Metropolis at Metrotown is definitely a best place for shopping in Metro Vancouver, especially when Santa is there during the Christmas holiday season.

The mall is a favourite place for shoppers, with its 300+ stores, Cineplex movie theatre, free parking and central location. During the winter holiday season, however, the place is especially popular, with its sales, festive decorations, special activities and photo opportunities with Santa Claus.

This article is about the holiday shopping season at the mall, including some of the shopping centre’s special events in November and December. Special activities include the following:

• Photos with Santa (Nov.12th to Dec. 23rd)
• Charity Gift Wrap (Dec. 1st to 24th on the Upper Level near Winners)
• Holiday Hive Market (Dec. 6th & 7th outside in the South Plaza by the Dolphin Pond)
• Dance Party (Dec. 6th between the Holiday Hive Market and North Pole Santa Set)
• Holiday Toy Drive (Dec. 6th on the Ground Level near Baskin Robbins)
• Photos with Tropical Santa (Dec. 28th to 30th)

In addition to the above, there are also seasonal decorations all over the place, plus The Toy Room which is a place where low income families and seniors can register in advance to receive a donated gift between November 1st and 29th.

To learn about the mall in general, see our article about Metropolis at Metrotown or visit metropolisatmetrotown.com. To learn about the shopping centre’s Santa Experience and other holiday happenings, however, continue reading.

Santa Experience and Holiday Shopping at Metropolis at Metrotown

Also known simply as the “Met”, Metropolis at Metrotown celebrates the winter holiday season with decorations, festive music and Santa Claus, along with sales at its many stores. There is live music on select dates and times, a toy drive (where they collect donations for kids in need), and a charity gift wrap service (which supports Burnaby Neighbourhood House).

In 2025 there is also a brand new Holiday Hive Market outside the shopping centre on the weekend of December 6th and 7th. Also on Saturday, December 6th, there is a Dance Party as well as the Holiday Toy Drive where shoppers are encouraged to donate either cash or a new, unwrapped toy to support the Burnaby Christmas Bureau. (TIP: The first hundred people to make a donation of at least $20 cash will get a free $10 gift certificate to the mall.)

To give you an idea of what the holiday season is like at the mall, below is information about some of the events that take place at Metropolis at Metrotown. First though, we’ll provide details about the shopping centre’s location and hours.

For the mall’s official website, visit metropolisatmetrotown.com. 

Where & When is the Mall

The largest mall in BC, Metropolis at Metrotown is located in Burnaby, on Kingsway Avenue, about halfway between Central Park and Deer Lake Park. The Metrotown SkyTrain Station is conveniently right outside the mall. The mall’s official address is 4700 Kingsway.

For much of the year, the shopping centre is open every day from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm on Mondays to Saturdays and between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm on Sundays. This is the case in November and December too, although with a few exceptions.

Special holiday hours in 2025 are the following:

• Black Friday (November 28th) – 8:00 am to 9:00 pm
• December 21st – 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
• Christmas Eve (December 24th) – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
• Christmas Day (December 25th) – Closed
• Boxing Day (December 26th) – 8:00 am to 9:00 pm
• December 28th – 10:00 am to 9:00 pm
• New Year’s Eve (December 31st) – 10:00 am to 6:00 pm
• New Year’s Day (January 1st) – 11:00 am to 7:00 pm

For the mall’s official website, visit metropolisatmetrotown.com. 

Santa Claus at the Met in 2025

Santa Claus is at Metropolis at Metrotown in various forms for most of the holiday season, between November 12th and December 30th. He appears with his traditional look, in his red and white suit, but also embodying other perspectives of the holidays too on specific dates.

The classic storybook Father Christmas is at the mall for photos on November 12th, 14th to 16th, 19th to 23rd, and 26th to 30th. He’s also there on December 3rd to 7th, 10th to 13th, 17th, and 19th to 23rd.

In addition to the traditional jolly old elf, on the Mondays of November 17th and December 1st, Global Santa is available for photos. Sporting a slightly different look, he represents multiple versions of the holidays celebrated by different cultures. Mr. Claus also appears for a few days with his relaxed, local look. West Coast Santa is available for people to book photos with on November 13th, 18th, 24th and 25th. He’s also there on December 1st, 2nd, 8th, 9th, 15th, 16th and 18th.

Between December 27th and 30th, meanwhile, there is Tropical Santa who makes guest appearances during his well-earned, post-holiday vacation time (likely just before heading south to some place warm for some downtime).

For full details about the shopping centre, visit metropolisatmetrotown.com. 

Holiday Music at the Met

Holiday music plays at Metropolis at Metrotown throughout the season, from mid-November until late December. At set times there are also live performances which are free to enjoy.

In addition to the live music in the Holiday Lounge as mentioned above, artists performing elsewhere at the shopping centre last year are listed below. The lineup in 2025 will likely be comparable.

• Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024 – Bonnie Northgraves (on trumpet)
• Thursday, December 5th, 2024 – Elisa Thorn (on harp)
• Tuesday, December 10th, 2024 – La Trompette de Noel (Christmas Brass band)
• Thursday, December 12th, 2024 – Taras Luka (on accordion)
• Tuesday, December 17th, 2024 – Sax with Eric (on saxophone)
• Thursday, December 19th, 2024 – John Gilliat (on guitar)

For the mall’s official website, click Metropolis at Metrotown. 

Charity Gift Wrap & Toy Drive at Metro Town

Metropolis at Metrotown supports charitable causes during the holiday season with its Charity Gift Wrap and Holiday Toy Drive.

In December, up until Christmas Eve, you can take gifts you buy at the mall to the Charity Gift Wrap Station where they’ll wrap your items in pretty paper for a donation benefiting Burnaby Neighbourhood House (which is a great local charity). The gift-wrapping station is on the 2nd Level near Winners. Minimum donations for small, medium, large and extra large packages are $7, $9, $12 and $15 respectively, plus $2 if you want a box.

Also at the mall, Metropolis at Metrotown hosts its annual Holiday Toy Drive, where they collect donations of new, unwrapped toys for the Burnaby Christmas Bureau. The Toy Drive happens on the first Saturday in December, so on December 6th in 2025.

To encourage shoppers to donate to the Toy Drive, Metropolis at Metrotown has prizes. For example, in 2025, the same as the year before, the first one hundred donors of $20 or more in cash get a free $10 gift card to use at the mall. Also, everyone who donate has a chance to win a $100 gift card.

Other Information

To learn more about the mall in general, see our article about Metropolis at Metrotown or visit metropolisatmetrotown.com. To learn about special events at the shopping centre, see the Metropolis at Metrotown Events Calendar.

Other articles that might be of interest include the following:

• Vancouver’s Best Places for Shopping
• Vancouver’s Best Christmas Activities
• Black Friday in the Lower Mainland
• Boxing Day Week in Vancouver
• Vancouver’s November and December Calendars of Events