Some of my favourite Canadian Christmas gifts can be found in a single shopping trip around Vancouver. Wrap a packet of BC porcini in a tea towel printed in town and you’ve got dinner for a friend who cooks. For someone who always brings dessert, BETA5 makes a chocolate bar that tastes like a London Fog, right down to the biscuit on the side.
This guide first appeared in 2018. For Christmas 2026, we’ve revisited the list, starting on Granville Island and finishing in the Okanagan.
BC porcini for the risotto cook
Granville Island Spice Co. sells wild BC porcini in a 35 g packet. Dried mushrooms make a lovely gift to tuck beside a bag of arborio rice. Soak the porcini, strain the soaking liquid and add it to the stock. That’s where much of the mushroom flavour is hiding. Shop the dried BC porcini.
A Vancouver tea towel worth hanging up
The Hive Printing takes details from archival prints of Granville Island and screen-prints them onto cotton towels in Vancouver. It’s a small piece of the city to send to someone who misses the market. At MAKE, artist Carolyn Gavin’s illustrated map of Canada gives you a second option, designed and printed at MAKE’s Vancouver studio. Either towel doubles as wrapping for that packet of mushrooms. The Hive’s Granville Island tea towel | MAKE’s Canada Map tea towel.
BETA5’s London Fog chocolate bar
BETA5 makes its London Fog Polygon Bar with Earl Grey milk chocolate, vanilla-bean white chocolate and bits of digestive biscuit. Give it to the friend who orders a London Fog on every coffee run, or break it into pieces to pass around after dinner. Shop BETA5’s London Fog Polygon Bar.
Maple syrup from Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula
Escuminac’s Great Harvest comes from a sugar bush in Quebec’s Gaspésie. The producer describes notes of brown sugar and dates, which is a good argument for taking this one beyond pancakes. Put it beside a wedge of sharp cheddar, or whisk a spoonful into a mustard dressing for winter greens. Shop Escuminac Great Harvest maple syrup.
Okanagan Riesling Icewine for the cheese course
For the host who puts out aged cheddar after dinner, bring a half-bottle of Inniskillin Okanagan’s 2025 Riesling Icewine. The winery describes apricot and peach flavours with enough acidity to balance the sweetness. Serve a small chilled pour alongside the cheese and save the Christmas cookies for later. Find the 375 mL bottle at Great Estates Okanagan.
