La Piazza Dario wants to help you and your family get into the holiday spirit, Italian style!

The holiday season is now officially upon us and, as always, we want to help you celebrate the best way we know how: the Italian way! As Christmas is a largely celebrated holiday in Italy, we wanted to share a few fun and festive Italian holiday activities that are offered right here in Vancouver. Below are a few of our Italian-themed suggestions for you and your family to partake in this December. Enjoy!

Italian Holiday Activities in Vancouver

• Try your hand at making a few our of favourite Italian Christmas recipes, such as baccalà or panetonne and pandoro. 
• Attend Il Centro's School Christmas Concert, featuring songs and scenes from students of the Italian Cultural Centre's Italian Language School. (Feel free to come by afterwards for lunch!)
• When: December 13th, between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm 
• Where: Grand Ballroom in the Italian Cultural Centre 
• Cost: Free 
• Learn how to speak Christmas Italian!
• Discover what Christmas in Italy is all about! Watch Rick Steves' European Christmas Part 8: Italy video. 
• Visit us at La Piazza Dario and celebrate the holiday season with family, friends and Chef Claudio's authentic Italian cooking. 

We hope you enjoy getting into the holiday spirit and we look forward to welcoming you to our table at La Piazza Dario!

(Image via Pixabay)

Discover the Italian Christmas tradition of baccalà!

If you are Italian, you've surely eaten baccalà before. Incorporated into a variety of Italian dishes, baccalà is salted cod fish, enjoyed by many as a traditional Christmas favourite in Italy.

Similarly to how you would expect turkey to be served at Christmas dinner in North America, baccalà is an Italian Christmas tradition. Served for Christmas or Christmas Eve dinner, baccalà can be presented in a variety of different ways. Some families choose to serve baccalà as an appetizer, others make baccalà the main dish, including it in a hearty pasta or on its own.

Baccalà is just one of the many Christmas traditions that you will find in Italy during this time of year. Amongst these traditions is, of course, indulging in delicious food! Come visit us for lunch or dinner, join the tradition, and satisfy your craving for handcrafted, authentic Italian dishes. By the end of your meal, we just might have you convinced that you traveled to Italy for the holidays!

Make your reservation online via OpenTable or call 604.430.2195.

(Image via Pexels)