Here are 5 festive activities you can do during the 17th Days of Christmas event (PHOTOS)

http://www.17thave.ca/17thdays

It’s time to dust off the antlers and Santa hats that have been collecting dust for a year because Christmas is right around the corner.

To help you get into the holiday spirit, the 17th Avenue Business Improvement Area (BIA) is hosting its 17th Days of Christmas holiday event from December 1 until December 17.

Turning Tomkins Park into its holiday home base, one of Calgary’s favourite streets is transforming itself into one fitting of a one-horse open sleigh. With classic holiday movie screenings, local bands, and festive holiday lighting, the BIA will be throwing various events that will be completely free to attend.

From ice sculptures to pub crawls, here are six festive activities you can do during the 17th Days of Christmas event.

Catch a Christmas movie

Person drinking from a takeout coffee container outside

freestocks/Unsplash

Holiday movies are one of the best ways to get into the spirit of the season, and if you can brave the outdoors, you can catch some holiday classics in Tomkins Park. From Thursday, December 1 until Sunday, December 4, the park will be screening holiday movies that are fun for the whole family.

The complete list of movies includes National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Love Actually, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Elf, and The Sound of Music. Catch a movie on Thursday at 6 pm, or Friday and Saturday with showings at either 3 pm or 6 pm, while Sunday’s movie starts at 3 pm.

Visit Santa in the park

Tall tower filled with Christmas statues next to a Christmas tree

Elina Fairytale/Pexels

That’s right, the big guy himself is taking a little break to come visit Tomkins Park on December 3, 10, 11 and 17 at 2 pm, giving you a chance to grab your yearly Santa photo and see his Christmas alpacas — the reindeer have another engagement.

There will also be live holiday performances and family-friendly programming to help make the day fly by.

Take advantage of the 17-day advent calendar

Child going through their parent's tote bag

17th Avenue BIA

Launching on December 1, this 17-day advent calendar will come loaded with daily deals and promotions running until the very last day, December 17. If you snooze, you lose, as each offer will be good for one day only and feature deals from retailers and restaurants across 17^th Avenue.

Indulge in Christmas Candy Land

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On Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11, from 2 pm until 6 pm, Tomkins Park will be bursting with treats and family-friendly games and programming to help celebrate this sweet event.

Partake in the holiday pub crawls on 17th Ave

Christmas cocktail being poured into a glass

Dio Septian/Unsplash

Jingle all the way along one of Calgary’s favourite streets for not one, but two holiday-themed pub crawls.

The Jingle Mingle takes place December 10 and the Single Jingle Mingle will happen December 17. Both pub crawls run from 2 pm to 8 pm and will feature five different venues, each with drink and food offers and specially curated live festive performances at each stop.

The Single Jingle Mingle is the perfect opportunity to party with your best wing person and potentially find someone to kiss under the mistletoe this Christmas. Both pub crawls are open to anyone over the age of 18 — tacky Christmas regalia is highly encouraged.

To find the full calendar of events, visit the 17th Days of Christmas website.

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