Oh, 2025. You housed the best of times and the worst of times (some more than others).
As the city gears up for the ring of Santa’s sleighbells and the arrival of a new year, the Star looked back, picking ornaments to mark some of Toronto’s most memorable moments of 2025.
Merry J-Mas
-
Toronto Blue Jays Ornament from the Jays shop, $30 for three
With the Blue Jays returning to the World Series for the first time in over three decades, the team sent a lightning bolt through Toronto, capturing the attention of die-hard fans and baseball neophytes alike. Though it ended in heartbreak, the electrifying memories leading up to Game 7 — like the instantly iconic “Springer Dinger,” “Mad Max” Scherzer’s potent ferocity and the 2025 team’s power of friendship — incited a Jays fever felt far and wide.
Office holiday party
-
Water cooler by Michaels, $12.99
If you’re a commuter, you don’t need any reminders of the increasingly difficult daily grind to work. Four of Canada’s “Big Six” banks have pushed their employees to come into the office at least four days a week. Couple that with Doug Ford’s “return to work” mandate this fall. With 60,000 more folks from the Ontario Public Service alone on the road and the trains, many commutes have gotten notably worse. But at least there are more folks to chat with at the water cooler. Who doesn’t love state-mandated co-worker gossip?
A rough winter landing
-
Airplane ornament from Amazon, $26.57
Way back in February, a Delta flight from Minneapolis carrying 80 people crash-landed at Pearson Airport, with the plane flipping upside down and sliding to a halt before bursting into flames. Twenty-one people were injured, but, thankfully, all 80 passengers lived to tell the tale. Later in July, a flight attendant on the airplane filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the airline as well as its subsidiary, Endeavour Air, alleging that they “cut corners on safety” by inadequately training their pilots and crew.
North polls
-
Queen’s Park ornament from Queen’s Park gift kiosk, $18
-
Parliament Hill ornament from the Parliamentary Boutique
This year, Ontarians voted twice, first in the provincial general election in February and later in April’s federal election. The Ontario vote saw the beginning of Ford’s third term as premier despite his government’s Greenbelt scandal, while the federal election saw Liberal leader Mark Carney bring his party back in the polls, jumping past the Conservatives and Pierre Poilievre.
A Labubu Christmas
-
‘Have a Seat’ series Labubu by POP Mart, $37.99
These little demonic-faced critters were first spotted on the designer bag of K-pop star Lisa of BLACKPINK fame last year. In 2025, Toronto was treated to the K-Pop group’s first performance in the city at Rogers Stadium and the appetite for the cuddly charms went supersonic. The beasts would sell out within seconds of being restocked on the POP Mart site. Those not willing to endure the digital dogfight of the POP Mart checkout, with a little extra coin to spare, could treat themselves at one of the many surprise box storefronts to pop up around the GTA, such as Mr. Surprise or SHOP 404 on Baldwin Street. Toronto was so drunk on these creatures that we threw multiple raves in their honour, and a meet-up scheduled in August for Labubu lovers to trade and chat about the trinkets was postponed, seemingly indefinitely, due to overwhelming response.
Farewell to the holiday windows
-
HBC limited-edition candy cane ornaments by Canadian Tire, $19.99
Despite 355 years of business acumen up their sleeves, 2025 was the nail in the coffin for Canada’s historic retailer. From what started as a strictly fur trading company in the 1600s, the Hudson’s Bay Company became one of Canada’s most iconic department stores. This year, the weight of the company’s $1 billion-plus in debt became too much to bear, forcing the institution to shutter all of its stores and lay off more than 9,000 employees. Canadian Tire paid $30 million for HBC’s trademarks and is already selling merchandise with the brand’s iconic stripes, including this candy cane ornament.
A seasonal toast
-
Pint of beer ornament by Canadian Tire, $5.00
Toronto was giving a toast and saying goodbye to beer this year. First, Premier Ford issued ordered all American beer, liquor and wine and beer removed from LCBO shelves in March as part of the province’s response to U.S. tariffs. Then, we poured one out for the 81-year-old Imperial Pub. The local watering hole kitty corner to the Toronto Metropolitan University campus, opened during the Second World War as a hotel beverage room, back when Ontario liquor regulations prohibited men and women from sitting together. Over eight decades later, in November, the mainstay at Dundas Street East and Victoria Street mainstay had one last call to make way for student housing.
Dear Santa …
-
Mailbox ornament provided by staff
While a CUPW strike presented hurdles for sending Christmas cards among other supply chain nightmares last December, 2025 was not much better for Canada Post. A strike flared in September hours before the federal government announced major changes to the postal service, including the sunsetting of door-to-door delivery to millions of homes. After two full years at the negotiating table, CUPW and Canada Post finally came to a tentative agreement on Dec. 22 that is to stay in effect until the end of January, 2029.
