Home Christmas Events Vancouver Experiential Christmas Gift Ideas in 2023

Vancouver Experiential Christmas Gift Ideas in 2023

Vancouver Christmas Gift Ideas

Looking for special and unique Christmas gift ideas? Treat your friends and family to Vancouver and Lower Mainland experiences they won’t forget!

Gift certificates and tickets to area attractions make exceptional gifts for a variety of reasons. They create memorable experiences and help support the local economy. Gift certificates are also easy to purchase online (so you don’t have to drive in the snow and fight for parking to buy them). And what’s more, if you want, you can go with the gift recipient and enjoy the experience together!

In this article we list a number of Christmas gift ideas we think you and your gift recipients might really enjoy! In our lists we include winter holiday attractions, upcoming events, performing arts shows, attractions with annual passes, outdoor adventure ideas, and other fun and unique activities. Most of the ideas are with local companies. A few though are for companies from out of town that have events in Vancouver.

 

Thanks for Buying Local

 

Gift Certificates for Vancouver Events and Attractions

There are lots of amazing attractions and activities in the Lower Mainland. A gift certificate or annual membership to some of them make awesome Christmas gifts. Below are some really good ones to consider.

 

Christmas Events & Attractions

Treat your friends and family to any of the following Christmas attractions and events. The first couple end before December 25th, so they’ll have to be early Christmas presents!

  • Vancouver Christmas Market – this is a great place to treat someone to admission, a hot drink and some tasty food. While there, you’ll find extra things to buy for your guest, other friends of family (or yourself or other people on your shopping list). The place is full of wonderful, handmade and unique artisan products! Last day of the season though is December 24th.
  • PNE Winter Fair (& Playland Season Passes) – in 2023 the PNE’s Christmas-season event runs from December 8th until December 23rd. It includes shows, decorations, ice skating and family-friendly fun! 2024 season passes to Playland are also available, and on sale with early-bird pricing until December 29th. Buy your Playland season passes before December 29th and you can pay the 2023 rate, which means a $30 savings!

Below are more Christmas attractions that make fabulous gifts and that continue until after Christmas Day.

 

2023 PNE Winter Fair

Best Christmas Activities

VanDusen Garden Festival of Lights

 

Other Christmas Attractions to Treat Friends to

The following Christmas attractions continue until the end of December, and some even until later in January. With a couple, the venues offer annual passes which also make exceptional Christmas gifts.

  • VanDusen Garden’s Festival of Lights – the garden has its Christmas attraction running until January 7th, 2024. The Festival of Lights is an amazing place to take someone. An annual membership at VanDusen Botanical Garden can also make a great gift (and it lets the member in year-round on regular days and gives them a discount at other times, like during the Festival of Lights).
  • Canyon Lights at Capilano Bridge – the lights at this amazing attraction are up until January 21st in 2024. An annual pass costs the same amount as regular admission for residents of BC too (and if you get it for someone now they’ll be able to use it for part of this holiday season and part of next year’s too)!
  • Glow Christmas Carnival – this Christmas attraction in Langley is beautiful, and it’s only open until December 30th. It’s partly indoors and partly outdoors.
  • Soar With Santa at FlyOver Canada – the Christmas film at the multidimensional theatre at Canada Place runs until January 2nd in 2024. You can’t buy annual passes at FlyOver Canada, but you can buy gift certificates for future shows.
  • Vallea Lumina – the light attraction in Whistler where you walk through the forest is open year-round, and it’s especially beautiful when there is snow on the ground. The same venue also offers Ziplining and Snowmobiling Tours!
  • Martini Town Merry & Bright – this is a new Christmas attraction at a film studio in Langley. It runs from December 1st to January 1st.
  • Photos With Santa – the holiday event at Britannia Mine includes a visit with Santa Claus, photos and complimentary cookies (in 2023 it was on weekends between December 9th and 17th). You can pay just for the Photos With Santa experience, or you can enjoy it for free with regular admission to the museum. Annual passes to the museum also make great presents.

In addition to the above, there is also Space Explorers: The Infinite. It’s a virtual reality attraction where you can walk around both the inside and outside of the International Space Centre in outer space (or actually at the Rocky Mountaineer Train Station, but it feels like you’re really in space). It’s not a Christmas attraction, but it is in town over the holiday season and it’s a top destination for children, their families and people of all ages.

 

Glow Christmas Carnival

Martini Town Merry & Bright

New Year's Eve Boat Party

 

New Year’s Eve Events

In addition to the above, there are also Christmas and New Year’s Eve nightclub-style events with Vancouver Boat Parties. This holiday season, there was the Christmas Boat Party Cruise on December 16th. On December 31st there is the New Year’s Eve Boat PartyLatin New Year’s Eve Boat Party and Vancouver New Years Eve Dinner Cruise.

Also happening on December 31st in 2023, there are tribute concerts at the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam and the River Rock Casino in Richmond. The first New Year’s Eve event features the Eagles tribute band Take it to the Limit, plus Blue Bayou which plays the music of Linda Ronstadt. The other event, the one in Richmond, features music from the 1980s. For details about these two events, see our article about Vancouver Tribute Concerts.

To learn about other events happening on the last day of 2023, see our article about Vancouver New Year’s Eve Events.

 

NYE Take It To The Limit Eagles Tribute Concert

NYE ATARI 80s Party at the River Rock Casino

 

Upcoming Events and Attractions

Do any of your friends like dance and theatre productions, art exhibitions, or music? Then why not buy them tickets to one of the following events which take place in the first few months of 2024.

  • Shen Yun – the New York-based Chinese performing arts company brings its spectacular production to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre from March 20th to 25th in 2024. Tickets to that make fabulous presents!
  • Vancouver International Wine Festival – one of North America’s biggest and most prestigious wine shows takes place in Vancouver between February 24th and March 3rd in 2024. Wine enthusiasts will love to be treated to some of its events!
  • PuSh Festival – the performing arts shows take place at various venues in Vancouver between January 17th and February 4th in 2024. Your theatre-loving friends will no doubt appreciate a ticket or multi-show pass to this festival!
  • Art Vancouver – the international art fair at the Vancouver Convention Centre takes place from April 11th to 14th in 2024. Early-bird tickets are available until January 6th!
  • Vancouver Fan Expo – have any friends or family members who like cosplay, superheroes, anime and other forms of pop culture? Bet they’ll like tickets to this event when it’s in town on the Family Day Long Weekend of February 17th to 19th next year.
  • Fort Langley Jazz Festival – the popular music and arts festival takes place on the weekend of July 26th to 28th in 2024. On the Friday of July 26th there is the Cool Blues Show which features a number of top artists, including, this year, Tom Lavin & the Legendary Powder Blues! (TIP: During the month of December, 2023, tickets for the Cool Blues Show are on sale for just $50, or two for $90. After December 31st, however, prices will go up.) See the Fort Langley Jazz Festival website for tickets and details.

 

Shen Yun in Vancouver

2024 PuSh Festival

Cool Blues Show at the Fort Langley Jazz Festival

 

Give the Gift of Music & Theatre

Gift certificates or IOUs (I owe you) for concerts and theatrical shows with local performing arts groups make awesome Christmas presents. Support a local arts group and treat your friends and family to something special from one of the following organizations.

 

Choir & Symphony Organizations

  • Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir – the popular men’s choir has concerts coming up on February 25th, March 16th, and April 6th and 7th in 2024. You can’t buy tickets for all of them yet. You can though promise to buy them for someone when tickets become available. The choir also had Christmas concerts in the first half of December in 2023.
  • Chor Leoni – the choir puts on performances at the beautiful St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church on February 16th and 17th in 2024. Tickets cost between $20 and $75. The vocalists also had Christmas concerts in 2023 on December 15th, 16th and 18th.
  • VAM Symphony Orchestra – the Vancouver Academy of Music has concerts in early 2024. There is Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 on March 3rd and New World Symphony & Rhapsody in Blue on May 25th)
  • Vancouver Symphony Orchestra – the symphony’s end-of-year Christmas concerts are always fun and beautiful, and tickets to them make great presents!

 

Christmas Craft Fairs

 

Theatre and Opera Gift Ideas

  • Vancouver OperaDon Pasquale takes place in mid-February of 2024 and Carmen takes the stage in the spring.
  • Theatre Under the Stars – tickets to the outdoor theatre at Stanley Park in the summer make a great gift. You can’t buy tickets yet, but you can give an IOU gift to the shows.
  • Bard on the Beach – the Shakespearean productions take place in Vanier Park from early June to mid-September every year. The 2024 season includes Twelfth Night, Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors and Measure for Measure.

 

Top December Things to Do

 

Attraction Annual Passes

Do any of your friends like gardens, museums or other places of interest? Why not give them an annual pass to somewhere special, like to any of the following attractions.

 

National Historic Sites

  • Gulf of Georgia Cannery – this is a great historical site in Steveston Village. It’s also home to the Steveston Festival of Trees which runs over the Christmas season until Christmas Eve. Annual passes cost just $25 for adults and $45 for families.
  • Fort Langley National Historic Site – this venue hosts interesting events at various times of the year. Annual passes here cost just $21 for adults and about $18 for seniors. Admission is also free for youth ages 17 and under.
  • Britannia Mine Museum – this is another local national historic site that’s full of interesting things to see and do. Annual memberships cost $98 for adults, $70 for children (ages 5 to 17) and $210 for families.

 

Britannia Mine Museum

 

Other Museums & Places of Interest

  • Vancouver Maritime Museum – friends who like history, model ships and boats will appreciate an annual pass to this museum at Vanier Park. A one-time visit costs between $11 and $15 depending on your age (but kids under 6 years old enter for free). Annual memberships, meanwhile, cost $45 for adults and $65 for families.
  • Fraser River Discovery Centre – this is a great place for young families to learn about the Fraser River region and the environment. Located at the waterfront in New Westminster, annual memberships cost $30 for adults and $52 for families (of up to two adults and four children between ages 2 and 12).
  • Chinese Canadian Museum – a fairly new museum at 51 East Pender Street in the heart of Chinatown. It’s a very interesting place!

 

Chinese Canadian Museum

Buy BC-Made Food

 

Other Experiential Gift Ideas

Other awesome Christmas gifts are tickets for dinner theatre, walking tours, multidimensional theatre shows and other adventures including the following:

 

Walking Tours and Adventure Activities

  • Forbidden Vancouver – people who like history and walking tours will love what this local company has to offer! The tours run throughout most of the year and gift certificates are available online. (TIP: Gift certificates purchased before December 27th in 2023 are 15% off! There are also the new Holiday History & Hot Chocolate Tours that run until early January.)
  • Vancouver Mysteries – outdoor adventure games in downtown Vancouver can be fun experiential gifts too. They have games with detective, superhero, secret agent and other themes. Gift certificates are available for purchase. (TIP: If you use the promo code BESTPLACES you’ll save 10% on games. Also, if you use the promo code HOLIDAY15 you’ll save 15% on customizable gift cards purchased online by January 15th, 2024.)
  • WildPlay Element Park – the outdoor attraction with ropes courses and ziplines in Maple Ridge is a fun attraction open for most of the year. It’s closed now until February. Gift certificates and annual passes, however, make great Christmas presents. (TIP: As of the last time we checked, for a limited time, if you buy a $100 gift card you’ll get a bonus of $25! Early bird season passes have also been on sale for $25 off.)
  • Ziplining – there aren’t many experiential gifts as exciting as ziplining. A great place to do that is at Superfly Ziplines in Whistler where they happen year-round. The same venue also offers Snowmobiling Tours in winter and Whitewater Rafting in the spring and summer. It’s also where you’ll find Whistler’s famous Vallea Lumina light walk attraction.

 

Soar With Santa at FlyOver Canada

Improv Centre

 

Recreational Programs

  • Place des Arts – is one of a number of arts centres in the Lower Mainland. It offers theatre, art, music and other classes, workshops and programs for people of all ages. Why not give the give of a class, either here or at an arts centre or recreation centre near you. (By the way, Places des Arts is also a good place to pick up handmade gifts of art. The holiday artisan shop is open daily until December 21st.

Dinner and/or Theatre Activities

  • FlyOver Canada – you can promise to take your friends to one of the shows about Canada and enjoy the experience with them, or you can buy a gift ticket that’s good for any show for around $32 for adults or $22 for children (ages 15 and under).
  • Winterlust – a unique and memorable dining experience is in one of the private, heated, outdoor domes at the Westin Bayshore Hotel‘s H Tasting Lounge. You can book your spot for up to six people.
  • The Improv Centre – the theatre on Granville Island has lots of great theatresports-style comedy shows this time of year, including a Christmas-themed one called Back to the Holidays. (TIP: Double Laugh Packs are available up until Christmas Eve. With them you can get a pair of tickets to a show as well as two bags of popcorn for $65. That’s about a $15 savings. You can also get four tickets and four bags of popcorn for $120.) Have any friends who might like a Double Laugh Pack for Christmas?

Gift certificates to restaurants make terrific gifts too. When you can, try to get them from locally-owned places (to help the local economy and support local businesses). Some restaurants offer special bonuses when you buy gift cards this time of year too, including the Pier 7 Restaurant + Bar in North Vancouver and Tap & Barrel Restaurant which has a number of locations.

A number of restaurants offer special holiday menus this time of year too, as well as Christmas Dinner to Go packages where the restaurants cook everything for you, but you can eat it at home. Places with Christmas dinner takeout options and/or special Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus include the H2 Tasting Lounge in Coal Harbour, P2B Bistro near the Vancouver Convention Centre, and The Lobby at the Shipyards in North Vancouver. Other restaurant have seasonal specials too!

 

Pinnacle Hotels

H2 Kitchen & Bar

Westin Bayshore Hotel Vancouver

 

Vancouver Vacation Gifts

Whether it’s as a staycation for friends or family who already live in the Lower Mainland, or for guests from out of town, overnight accommodations at a hotel also make a great gift. A good place to look for deals in downtown Vancouver is at StayVancouverHotels.com. When you book through it you can get bonus perks.

Note: As of early December in 2023, you can get up to $250 in Mastercard gift cards. This deal is valid for two-night stays between now and March 2024. The offer expires when the supply of gift cards runs out. It’s good for places like the Westin Bayshore, Pinnacle Harbourfront and about 36 other hotels in downtown Vancouver.

 

StayVancouverHotels.com

OHM Bikes

 

Other Information

Other articles that might be of interest include the following: