The streets of Montreal now smell of snow… In addition to construction and the rest of the city’s smells, which are, of course, omnipresent in the city. In addition to the smell of snow, the air has the cold quality of winter and the characteristic brightness of the end of the year.
Now that we’ve had our first eggnog at Christmas Tavern(after lining up in the snow, like real Montrealers) and made a plan and calendar for the holiday season, it’ s time to start decorating our apartments.
In addition to a trip to the local fabric and hardware stores for ribbons, beads, felt and paper to make most of our decorations, we’re going to pick up a tree and – miraculously – bring it back to our living room.
Trees from Montreal’s big markets
The city’s big public markets are the first stop for picking up your tree. We bring a devil or a friend with a car, or who wants to do some arm-twisting with us.
We wear thick leather or knitted gloves that won’t be damaged by the tree sap. We wear semi-appropriate shoes, because we’ll also be posing with our tree on our back – obligatory, for the Christmas card. We pick up our tree early, because there’s going to be some competition, and we drink a hot chocolate beforehand to give us courage.
Montreal’s big markets hold “special holiday markets” starting in late November, and it’s the perfect time to pick up a tree and the rest of the stuff you’ll need for your Christmas parties;
- Marché Jean-Talon, December 5 and 7, December 12 and 14 and December 19 and 21, 2025 (Fridays, 1pm to 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 5pm)
- Marché Maisonneuve, November 29 and 30, 2025 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
- Atwater Market, December 14, 2025 (11am to noon)
Christmas trees at Montreal’s holiday markets
To find a Christmas tree, you can also be spontaneous and wander from one Christmas market to the next in the city, letting the spirit of the holiday season point you in the direction of a tree.
We recommend this approach to those who are nostalgic and a little melancholy from the first snow day onwards, and to those who grew up in a small town like in the Hallmark movies.
Eco-friendly trees
Because a fir is a living tree that we bring indoors and represents eternal nature during the dead of winter, we want to give it back to nature afterwards.
On line (or a 55-minute drive from Montreal), you can choose an ecological Titi Sapin tree. It’s a living tree -which we’ll have to take care of, please- and ecological.
It comes in a pot, and you can keep it indoors for the season and replant it, keep it outdoors, or send it back to “Titi Sapin Country” to spend the rest of the year. And with every purchase, an additional tree is planted by Les serres Houblon Franklin.
Trees start at $29.99 (+$20 deposit for pot and tree).
Website? www.houblonsfranklin.com/titi-sapin
Happy holiday decorating!