The halls and grounds of Ottawa City Hall were filled with Christmas spirit Saturday as thousands turned out for the Mayor's annual Christmas celebration. 

The 16th annual event featured free beavertails, horse-drawn wagon rides, maple taffy, hot chocolate, skating on the Sens Rink of Dreams and of course, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. 

"It's a really wonderful family gathering and I'm really honoured to host it here at City Hall," Watson said. 

The community event attracts up to 8,000 people every year and raises much needed money and food items for the Ottawa Food Bank. 

But that wasn't the only Christmas related event happening in the capital.

More than 1,700 people sported their best festive attire for the annual Santa Shuffle, a fundraiser for the Salvation Army. The 5 km and 1 km morning races started and ended from Lansdowne Park. 

"They love getting dressed up and coming out," said Jennifer Duclous, who took part in the 5 km race with her family. "It's just a great atmosphere."

Those who weren't up for a brisk morning run opted instead to exercise their wallets at the annual Redblacks locker room sale. 

Barbara Campanga picked up Christmas gifts for the entire family, including used player jerseys, t-shirts, and hats. 

"A whole bunch of Christmas stuff," she said. "I have a couple of boys and we are season ticket holders, so we see a lot of the games and my kids have totally gotten into football since it came to Ottawa." 

Saturday was also the first day of Christmas Tree sales at the Royal Ottawa. Trees there are on sale every day until December 23rd, 2016.