A white Christmas in Canada has been my bucket list dream for 30 years! We begun planning the ultimate Canadian white Christmas in 2019, for Christmas 2020, but unfortunately the world had other plans. However, 2022 was finally the year and we got to head to Lake Louise, Alberta Canada, for what really was the most magical white Christmas ever!

I've had so many questions from everyone on social media about the White Christmas trip to Lake Louise so I've broken it down into all the details so that you can easily book the same trip. I've done all the costings here based on two adults and two children, staying in the same room. My original trip was for 10 people so the costings were much higher. So, I've revised this here for ease of booking.

How to have the perfect White Christmas in Canada

Overview

The overview of our White Christmas in Canada trip is below, with where were stayed, our activities and so on. I'll then go into details below for you.

Fly - Sydney to Calgary (we went via Hawaii) on Qantas/Westjet

Transfers - car hire from Thrifty Calgary

Stay - 8 nights at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

4 nights at the Fox Hotel and Suites in Banff

Activities - Some of our activity highlights included:

Brewsters Sleigh Rides

Banff Gondola Mountaintop Christmas

Dog Sledding

Ice Skating

Skiing

Tobogganing

Planning our white Christmas in Canada

One of the questions I've been asked the most is how far ahead I booked everything. So here are all the details on how and when I booked and what my prices were. I've put the prices I paid in AUD for ease, but as I paid some in CAD these may vary slightly:

Flights

I booked our flights as soon as they were available. Flights are usually available around 11 months from your return date and I had my reminder set and ready to book as soon as they were available, because the further out you book, the cheaper it usually is. We flew with primarily with Qantas and we got an excellent price.

Flight cost - $3000 pp (Sydney - Hawaii -Calgary - LA - Sydney). My primary flight booking was through Qantas, with Westjet connections. We booked Sydney - Hawaii -Calgary and then LA - Sydney, as one booking with Qantas, and then booked a separate flight with Westjet from Calgary - LA.

The Qantas booking was $2700 pp and the Westjet was $300 pp. This included 32kg luggage pp on Qantas and 23kg on Westjet.

White Christmas in Canada - Accommodation

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

I booked the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in January, for the following December. I booked directly through the hotel, which gave me a lot of flexibility. Originally I'd only booked for four nights, but extended the booking for eight nights. Booking direct gave me the flexibility to easily change the booking, and it also meant that I got some great deals. My first two nights were just out of season so they were cheaper, and then I got 7 nights for the price of 5, with free self parking and $300 CAD resort credit per room. These were extras that were available only when I booked directly with the hotel.

Room cost - 8 nights = $7900 

*if you are booking you absolutely want to pay for the Lakeview Room. Don't travel all that way for mountain view because you will have regrets! The Fairmont Lake View and Deluxe Lake View are the best ones for the amazing views. The Mount Temple wing is the new wing and it doesn't have the same amazing views.

Fox Hotel and Suites

Fox Hotel and Suites is in Banff and we spent four nights there. I booked this on Booking.com because I book a lot on there. I like being able to choose book now, pay later, because I'm always keeping my eye out for a better deal.

For a one bedroom guest suite that had two beds in the bedroom and a fold out couch in the lounge, plus a kitchenette, we paid $2050 for four nights. The perk of here is you could add an extra adjoining bedroom to make it two bedroom. This added another $1300 for four nights. Be aware though that if you just want a room (at the cost of $1300 for four nights) they are super small. So I recommend the suite.

Also, we liked it here but the downside was that it is motel style, so the hallways connecting all the room doors are outside. That's fine in summer but it means you can't get into the lobby/restaurant without going outside. And it's cold in winter! It's conveniently close to town as well. But if I had the budget I'd stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs because it did feel like a downgrade going from the luxury of the Fairmont Lake Louise to Fox Hotel and Suites.

However, Fox Hotel and Suites does have a laundry you can use, which the Fairmont does not. So bonus points for that. Every hotel should have a laundry!

Room Cost - 4 nights = $2050 

Transfers

To get from Calgary airport to the Fairmont Lake Louise takes about two hours. You can either book a transfer shuttle, that costs around $100 pp each way, or you can hire a car. We were travelling with 10 people and we were going Calgary - Lake Louise - Banff - Calgary, so it was more economical, and way more convenient, to hire some cars. We rented a seven seater mini van from Thrifty, via Expedia, for $1166 for 12 days. This meant we could have 5 people in a van, plus all our luggage.

Car cost - 12 days = $1166

A White Christmas in Canada at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

For our white Christmas in Canada we knew that the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise was where we wanted to be. I first visited the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise when I was 14 and we were in Canada on a family holiday. We went on a day trip to Lake Louise and we just knew we had to come back in the winter. Lake Louise has some of the most spectacular scenery you'll ever see, and the hotel is right on the lake, with a massive glacier behind it. In winter the lake freezes over to create a natural ice skating rink and you can walk across to the bottom of the glacier.

From the moment we walked into the lobby the Fairmont Lake Louise did not disappoint. They created the most magical Christmas experience every minute of the day. It was like spending eight days in a Netflix Christmas movie!

The Room

We booked into a Lakeview Room. If you book this trip I'm telling you you absolutely want to be on the lake view side. It's a bit more money but worth every cent to wake up to this view every morning from your bed.

The rooms come with two queen beds and you can also book interconnecting rooms if you need more space. We stayed in the old wing, which is 100 years old! But you can also stay in the Mount Temple Wing, which is newer. I got to check out one of the rooms when the boiler in our wing broke temporarily due to the extreme cold (it got down to something like -45 overnight!) and we got to shower in the new rooms while they fixed the hot water. They were really lovely and had a window seat which I liked, but the view was nowhere near as good as the old wing on the lake side. So I'd still go for the older rooms. Plus they had a lot of charm.

The room has a decent sized walk in wardrobe, a big bathroom and a mini fridge as well.

You can also pay $40 to get a little Christmas tree in your room.

Where to Eat

The Fairmont Lake Louise is pretty remote and most of your eating will be done in the hotel. There is a very small town and a few other places to eat outside the hotel but they mostly close in winter so prepare to eat in the hotel for all meals. We stopped at Walmart in Calgary on the way, which is easy to do if you have a car, and stocked up on snacks, fruit, veggies and some breakfast food to reduce the cost.

In the hotel there are five restaurants, serving different types of food. There is:

Walliser Stube - this is fondue and meats, a very German inspired restaurant

Louiza - a Mediterranean inspired menu (quite pricey)

Fairview Bar and Restaurant - more contemporary food, steaks, seafood etc,. This restaurant has an amazing view over the lake so its great for lunch or an early dinner while it's still light.

Lakeview Lounge - a bit more casual, next to the Fairview, with an all day menu and a great view as well.

Alpine Social - This is hearty mountain food! They have share plates, pasta, soups etc.

They all have the same kids menu as well so you can mix it up while knowing the kids can still have their nuggets and chips!

There is also The Guide's Pantry, a take away cafe that is open to all the day visitors as well. Its perfect to grab a quick snack or a smaller (cheaper meal). They have coffee and pastries, plenty of snacks and ready made meals.

You can also order room service as well.

Outdoor Activities

There is so much to do outside at the Fairmont Lake Louise! The benefit of this Fairmont over the Banff Springs one, is that you don't have to go anywhere to partake in all the outdoor activities. Right outside the door you can:

Ice skate on the lake

Take curling lessons

snow shoe (guided and self guided)

cross country ski

toboggan

hike the lake

play ice hockey

play in the snow

Plus there is a free shuttle every 30 minutes to the Lake Louise ski fields, where you can ski, snowboard, get skiing lessons and go tubing.

Brewsters Sleigh Rides also operates from outside the hotel and you can take the sleigh ride around the lake for around 45-60 minutes. It's magical and a must do. The sleigh ride costs $38 for kids and $48 for adults. You can book online here.

The hotel has a rental shop where you can rent all the equipment for outdoor activities.

Indoor activities

Over the holiday season there are SO many activities going on in the hotel, plus they have a kids' play room set up and the lounge and the ballroom are set up with boardgames you can use any time. The lounge was our favourite area to chill out and warm up. They have a free hot chocolate station and cookies all day and you can play games, read books. or just hang out and chat. It's the perfect place to defrost!

Some of the activities they have going on inside are:

Trivia

Bingo

Christmas craft

Cocktail making

Exercise classes

Yoga

Vision boarding

Christmas story time

Reindeer treasure hunt

Wine tasting

Kids' club

and don't forget the spa! I had a pedicure and it was the best I've ever had.

and so much more. In around October each year they release their festive guide and you can find last's years one here. This is also where they will update to the new one so you can just bookmark and check this page.

Extra festive touches

During our stay it just felt like the staff when that extra mile every minute of every day to make our Christmas the most magical it could be. Nearly every day we had some new little treat or hamper delivered to our room, and on Christmas morning every room woke to a Christmas stocking hanging on their door, full of gifts and treats.

Santa even arrived by sleigh on Christmas eve and gave gifts to all the children!

On Christmas Day we booked the buffet in the Victoria Ballroom for brunch and dinner. You've never seen anything like it! The spread was incredible! And at dinner our waiter gave the kids more presents.

The whole hotel was so beautifully decorated and every staff member went out of their way to be wonderful. The kids were treated so well, they even have a kids check in desk when you arrive, where they sign a book and get to choose a little toy from a treasure chest.

We stayed for 8 days and honestly, we could have stayed for another week, we still didn't do everything we wanted!

Other must do activities for a magical white Christmas

I have a few other things to recommend for you, outside of the hotel, to really cap off the perfect holiday!

Banff Gondola Mountaintop Christmas

If you have a car, do the one hour drive to Banff and take part in the Banff Gondola Mountaintop Christmas. It runs weekends from mid November and then every day from the 20th-24th December. Take the gondola up the mountain and they have a whole bunch of fun Christmas activities for the kids, including cookie decorating, craft activities and Christmas carolling.

If you go to the top level you can get Santa photos and he was just the most perfect Santa we have ever interacted with. He was especially wonderful with Trixie (5), telling her she had grown so much since he saw her last, and referring to the fact she had just had a birthday (no idea how he knew that...Santa?) and being so sweet with her. She came away on cloud nine.

The details will be here when it's ready to book, and make sure you go before 12pm as the kids are free!

Howling Dog Tours - Husky Sledding

My oldest daughter's lifelong dream was to go husky sledding so we had to make it happen! We booked with Howling Dog tours, which is based in Canmore, about 15 minutes from Banff. We drove ourselves to the office and they transported us to the mountain. All 10 of us participated in the two hour "Unleash the Musher" experience, which included harnessing the dogs, the sledding experience (about 1 hour), and hot chocolate and a cookie afterwards. It was $268 per person over 10, $138 for kids between 6-9 and $70 for kids 2-5. It was so much fun, we all loved it, and the scenery and views were amazing.

Some things you should know before going:

These are working dogs, not pet dogs. They have about 120 dogs on the site ready to work and they are LOUD! If dogs make you nervous I just want you to be prepared. I'm telling you this because I don't like dogs, I'm scared of dogs and it was incredibly overwhelming when we arrived. I've never come closer to a panic attack and I'm not someone who experiences anxiety. However once we got actually sledding I loved it. (It didn't bother anyone else but it did bother me, so just sharing for anyone else not keen on dogs).

If you don't want to help harness the dogs/ pat the dogs you don't have to. My guide was very understanding about me not wanting to interact with them and there was no pressure.

There are single sleds, double sleds and triple sleds so they can customise to your party. So don't be worried that they will make your child go alone or anything. They are really great and accomodating.

You will not be seeing 120 beautiful Siberan huskies. Don't be disappointed. The dogs are mainly part Alaskan Husky, usually crossed with something else to make the best working dog. They are all dogs rescued after failing to qualify for serious cross country sledding adventures and races (and in my dog team's case, I'm pretty sure they never got past the first round, they were so funny and so lazy!). They explained to us that Siberian huskies are good for instagram but not much else - they hate to work! And I can attest to that, we had two on our team and they were hilarious and incredibly disinterested in running. They wanted to play in the snow! They kept stopping to sniff everything and play.

You will be so, so, so cold! You are sitting still for an hour and you will get cold. Make sure you have two layers of gloves at least, plus foot warmers in your boots and hand warmers. And put on an extra layer. You'll also want face covers/balaclavas.

You can mush the dogs if you want! You can get on the back of the sled and give it a go with your guide.

Tip your guide! They work really hard. They have to run up the hills, pushing you with the dogs. In our case, he had to work double as hard because our team was pretty disinterested in running up any hill, or breaking a sweat. They are mostly students as well. We tipped $20 CAD per guide.

What to Wear!

The research on what to wear was extensive, and the hardest part of planning the trip. So, to make your life easier I've listed every single thing we bought and where it was from in a separate post. Here it is!

If you have any questions let me know in the comments and I'll do my best to answer them. This trip was years of research in the making so hopefully I have the answer for you!