City of waterloo neighbourhoods: strong and connected.

Cozy winter ideas for connecting with your neighbours

Catch up at your local neighbourhood café: Gather neighbours for a warm drink and hang out at a local coffee shop.
Paint and sip night: Host a relaxing paint night and encourage everyone to bring a warm drink to enjoy while getting creative.
Book club: Start a neighbourhood book club that brings people together through shared stories and conversation. You could even borrow Book Club Picks from the library that come with question prompts!
Craft and cozy workshop: Bring your favourite craft to do with your neighbours while dressed in your coziest clothes!

People sitting at a table doing a craft.

Get involved

Become a Neighbourhood Connector

6 people standing holding a home welcome sign in front of a backdrop that says hey neighbours welcome neighbourhood connectors.

Neighbourhood Connectors across Waterloo recently met up to share about things they were doing in their neighbourhood while getting creative through a welcome sign workshop.

Interested in becoming a Neighbourhood Connector too? Connectors are people who welcome and support neighbours and plan activities in their neighbourhood.

Learn more about becoming a Neighbourhood Connector

More ways to get involved

Explore all the volunteer opportunities available with the City of Waterloo. There are many ways to make an impact on your community.
Kindness deserves to be celebrated! Nominate a neighbour for the Neighbourhood Kindness award and we'll send them a special thank you package. There is also the Coca-Cola Kindest Community where you could win $100,000 for your neighbourhood!

3 people on an outdoor rink in a park with hockey sticks

🙂 Smile corner 🙂

A neighbour shared how they love having an outdoor ice rink at their neighbourhood park.

Explore the outdoor rink map to find a rink near you.

Share with us what makes you smile! Submit a photo and a caption by replying to this email, and we might feature it in the Smile Corner of our next newsletter!

Get inspired

Crafts bring neighbours together

Two people at a table doing a craft lots of colourful paper and fun craft supplies on the table.

Lakeshore South neighbours were invited to make Ramadan greeting cards and crafts. Community members of all ages crafted items to celebrate and to connect.

This event was supported by a mini grant, which is open for applications year-round!

Neighbours at Cardinal Crescent hosted their annual Halloween Haunt where neighbours went to participating homes to take part in a craft or other fun activities. It was a great way to enjoy some fall fun and get a treat too!

This event was supported through the operating grant, which is open to neighbours who have hosted an event for two or more years.

Three pumpkins with carved with designs of the beauty and the beast.

Get in the know

ActiveWaterloo Winter Guide

Winter 2026 guide activewaterloo image with people on an outdoor rink

Start 2026 strong, organized and focused on wellness!

January fitness classes include Bollywood, Boxfit, Dance Fit, Dance Mixx and Zumba Sentao. Invite a neighbour to try a new class with you.

Registration is open for Waterloo residents!

Explore the entire ActiveWaterloo Winter guide, and don't forget that

Swim and leadership registration opens on December 16.

More things to know

Invite your neighbours to cheer on our local Waterloo Siskins hockey team. They play their home games at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Centre and are always looking for their fans to come support them.
Dec 22: The City of Waterloo Museum will be hosting a night of fun programming in the historic Waterloo Park Log Cabin on December 19 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Grab a warm drink and your neighbours to explore the Wonders of Winter in Waterloo Park, on until January 3.
Spectrum Waterloo Region's Rainbow Community Space offers a variety of programs and services.
Learn more about reporting Hate Incidents or Discrimination: involving Islamophobia, Racism, Anti-Immigrant Sentiment and religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.
Waterloo Region has a long history of welcoming refugees and refugee claimants. Immigration Waterloo Region shares information on community support for refugees living in our region.

December Diversity Calendar

Source: Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion's Diversity Ink Newsletter

Universal Human Rights Month (International)

December 1 – December 24: Advent

December 1: World AIDS Day

December 2: International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

December 3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities

December 5: International Volunteer Day

December 6: The National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women

December 6: St. Nicholas Day / Feast of Saint Nicholas

December 8: Bodhi Day / Rōhatsu

December 8: Pansexual Pride Day

December 8: Feast of Immaculate Conception

December 10: Human Rights Day

December 13: Saligrah / Saligrah Khushiali / Aga

December 14 (sundown) – December 22: Chanukah / Hanukkah

December 16: Day of Reconciliation

December 18: International Migrants Day

December 20: International Human Solidarity Day

December 21: Yaldā / Chella

December 24: Christmas Eve

December 25: Christmas Day

December 26: Boxing Day

December 26: Zartosht No-Diso / Death of Prophet Zarathustra

December 26 – January 1 : Kwanzaa

December 27: Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti

Waterloo Neighbourhoods is published throughout the year to keep residents informed about the good things happening in neighbourhoods across Waterloo. If you’re reading Waterloo Neighbourhoods as a non-subscriber, visit our subscription page to sign up for future editions.

The City of Waterloo is committed to providing accessible formats and communications support for persons with disabilities. If another format would work better for you, please let us know by calling 519-747-8515 or by emailing us at communications@waterloo.ca.

Emails are serviced by eSolutions Group, Constant Contact and City of Waterloo. Personal information collected on these platforms is governed by the City of Waterloo Email Notifications Privacy Notice.