It’s that time of the year when sugary treats become a regular part of your diet, and no one’s complaining.  

Many local spots in the city are serving up some exceptional holiday-themed creations, which range from beautifully decorated cookies to chocolate showpieces to truly delicious yule logs.

If you’re wondering what to bring to that big family potluck or friends-mas dinner, we suggest checking out the festive desserts being offered at these 13 places around town.

Temper Pastry (2409 Marine Drive, West Vancouver)

Steven Hodge’s schedule may be hectic with a new gig on Food Network Canada, but he’s still able to crank out an impressive seasonal collection for the holidays at Temper Pastry. Find holiday showpieces like chocolate trees in the form of a Christmas tree, Santa’s hat, and a snowman, which are all filled with chocolate-caramel salty balls. Other treats include its signature sugar-dusted Christmas stollen, ginger and shortbread cookies, eggnog truffles, peppermint patties, candied pecans, candy-cane chocolate barks, and more.

Mon Paris Patisserie (4396 Beresford Street, Burnaby)

Pastry chef Elena Krasnova has once again crafted a mouthwatering line of festive sweets, which are great for holiday gift-giving. Celebrate with signature items like a chocolate tree filled with nuts and dried fruits, a hyperreal-looking chocolate poinsettia flowerpot, chocolate ornaments filled with chocolate truffles, and other chocolate stocking stuffers. Yule-log flavours like pistachio raspberry, redcurrant vanilla, and orange marmalade with passion fruit and mango crème brûlée are also available this season.

Bel Café (801 West Georgia Street and 1780 West 3rd Street)

David Hawksworth’s Bel Café is celebrating the holiday season with plenty of yuletide treats, which are best enjoyed with good company. Indulge in house-baked cookies like vanilla shortbread, linzer, and cinnamon marzipan that can be packed up in boxes tied with a bright red ribbon. Peppermint macarons and a Christmas cake are also on offer. A range of caffeinated drinks are being served to get you in a jolly mood—think sugar-plum cappuccino, vegan-nog, and dark-chocolate orange mocha.

Buttermere (636 Main Street)

This local cake shop will be celebrating the holiday season in its own brick-and-mortar shop for the first time, which is exciting. Vancouver’s sweet tooths will find cakes like the ornament (with gluten-free chocolate sponge cake, caramel jelly, bergamot ganache, and mascarpone mousse), as well as the Christmas gift (with vanilla sponge cake, chestnut cream, and chestnut panna cotta topped with an edible ribbon). But its signature Christmas pillow cakes are the eye-catching show-stealers, which come in the form of Santa (lychee yuzu), a reindeer (lime marshmallow), a wreath (whiskey raisin), and more.

Soirette (1433 West Pender Street)

The Soirette team has done it again by creating a gorgeous collection of holiday treats, which follows a cozy winter woodland theme this year. Its line-up includes macarons decorated with plenty of deers and greens, with flavours like wildberry hot chocolate, roasted chestnut and fig, and Santa’s cookie dough. A beautiful holiday cookie gift box is also available, which are filled with treats such as matcha Christmas tree shortbread, gingerbread snowflakes, cranberry-and-pistachio sablé stacks, and more. We’re mesmerized by its fun, edible pieces like the gingerbread holiday tree, gingerbread woodland cabin, and Scandinavian gingerbread house.

Remi Patisserie (2729 Arbutus Street)

It’s not easy running a small pop-up cake business on your own, and Remi Ho is already slammed with pre-orders for the busy holiday season. But he’s saving a handful of yule logs for walk-in customers on December 22 and 24, which can be picked up at Sweet Barrel Creamery. The two flavours that will be offered include Thai ice tea, coconut and pandan, 65 percent chocolate and coffee, and matcha black sesame. We suggest heading there early in the day to avoid disappointment.

Oh Sweet Day! Bake Shop (1706 East 1^st Avenue)

One of Vancouver’s newer pastry shops is joining in on the festive cheer. East Van’s Oh Sweet Day! is offering an impressive and photogenic holiday cookies gift box, which features 32 assorted baked treats made with preservative-free ingredients. Those who get their hands on this gourmet creation will find shortbread cookie flavours like classic vanilla, earl grey, dried-cranberry-and-pistachio, lavender lemon, and dark chocolate stars. Chewy ginger-spiced cookies, matcha shortbread Christmas trees, and snow balls (walnut-and-pecan-butter balls) are also part of the box. Some of the cakes on its current menu would also be a hit at your holiday parties, such as Bailey’s tiramisu cheesecake, cranberry-lime shortbread tart, and matcha-custard coconut tart.

Chez Christophe (4717 Hastings Street, Burnaby and 1558 Johnston Road, White Rock)

Even though Chez Christophe doesn’t have a Vancouver central location (yet), doesn’t mean its mouthwatering creations aren’t on the radar of city dwellers. Its holiday collection this year includes chocolate showpieces like a whimsical Christmas tree, Rudolf, and Cookie Claus. Special edition truffle flavours (gingerbread, mulled wine, and apple cider) are available, as well as holiday-themed chocolate lollipops. To round off its seasonal treats, sweet tooths can also find Bûche de Noël yule logs, which come in four tasty flavours like coffee break and mango.

Ladurée (1141 Robson Street)

This longtime French patisserie is known for its pastel-hued macarons, which come in a Canuck flavour (maple-pecan pie) and can be paired with a timeless moss-green-and-gold maple leaf holiday box this year. But attention should be paid to its Bûche de Noël and Bûchette de Noël collection. The sweet range of yule logs includes a special Canadian-inspired flavour: the Atoca, made with maple syrup, cranberries, buckwheat, and dark chocolate. Other stars in the line-up include the delicious La Favourite (with a pistachio macaron base, buttercream infused with roasted Iranian pistachios, and flaked praline), as well as the iconic Marie-Antoinette (with rose-infused buttercream, a macaron base, and raspberry-and-lychee jam).

Cadeaux Bakery (172 Powell Street)

You may be familiar with Cadeaux Bakery’s made-to-order cakes, characterized by its buttercream finish and classic flavours. For the yuletide season, it will be offering three different Bûche de Noël’s: cran-orange ruby (with spiced cranberry compote and finished in orange swiss-meringue buttercream and ruby-berry glaze), chocolate praline (with chocolate sponge, praline mousse, chocolate swiss-meringue buttercream and praline crunch), and the rum-nog (spiced sponge cake with eggnog mousse, finished in a white-rum buttercream). Limited quantities are available, and pre-orders are highly recommended.

Beta5 Chocolates (409 Industrial Avenue)

This artisan chocolate company recently opened a new café and retail location, just in time for holiday shoppers to pick up some jolly good treats. Always ready to out-do the previous year’s creative cycle, Beta5 has come out with a geometric Rudolph’s head, complete with a smooth-looking velvet chocolate finishing and shiny red nose. Other stocking stuffers include its signature lump of coal (with Venezuelan dark-rum caramel, eggnog white chocolate ganache, pecan praline, and a dark chocolate shell tossed in cocoa powder and coconut ash), Rudolph’s nose, peppermint patties, cinnamon-pecan chocolate bar, and seasonal Santa Tracker chocolate collection. Shoppers can also save the hassle of indecisive picking, and go for various gift packs and sacks that include all the favourites.

Thierry Chocolates (1059 Alberni Street)

Toptable Group’s Thierry will be celebrating the merry season with several crowd-pleasing Bûches de Noël. Available in five flavours, these festive desserts will steal the show: chestnut, mandarin coconut, pistachio nut, tiramisu, and whiskey-chocolate truffle. These goods conveniently come in small, medium, and large sizes, so you can order according to how big of a group you’ll be feeding—it’s never a bad idea to go with more. Besides the log cakes, holiday macarons will also be stocked in its glass cabinet, featuring flavours like chestnut, cranberry, gingerbread, and stollen.

Thomas Haas (2539 West Broadway and 128–998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver)

When in doubt, always default to chocolate gifts for the holidays. Thomas Haas makes it easy by providing plenty of options, which range from chocolates to cookies to Christmas stollen, and other confections. Its signature chocolate gifts include chocolate ornaments filled with smaller treats, a truffle tree decorated with various handmade truffles, and the Santa belly featuring caramels and nuts. Stocking stuffers like pâtes de fruits, chocolate lollipops decked out with festive characters, and hazelnut wafer bars are also part of this year’s collection.