The holiday spirit is sweeping through Toronto: we can see the warm hues from string lights twinkling off the pine trees, and hear the seasonal music humming inside stores as we near Christmas Day.
Christmas is practically here, but there is a way the season’s spirit can still be seen in the city when the holiday comes to an end.
Toronto has homed several Christmas-themed movies over decades, appearing as a backdrop in old-school classics to Netflix blockbusters.
“Ontario has become a go-to destination for seasonal productions because the province offers an extraordinary range of locations—everything from charming, bucolic small towns to dynamic urban centres,” Justin Cutler, Ontario Film Commissioner at Ontario Creates, said in a statement.
“That versatility is a perfect match for the tones and settings of holiday films.”
From decking the halls at concert halls to a robbery helmed by a mall Santa at the Eaton Centre, here are the Christmas-inspired movies that used Toronto as a film set and where they shot at:
Black Christmas (1974)
While it’s not a standard Christmas movie, this cult slasher film about a group of sorority sisters terrorized by alarming phone calls around the Christmas break shot in a few locations throughout downtown Toronto.
The college where the women are studying at is shot at University of Toronto’s St. George campus, but the sorority house was off-campus, at a home in the Republic of Rathnelly neighbourhood on Clarendon Crescent.
The police station in the film was shot at 97 Main St., with the street signs of Main and Swanswick Avenue visible in the movie.
The Silent Partner (1978)
Another Christmas-adjacent thriller filmed throughout Toronto, because it was set here. This thriller follows the story of Miles Cullen, a Toronto bank teller played by Elliott Gould, who learns of a planned robbery involving Harry Reikle, a mall Santa played by Christopher Plummer.
The Toronto Eaton Centre was used for the robbery sequence in the film, Cullen’s apartment was filmed at 6 Howard St., and the now-defunct Silver Dollar Room, which acted as Reikle’s go-to bar.
A Christmas Story (1983)
Ralphie Parker’s iconic Christmas story was primarily filmed in Cleveland, Ohio, there were a few scenes that were filmed in Toronto.
The scene where the nine-year-old uses the “Queen mother of dirty words” as he was helping his father fix their car’s tire was filmed along the Cherry Street Bridge in the Port Lands.
The Chinese restaurant that the Parkers ate at on Christmas, Bo’Ling Chop Suey Palace, was filmed in the Chinatown East neighbourhood in Toronto on Gerrard Street East.
One Magic Christmas (1985)
This Disney movie centres around the story of an angel showing a mother the true meaning of Christmas, in that it’s not all about the presents that are given at this time of year.
Though this film shot throughout Ontario, including Collingwood, Meaford, and Owen Sound, the city says Scarborough also homed the production.
The Santa Clause (1994)
This Christmas classic starring Tim Allen, who accidentally kills a man in a Santa suit and takes the jolly old soul’s place in the North Pole, filmed all over the Greater Toronto Area.
Two schools in Toronto were used in the film: Blythwood Junior Public School served as the backdrop to Principal Compton’s office, where Scott Calvin (Allen) goes to talk about his son Charlie’s claims about Santa, and John Ross Robertson Junior Public School where parents are invited to talk about their careers to the class.
The scene where children lined up to ask Scott Calvin about Christmas gifts during Charlie’s soccer game took place at Hillcrest Park, a Denny’s in Scarborough hosted Christmas Eve dinner for the father and son, and them watching the polar bears swim was set at the Toronto Zoo.
Most of the film was shot in Oakville, located west of Toronto, and fans can even stay in the home they stayed at as it is listed up on Airbnb.
A Christmas Horror Story (2015)
Continuing with the trend of holiday-themed horror films is “A Christmas Horror Story,” an anthology of interconnected stories set on Christmas Eve and recounted by a radio host Dangerous Dan (played by William Shatner).
A City of Toronto spokesperson said parts of this movie filmed throughout one west-end Toronto neighbourhood, in Palmerston-Little Italy.
The Christmas Chronicles (2018)
The tale of two siblings scheming to capture Santa Claus (played by Kurt Russell) on Christmas Eve was shot on several residential streets throughout Leslieville, serving as the backdrops to create the cozy feel of a small town.
The two children and Santa Claus steal a sports car at St. James’s gate, an Irish pub in Etobicoke, so they can track down one of the reindeer.
Following a car chase, which came to a pause at the Windsor Arms Hotel in the ritzy Yorkville neighbourhood, and Santa ends up in police custody, the two children escape by reindeer to St. James Cathedral.
8-Bit Christmas (2021)
Starring the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Steve Zahn, playing Jake and John Doyle, this story follows a 10-year-old’s ambitions to create the greatest video game system for the holidays.
This Christmas film may be set in suburban Chicago in the ‘80s, but the city says it is primarily filmed throughout Toronto, including at Woodbine Mall, the Gardiner Expressway and the Riverside and Old Town BIAs, according to the city.
Meet Me Next Christmas (2024)
Layla (Christina Milian) is on a quest for a fairytale romance, and in doing so she has to run through the streets of New York City to get her hands on tickets to a sold-out Pentatonix show—but really, she is running throughout the streets of Toronto.
Torontonians will likely notice The Opera House and Royal Alexandra Theatre in the film. There are also scenes that take place at Bisha Hotel, David Pecaut Square, Lillian Massey Building and Queens Park, as well as the east-end restaurant The Comrade.
A Very Jonas Christmas Movie (2025)
Jonas Brothers fans who scored $20 tickets to a surprise concert at Massey Hall last year actually served as background actors for the band’s Christmas movie this year.
Outside of the historic music venue, other recognizable landmarks throughout Toronto appeared in their film: Casa Loma (acting as Buckingham Palace), the Exhibition Grounds (from the Enercare Centre to the Coca Cola Coliseum).
A Merry Little Ex-Mas (2025)
Alicia Silverstone’s holiday-themed romcom was filmed throughout Ontario, according to Netflix’s In Your Neighbourhood.
Netflix says they shot at Elliott Tree Farm in Hillsburgh, Ont., where Silverstone’s character bumps into the man of many hats, Beaumont Mill Antiques in Georgetown, Ont., for the interior of Holden’s Hardware, and throughout Unionville, Ont.
The city says the Netflix film also shot at an undisclosed studio in Toronto, as well as some B-roll.
