Chicago's Christkindl German Holiday Market Is it me or does the holiday season pass by faster every year? I spent 12 days back in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas over Christmas and am now catching back up on blog posts after not having Internet access for the majority of this week. Santa was good to me this year-- I'm typing this entry on my new Macbook laptop; it was time for a new computer as my old Toshiba is 5 1/2 years old. Every year I make sure to squeeze in activities and outings in the city (Chicago) before heading home to celebrate the holiday with my family. The Christkindl German Holiday Market remains my favorite holiday tradition, I actually went 3 times this year! The photos from this post were taken with my friends Sarah and Kyla; on the Friday before I left town we meet up for a late lunch at Xoco, did a gift exchange and then hit the market afterwards. Do my friends know me or what? Sarah gifted me with this amazing vintage purse that has a metal cat head on the front and a vintage Egyptian style cat pin. Kyla gave Sarah and I adorable mugs from Starbucks, they're surprisingly on-trend with their themes. Sarah received a gold chevron mug and I got a fox mug, I like that its tail forms the handle. Unfortunately my camera deleted the photos I took of Kyla and Sarah with their gifts from me. :( I gave Sarah a vintage bedazzler still in the box and a vintage sequin skirt. For Kyla I got a vintage tooled leather purse depicting horses. The open-air Christkindl Market is held in downtown Chicagoin Daley Plaza. Shop owners and food vendors actually fly in from Germany to set up a European style market inspired by the original Christkindl in Nuremberg, Germany. Traditional treats include fried potato pancakes, bratwurst, soft pretzels and sweets like sugared pecans, soft gingerbread cookies and a wide variety of chocolates. From left to right: Sarah, me and Kyla pose in front of the giant Christmas tree. One of the anchor stalls of the market is the ornament house, it offers blown glass ornaments in a wide spectrum of shapes from the traditional (birds) to the unusual (mugs of beer). Sarah having fun with one of the peacock ornaments, it had a real peacock feather as its tail. So German, pretzels and beer ornaments! There are even ornaments commemorating local Chicago landmarks like our beloved Water Tower. Mushrooms are often a common motif in traditional German holiday decor, I took a liking to this ornament. Of course the sweets house is another favorite stop, I always discover a new, magical treat in there each year. Traditional gingerbread hearts that look too pretty to eat! The swan was part of a wooden carousel inside the sweets house. One stall contained hand carved wooden animals, of course I was enchanted by the squirrels and cats. Look at all the poses and expressions! Each year a live evergreen tree is brought to Daley Plaza and lit in a ceremony the week of Thanksgiving. This year the tree was a 64-foot Colorado Spruce from Prospect Heights, Illinois. Of course I had to wear green and sparkles to the market. This year it was unseasonably warm, in years past I've had to bundle up in lots of layers! I'm wearing a 1960s sequined jacket, 1960s dress, 1950s hat and thrifted shoes. Want a closer look at Sarah's outfit? Check out her post on the Zzouzi Vintage Blog. I actually blogged about the market back in 2011 too, check out that post here.
Is it me or does the holiday season pass by faster every year? I spent 12 days back in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas over Christmas and am now catching back up on blog posts after not having Internet access for the majority of this week. Santa was good to me this year-- I'm typing this entry on my new Macbook laptop; it was time for a new computer as my old Toshiba is 5 1/2 years old. Every year I make sure to squeeze in activities and outings in the city (Chicago) before heading home to celebrate the holiday with my family. The Christkindl German Holiday Market remains my favorite holiday tradition, I actually went 3 times this year! The photos from this post were taken with my friends Sarah and Kyla; on the Friday before I left town we meet up for a late lunch at Xoco, did a gift exchange and then hit the market afterwards. 
Do my friends know me or what? Sarah gifted me with this amazing vintage purse that has a metal cat head on the front and a vintage Egyptian style cat pin. 
Kyla gave Sarah and I adorable mugs from Starbucks, they're surprisingly on-trend with their themes. Sarah received a gold chevron mug and I got a fox mug, I like that its tail forms the handle. 
Unfortunately my camera deleted the photos I took of Kyla and Sarah with their gifts from me. :( I gave Sarah a vintage bedazzler still in the box and a vintage sequin skirt. For Kyla I got a vintage tooled leather purse depicting horses. 
The open-air Christkindl Market is held in downtown Chicagoin Daley Plaza. Shop owners and food vendors actually fly in from Germany to set up a European style market inspired by the original Christkindl in Nuremberg, Germany. Traditional treats include fried potato pancakes, bratwurst, soft pretzels and sweets like sugared pecans, soft gingerbread cookies and a wide variety of chocolates. 
From left to right: Sarah, me and Kyla pose in front of the giant Christmas tree. 
One of the anchor stalls of the market is the ornament house, it offers blown glass ornaments in a wide spectrum of shapes from the traditional (birds) to the unusual (mugs of beer). 
Sarah having fun with one of the peacock ornaments, it had a real peacock feather as its tail. 
So German, pretzels and beer ornaments! 
There are even ornaments commemorating local Chicago landmarks like our beloved Water Tower. 
Mushrooms are often a common motif in traditional German holiday decor, I took a liking to this ornament. 
Of course the sweets house is another favorite stop, I always discover a new, magical treat in there each year. 
Traditional gingerbread hearts that look too pretty to eat! 
The swan was part of a wooden carousel inside the sweets house. 
One stall contained hand carved wooden animals, of course I was enchanted by the squirrels and cats. 
Look at all the poses and expressions! 
Each year a live evergreen tree is brought to Daley Plaza and lit in a ceremony the week of Thanksgiving. This year the tree was a 64-foot Colorado Spruce from Prospect Heights, Illinois. 
Of course I had to wear green and sparkles to the market. This year it was unseasonably warm, in years past I've had to bundle up in lots of layers! I'm wearing a 1960s sequined jacket, 1960s dress, 1950s hat and thrifted shoes. Want a closer look at Sarah's outfit? Check out her post on the Zzouzi Vintage Blog. I actually blogged about the market back in 2011 too, check out that post here.