We are thinking about a short trip to Montreal for Christmas, Sunday to Wednesday.
Is that crazy? Are restaurants etc open? Interested mainly in Old Montreal.

Well, Christmas in Montreal is lovely, as long as we get snow. Otherwise, it's pretty cold for nothing I would say it's a good compromise -- closer, and a lot more people speak English so it's easier to get around, although it's also polite to learn to say Bonjour and Merci and Au revoir... unfortunately for you, your dollar is now worth so little that it's no longer a cheap destination.

http://www.wayfarerbeachhouse.com

Old Montreal is lovely at Christmastime. DO go!!! You can attend mass at the Basilica, whether you are a believer or not. It's beautiful.The streets are micely decorated, and there are wonderful inns right on Saint-Paul and Saint-Pierre streets. Great restaurants, quaint bakeries... what more could one want??
Bonne chance!

Thanks for the encouragement. We are coming from Texas so acquiring some warmer clothing will be a must! We'll be using miles for the flight so it actually is quite reasonable, only 25,000 miles. The possibility of a white Christmas is very appealing!

It will be cold, maybe with snow (we started to get some this morning), but one thing is for sure, you will have a great time.

Everything will be open, but you might find Old Montreal to be very quiet in Winter time. So if you are looking for more action, head out to St-Laurent or Crescent street for night-life, Duluth Avenue for bring your own wine restaurants, and St-Denis, Mont-Royal and Ste-Catherine streets for shopping.

For sightseeing, check out my personal list of what to do in Montreal at http://www.luxeinacity.com/city-guide/Canada/Montreal/.

Have fun on your trip. Got to love miles!!