Bright lights. This is one of the Christmas traditions my children and I love to see around the holidays season. We get a sense of wonder and delight at how lights can make whatever they adorn magical. When we heard that Glow Ottawa was coming to Canada’s capital, I could not wait to take my littles to see how this fun event could make the holidays bright at Glow Ottawa!

Make the Holidays Bright at Glow Ottawa
Glow Ottawa is an indoor wonderland families will enjoy attending. From light gardens and illuminated structures, to play areas and a train to take kids on a ride, the glow of over a million twinkling lights will capture your imagination at this event! Glow Ottawa shines bright from December 5, 2019 to January 4, 2020 at the EY Centre.

Play under the bright holiday lights
From the moment we arrived at the EY Centre to take in all of the bright lights of Glow Ottawa, we were welcomed by an array of lights! Lights were on just about everything around the event area, from Christmas trees and walls to caribou and globes. It was hard to find many things that were not covered in lights.


My kids had a bouncy time on the miniature moose and unicorns in their pens. The lights made each of these areas more fun for them to play in.

The illuminated light structures were so much fun to take in with my kids. We were amazed by all of the large objects glowed bright with lights. My kids loved swinging on the LED swings.

My littles also were able to hop on LED colour changing hopscotch discs, capture memories in oversized illuminated ornaments, and wind their way through their interactive hanging lights. They did not know where they wanted to go next. There was so much fun to be had all around them!


Around the world in one day
Ever wondered what it would be like to have an around the world adventure? At Glow Ottawa, You can visit six countries in one outing!
Visitors can pick up a passport and travel to each of the countries’s section at the event. Twinkling lights and large illuminated structures shine bright to represent each part of the world represented at this event.


The kids and I really enjoyed his part of the Light Garden. One reason was due to the light structures being so impressive finding the hidden stamp stations to add to your passport. Once all six stamps were collected, visitors could go to the Prize Station and collect a holiday treat! This part of the event was fun to see.


Sipping some holiday cheer
Even some of the drinks at Glow Ottawa are bright! Their signature drink is a cranberry mocktail. The fun part about delighting in this drink is the cup. Each mocktail is served in an upside-down light bulb that lights up!

This was a thrill for us to have. We loved taking a breather from all of the excitement of the event for a festive drink. Seeing the different light settings on the cup was fun! We still have our fun cups and still remember our tasty mocktail memory.

Brushes with “celebrities”
Just when we thought our day at Glow Ottawa was full of fun, there was even more to be had! We were lucky enough to bump elbows with a few family favourite celebrities!
While taking in the Light Garden, we had the honour of meeting with one of my daughter’s favourite princesses, Belle. My girl had a fangirl moment when she met her. Belle was such an amazing princess to meet. She was nice and welcoming, making all who came to see her feel like you have been friends for a long time. It is a very bright moment my daughter will cherish.

A visit to Glow Ottawa isn’t complete without meeting the big man himself. Yes! Kids are able to speak to Santa! My kids were lucky enough to have a few moments with the Man in Red without having to wait in line! He was really nice to take time out of his busy schedule to take a photo with my kids away from his chair. They were so excited to have met him.

All aboard!
Who’s up for a train ride? Glow Ottawa is bringing the holiday fun full steam ahead with Glen the Glow-motive is a bright and festively lit train for kids to sit on and enjoy.

Once my kids became passengers on this cheery train, Glen whisked them away for a few rotations around the “track.” Both of my kids were smiling from ear to ear as they heard the train whistle sound out the beginning of their trip. My littles could have gone on Glen all day long!

Making holiday spirits and memories bright
Our visit to Glow Ottawa really helped to make our holiday spirits bright and memorable! There was no shortage of fun for a family to have on a visit. There are areas where you could spend your whole visit and come back another day to explore something new. From the play areas to the Light Garden, to meet-and greet opportunities, to Glen the Glow-tomotve, Glow Ottawa helped my family to make our holiday spirits and our memories of this time together merry and bright!

Would you like to see more of how Glow Ottawa can make the holidays bright? We planned our visit by checking out their website. We are also keeping up with all of the latest happening with Glow Ottawa by following them on their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages!
Disclaimer: I received admission to Glow Ottawa in order to write this review. The views I shared are my own.
This looks amazing I would love to visit Glow Ottawa
It’s so much fun!
What a lovely outing with the kids. Lights do make a huge difference to the ambient and this looks like it was a lot of fun for both adults and kids.
Good to know they have it in Ottawa, we have glow in Vancouver too. Happy holidays.
Wow, Glow Ottawa looks so magical. It is definitely something my family and I would love to check out. So beautiful and fun with all the lights and activities.
It looks like Ottawa has some great things to offer for the Christmas holidays
Looks like a lot of fun, my granddaughter would like the hopscotch discs.
A beautiful light display! I wish I lived closer to Ottawa, my grandchildren would really enjoy this.
Love lights it makes everything feel like a holiday.
Beautiful Light display! Looks like lots of fun!
It was! We loved it!
My family and I attended Glow Halifax for the first time this year. It was amazing, truly out of this world with lights and all. It is truly an indoor wonderland.