Santa season hits high gear on Sunday with the annual Santa Claus parade, which will leave some major downtown streets closed to traffic for much of the afternoon.
The parade starts at Bloor and Christie Streets at 12:30 p.m., but traffic closures in the area begin at 8:15 a.m. at Ossington Avenue.
The route goes east to Queen's Park, south down University Avenue, then east on Queen Street West to Yonge Street and then south to Front Street. The traffic closures start progressively later as one moves from the starting point, but all major route crossings will be shut down by 1:30 p.m.
Road closures along the route are expected to be in effect until 5 p.m. Any vehicles parked along the route will be relocated starting at 6 a.m.
Once the parade gets rolling spectators will have 22 floats to enjoy before Saint Nick makes his appearance.
CTV Toronto meteorologist Anwar Knight said bundle up -- the temperature will be 3C, but the wind will make it feel like -3C. However, it will be dry, with a 30 per cent chance of snow flurries late in the afternoon.
This is the 104th edition of Toronto's Santa Claus parade -- originally designed to lure people to the old Eatons department store -- but not the first such parade of the season. The Beaches held a smaller version last weekend and Pickering held its own on Saturday.
Mall Santas are now out in force at the city's shopping centres. The Bay unveiled its traditional Christmas window displays on Friday.
Throughout the GTA, shopping mall parking lots were packed, with many shoppers saying they were using the day to kick off Christmas shopping.
With a global economic crisis stock market meltdown and general economic uncertainty in people's minds, some said they would spend a bit less this year -- but on adults, not children. "That's what Christmas is all about," said one parent.
One hot toy for kids are the Bakugan Battle Brawlers. They can be had for about five dollars.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Matet Nebres
If you're at the parade on Sunday and have a camera or video recorder along, consider submitting your images to MyNews.
