Sometimes the holidays get so busy that the only time you actually have to slow down and hang out with friends or loved ones is the exact day when everything might be closed! Luckily, if you’re looking to see what’s open on Christmas Day in Vancouver (December 25, 2022) here are a few options:
Open on Christmas Day in Vancouver 2022
Lights & Festive Displays
In Downtown Vancouver, visit St Paul’s Lights of Hope in front of the historic hospital site. While you’re in the area, walk on over to Nelson & Bute to see home heritage homes lit up with holiday flare or to the front of the art gallery along Georgia for more lights at the Silber Family Agam Menorah and Downtown Vancouver Christmas tree.
Lights at Lafarge will be open and free, of course, all around Town Centre Park in Coquitlam
Christmas at Canada Place is always open! This free, family experience captures the spirit of the season with beautifully decorated Avenue of Christmas Trees, the nostalgic Woodward’s Windows and a winter wonderland display of lights on Canada’s Great Bright North powered by Best Buy.
The ‘village’ shopping experience is often manufactured and imitated, but rarely duplicated. If you’re looking to buy local while supporting businesses in your region, with a healthy serving of festive charm and holiday cheer all bundled up together, there’s nothing like holiday shopping in Fort Langley.
Little White House & Co., Wendel’s Bookstore & Cafe, BC Buzz Honey General Store, Floralista, Livingroom. Miss604 Photo
Walk up one side of Glover Road and back, Church St or Mavis and you’ll find everything from the latest fashions and home decor trends, to an apothecary, juice bar, mason jar merchant, coffee roaster, multiple bakeries, cafes and bistros.
I used to spend a week in Fort Langley visiting a friend as a kid, and we would shop the hardware store on the corner for nails to shore-up her tree fort, and browse the antique mall to see if anything came in that we could add to our stamp collections. These days, the shopping options are much less limited, although I am truly thankful that the Village Antique Mall is still there, it’s amazing. I mean 10,000 square feet filled with 60 vendor booths stacked with vintage items, antiques and collectibles!
Holiday Shopping in Fort Langley
Here are some shops to add to your itinerary, as featured in my Instagram Reel:
There’s even more to do than eat, drink, sip, shop, attend and events, or stroll the riverfront. Fort Langley is such a quaint, picture-perfect village, that there’s no wonder it has been the setting for dozens of Hallmark hometowns and made-for-TV movie moments. If you’re a fan of the holiday films, or series like When Calls the Heart, there’s actually a whole self-guided film location tour that you can do around the Township of Langley. From the National Historic Site to the Fort Langley Community Hall, and more.
Fort Langley Community Hall, Fort Langley CN Railway Station, Fort Langley National Historic Site – Miss604 Photos
Enter to Win
If you haven’t been to Fort Langley in a while, I highly recommend the visit, especially at this time of year. That’s why I’m giving away a $100 gift card to Saba Bistro.
The Bistro (at 9220 Glover Rd) is the latest venture from the same family that owns Saba Cafe (23343 Mavis Ave). I had an incredible vegan Avocado & Kale Benny for breakfast before my big shopping day, complete with an Americano (Oat) Misto. The sautéed kale, the fresh herb scone, creamy avocado, and “vegan hollandaise” were a symphony of flavour. Their brunch menu has everything from a classic breakfast to a braised short rib has, to a roasted mushroom skillet — and they’re open for lunch and dinner. Be sure to make a reservation as this is one popular spot, and for good reason!
Good luck to all those participating in the contest, and I hope you have a wonderful time shopping local and enjoying this charming destination!
Follow Miss604Holidays this season for the latest arts and culture activities, attraction and event news »
Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience coming to Surrey February 1 to March 5, 2023. This three-dimensional experience will feature more than 300 of the Dutch artist’s paintings.
Beyond Van Gogh in Surrey
Where: Agriplex at Cloverdale Fairgrounds (17798 62 Ave, Surrey)
When: February 1 – March 5, 2023
Sunday – Thursday: 10:00am – 8:00pm (last entry at 7:00pm)
Friday – Saturday: 10:00am – 9:00pm (last entry at 8:00pm)
Prices start at $31.99 for adults and $23.99 for children (ages 5-15), plus ticketing fees may apply
While journeying through Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience, witness the iconic masterpieces as highly-detailed projections. These projections include instantly recognizable classics as “The Starry Night,” “Sunflowers” and “Café Terrace at Night”, in addition to many revealing self-portraits.
“This distinctive and unique multimedia artistic adventure is deeply resonating with audiences. Encompassing a refreshing new twist unlike art lovers have seen before, Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experiencegives a new appreciation of this tortured artist’s stunning work. Unsurprisingly millions of people all over the world credit Van Gogh with enhancing their relationship with art. Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience will only strengthen that connection.” – Justin Paquin, producer at Paquin Entertainment Group
Cinematic Van Gogh exhibitions have crossed the ocean from European cities to North America in recent years and have been met with great critical acclaim, with sold-out audiences in every market. During its first Canadian stops in Montreal and Quebec City, the uniqueImagine Van Goghexhibition received widespread praise. Before closing in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Montreal received close to 200,000 visitors and thereafter 75,000 in Quebec City. The exhibit was also very successful during a very similar exhibition in Vancouver in 2021.
Follow Van Gogh Surrey on Facebook and Instagram to learn more, your own photos on social are encouraged to share the experience!
There’s lots of lights, festivals, markets, and music to enjoy this weekend in Vancouver. Miss604 is proud to sponsor Heritage Christmas at Burnaby Village and Christmas at Canada Place – both free events to enjoy all season long! Find these activities and many more things to do in Vancouver this weekend listed below:
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend December 9-11, 2022
Children with life-threatening illness and their families need complex medical care. Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides critical care to support families facing an unimaginable journey. But not without your gift through the annual Light a Life Campaign. With your gift, to “light a life” you let families know that every life is precious, no matter how long it shines.
Light a Life with Canuck Place
Canuck Place lights a difficult journey for children and families
For the Hall family, learning to find hope in unimaginable circumstances was a difficult journey.
When Chris and Hollie Hall’s daughter Lily was 13 years old, she was diagnosed with a rare, malignant brain tumor. After many years of treatment, the Hall family found their way into Canuck Place Children’s Hospice care in 2017, when Lily was 16 years old.
Canuck Place supports families in holding hope, while facing the uncertainty and understanding that their child will live a short life. Canuck Place supports children with life-threatening illnesses and families like the Halls to navigate the complexities of grief, while cherishing the precious time they have left together.
“At first we were not happy to see Canuck Place staff because we knew they were a hospice for children to go to die,” Hollie explains. “It was scary and confusing. We had so much hope that Lily would recover.”
This is a common feeling of fear for families who are introduced to the Canuck Place program. Coming to terms with the understanding that their child’s illness is incurable, is devastating. Lily passed away at 19 years old on November 25, 2020.
Canuck Place Counsellor, Andrea Johnson, worked very closely with Lily. “Adolescents and young adults who are living with advanced disease are often navigating between wanting to live aspects of their life they lived prior to their disease and living with the changes in their life introduced by advanced disease,” says Andrea.
“Supporting families of children and youth living with life-threatening illnesses requires whole family care and attention to everyone’s needs. As the Canuck Place counselling team, we support young people living with disease and their parents and siblings who love and closely walk with them,” says Andrea.
On average, a child is part of the Canuck Place program for seven years and their parents and siblings remain on the bereavement program for an additional three years. This is an incredibly difficult and lengthy road to endure, but Canuck Place walks alongside families with complex pediatric palliative care and helps create a safe space to navigate their complex journey of grief. All at no cost to families.
“Canuck Place has offered continuous support that helps us walk through tender moments,” says Hollie. “The care at Canuck Place is unique because they take care of the entire family and nurture everyone in a holistic way.”
Canuck Place continues to support Chris and Hollie in their grief and loss of Lily. They meet regularly with Andrea and they attend a bereavement group with other Canuck Place families.
Andrea explains that the loss of a child introduces raw and sharp grief to the parents and family members who love them. “Living with grief is an intentional and effort-full process as families integrate their grief and loss of their child and create a different life informed by this integration.”
When faced with a life-threatening diagnosis, the complex and ever-changing emotional, spiritual, and psychosocial needs can seem overwhelming to children and the family members who love them. Canuck Place counsellors understand this and are trained to help families cope with raw grief and adjust to each stage of the illness and beyond. This past year alone, Canuck Place saw a 27% increase in grief and bereavement counselling sessions.
Canuck Place is there with love, care, and guidance when and where families like the Halls need it most. Grief support doesn’t take away the pain of losing a child, it helps families find coping mechanisms, learn to express their grief, and continue to live while holding their grief.
“To be witnessed and seen in grief, is extremely meaningful and can push back against the isolation that grief can impose,” Andrea notes. The Canuck Place counselling team journeys closely with families and supports them along this complex path.
Donations Triple Matched
With your support, Canuck Place gives short lives the chance to shine. Donate now through December 31st and your gift will be triple matched! Light the way. Give today.
