish the darkness in Montreal
Tiptoe among the butterflies at the Canadian Museum of Nature
Plan ahead if you’d like to see the very popular Butterflies in Flight exhibition at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Running until January 18, 2026, this show lets you walk through the museum’s solarium, which is currently filled with brilliantly coloured butterflies from Costa Rica and the Philippines. Monarch butterflies, blue morphos, swallowtails and other butterflies—20 species in all—are fluttering among the plants and eating delicately from trays of fruit. You need to buy a timed ticket—advance purchase is strongly recommended—as the number of spaces available each day is limited. Read the information on the museum’s website carefully before visiting, as it has great advice on what to wear and how to interact with the butterflies.
Catch a concert in Ottawa, Shawville, Brockville, Cornwall and beyond
Haven’t made it to a Christmas concert yet? Don’t worry—there’s still time! Your choices this week include the Barra MacNeils in Brockville, a Michael Bublé tribute show in Cornwall, Seventeen Voyces in the Glebe, the Jersey Nights Before Christmas Show in Orleans and Gail Gavan in Shawville. There’s also a fundraising evening of songs and stories at the Gladstone Theatre in Little Italy. Those are just a few of the many concerts happening this week.
Shop a flea market after hours in Carleton Place
Attention, thrifters and bargain hunters: Murray’s Flea Market in Carleton Place is holding a special after-hours sale on Thursday, December 18, from 5pm to 9pm. Most items will be discounted by 20 percent, and you can sip a free hot chocolate as you browse.
Chat with new people at a Perth coffee shop
Coffee and Conversation is a movement that brings people together in coffee shops and other gathering places to meet each other, hear different points of view and participate in a facilitated discussion. It’s billed as a way to combat loneliness and build community, which sounds pretty cool to me. The video above gives more details. One of these regular weekly sessions is taking place at lunchtime at Coutts Coffee Roaster and Cafe in Perth on Wednesday, December 17.
See a Christmas play … or not
Looking for some distraction from your shopping list and cookie baking? How about a play? In terms of Christmas-themed theatre, you can choose from three variations on the classic Dickens story of Scrooge and his ghosts: A Sherlock Carol at Ottawa Little Theatre, Pierre Brault’s one-man performance of A Christmas Carol at the Meridian Theatres@Centrepointe, and the straight-up A Christmas Carol at the Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg.
Feeling a bit Christmassed-out? Then perhaps Sisters Matsumoto, a heartwarming play at the Gladstone Theatre that sheds light on the aftereffects of Japanese internment camps during the Second World War, will pique your interest. For more details on these and many other upcoming plays, see my theatre roundup.
Count birds for science
In the Christmas Bird Count, a nationwide event coordinated by Birds Canada, amateur ornithologists head out into nature to learn about birdwatching and do some citizen science. Counts are taking place across Canada between December 14 and January 5. Check the link above to find out about events in your area.
Curl up with a local Christmas rom-com
Call this a virtual road trip: If you love those holiday rom-coms where a burnt-out big-city executive falls for a small-town baker/dog walker/shopkeeper, don’t miss my big list of Christmas movies shot in Eastern Ontario. Ottawa has played its fair share of starring roles in these movies (the Fairmont Chateau Laurier is a popular location), but communities from Almonte and Perth to Smiths Falls and Brockville have also rolled out the welcome mat for Hollywood.
(Salsa) dance the night away in Ottawa
Ever wanted to learn to salsa dancing? Rahim Salsa’s Friday-night sessions could be your opportunity! Rahim Salsa and guest instructors offer a one-hour salsa or bachata dance lesson, followed by a social dance, every Friday night at St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church on Elgin Street. No partner and no experience needed. The next session is on Friday, December 19.
Hit one last craft sale
If you still have a few items left on your Christmas list, don’t panic—there are still a few art, artisan and craft sales you can check out. But don’t procrastinate much longer! By December 21, all of these sales will close (although the Ottawa Christmas Market at Lansdowne Park will reopen for a few days after Christmas).
Hear carollers in Inkerman
On Sunday, December 21, the Inkerman Rinkhouse will be hosting a free afternoon of Christmas entertainment from 1pm to 3pm. Along with the music, you can enjoy hot chocolate and snacks. Inkerman is partway between Winchester and Kemptville, just south of Ottawa.
Sing at a winery near Kemptville or in Wakefield
Maybe you’d rather sing than just listen? Then head to Green Gables Vines Winery, partway between Kemptville and Spencerville, for an evening of Christmas karaoke on Friday, December 19. Bring a non-perishable donation for the local food bank, and wear your ugly Christmas sweater if you’re so inclined.
Alternatively, you could join carollers in Wakefield on Saturday, December 20. Stroll through the picturesque Gatineau Hills town from 3pm to 5pm, ending up at the Black Sheep Inn.
See The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Mayfair
Leave the rice, confetti and toast at home, but put on your best Rocky Horror gear for a screening of the campy cult classic at the Mayfair Theatre in Old Ottawa South on Friday, December 19. For the past half century (yes, the movie is celebrating its 50TH birthday this year), audiences have been flocking to the tale of mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter, who comes to the rescue of stranded sweethearts Brad and Janet, and then … Honestly, the plot of this R-rated horror movie spoof makes absolutely no sense, and no one listens to the movie, anyway. Just come prepared to dance. Remember, it’s just a jump to the left, and then a step to the ri-i-i-i-ight.
P.S.: If you’re in the mood for something a little more Christmassy, the Mayfair is also showing It’s a Wonderful Life and Die Hard on the big screen this week. And, yes, Die Hard is a Christmas movie, at least in our household. 🤣
Learn to make a watercolour gift in Ottawa
Just in time for Christmas, you can learn to make a watercolour painting of a Christmas wreath—which you could frame or use as a card—at a noon-hour beginner’s workshop at Wallack’s Art Supplies on Bank Street in Centretown. It’s taking place on Friday, December 19, from 12pm to 1pm.
See The Nutcracker in Cornwall
Get your fix of the Sugar Plum Fairy and all her friends when the Syracuse City Ballet brings its production of The Nutcracker to the Aultsville Theatre in Cornwall on Saturday, December 20.
Celebrate the season with your pet in Ottawa, Smiths Falls or Renfrew
Throughout the holidays, the Ottawa Humane Society (OHS) is inviting pet lovers to book an appointment to have their furry friend’s photo taken with Santa. Bookings for this fundraising venture are $25 in advance and $30 at the door (first come, first served for the latter).
On Saturday, December 20, you can get your pet’s photo snapped with Santa at Bone Appetit Pet Company in Smiths Falls, from 10am to 4pm. Prices range from $15 to $28, depending what you’d like to emblazon your fur baby’s photo on (choices include photos, keychains and ornaments).
And looking ahead to next week, Pet Valu in Renfrew is also offering pet photos with Santa from noon to 6pm on Monday, December 22. Again, prices range from $15 to $28, depending what item you buy.
Take a ghostly tour of the Bytown Museum
Is Christmas too cheerful and happy for your liking? Then you might be a prime customer for the Haunted Walk’s Nightmare Before/After Xmas Ghost Tours. On Saturdays throughout December, you can take a ghostly tour in and around the Bytown Museum, which ghost hunters believe is one of Ottawa’s most haunted buildings. According to the Haunted Walk, “Once inside, you’ll learn why some Haunted Walk tour guides are too scared to give tours of the museum—even at Christmas time.”
Be dazzled by festive lights all over
Let there be light! The popular Alight at Night Festival at Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg sees the historical village’s homes, shops, church, fences and trees adorned with roughly one million lights. In Edwards, Stanley’s Olde Maple Farm has an illuminated Holiday Stroll, while in Munster, Saunders Farm has A Country Christmas Holiday Light Stroll. Over in the Pontiac, Chutes Coulonge in Mansfield-et-Pontefract is illuminated during the Festival of Lights. There are also illuminated attractions in Nepean, Cumberland, Orleans, Brockville and elsewhere. See my big guide to holiday light installations for details.
Get a photo with Santa in Cornwall
Drop by the Cornwall Community Museum for a family photo with Santa and Mrs. Claus on December 20 from 1pm to 4pm. There is no charge, but donations are welcome. You can take a photo yourself or, if you prefer, museum staff can take one for you and send you the digital copy by email.
Banish the darkness in Montreal
Lumino, a one-of-a-kind outdoor interactive light show, returns to Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles this year for another three-month run (November 27 to March 8). The free event riffs features light installations, projections and artistic performances along Ste. Catherine Street West and other downtown streets. It’s all rather hard to explain; check out the video above, which will, well illuminate the event.
Looking for more tips on things to see and do in and around Ottawa? Subscribe to my free weekly newsletter or order a copy of my book, Ottawa Road Trips: Your 100-km Getaway Guide.
As the owner of Ottawa Road Trips, I acknowledge that I live on, work in and travel through the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg Nation. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be present on this land. Ottawa Road Trips supports Water First, a non-profit organization that helps address water challenges in Indigenous communities in Canada through education, training and meaningful collaboration.