Hanukkah arrives in just a few weeks, and you're probably
already getting Christmas catalogs in the mail. The winter holidays are here,
and if you're planning a trip to Toronto in the upcoming weeks, Canada's
biggest city offers plenty of holiday shopping opportunities. Plus, shopping
around Toronto is a great way to experience some of its most colorful and
historic neighborhoods. Book;cheap tickets to Toronto, and wear comfortable
walking shoes so that you can explore this city's many markets, shops and
boutiques.

For the Finicky
Foodie
If you've got a finicky foodie to shop for, Toronto's St. Lawrence Market offers
thousands of options. This is year passion for food and craft abound. Plan to
spend several hours or a day here. And, if you're an early bird, the
200-year-old farmers market opens on Saturdays at 5 am, so you can beat crowds
and fit in plenty of sightseeing for later. Don't be surprised by the crowds
since Food and Wine magazine listed
the St. Lawrence Market as one of the world's 25 best food markets. Located
in historic Old Town Toronto at Jarvis and Front Streets,  the market is so vast it's broken up into
different areas: the South and North Markets and St. Lawrence Hall. There are
more than 120 vendor selling food and artisanal wares. Anything that's grown,
harvested and produced can be found here. Visit the second floor of the South
Market to check out the Market Gallery, an exhibition about the City of
Toronto's Cultural Services, and get ideas for more sightseeing and adventure.

Old Becomes New
The Distillery
District is a wonderful way to explore one of Toronto's many unique
neighborhoods while also getting some high-quality retail therapy. Formally an
abandoned industrial wasteland There are;
more than 80 shops in the Distillery District, which is a
pedestrian-only village filled with clusters of Victorian-era brick buildings
and great installation sculptures. Stores include boutiques and shops that sell
vintage clothing, handmade jewelry, "upcycled" accessories, such as
purses woven from recycled seatbelts or sewn from colorful shower caps,
artisanal foods, handcrafted beer, home decor and art works.  Starting November 29, the District's holiday market
opens, providing even more shopping outlets. It's an easy place to find enough
gifts for all eight days of Hanukkah or to purchase that perfect stocking
stuffer.

Shop Local
Forget brand-name department stores. Toronto is filled with
designers, artists and fashionistas turned entrepreneurs selling one-of-a-kind
items. Coal Miner's Daughter on
Markham Street lists alphabetically its dozens and dozens of local designers,
many who are from Ottawa and Montreal, and who make beautiful cowls, sweaters,
dresses, scarves, purses and everything else a woman needs to remain
fashionably dressed in the cold. Fresh
Collective has three store locations and features several Toronto-area
designers including Michelle Carey and Paper
People Clothing that emphasize green-living design, as well as colorful
undergarments made by Candi Factory.
Also check out Ziliotto, named after designer Jennifer Ziliotto who trained
with Chanel in Paris before launching her own label in her home town in 2002.
Working with bamboo, organic cotton and other materials, Ziliotto creates and
sells elegant skirts, tops, dresses, jackets and pants that have a
cosmopolitan, eco-friendly flair.

For more information about visiting Toronto this winter,
visit www.seetorontonow.com. And to book your flight, visit;CheapOair today!

Photo credit: Jun Li via Shutterstock