The Christkindlmarket Chicago – 2023

The Christkindlmarket Chicago is the most authentic traditional holiday market outside of Europe, offering a unique shopping experience, family-friendly events & intercultural activities. A Christmas experience.

The Christkindlmarket, a beloved holiday tradition, is set to captivate visitors again in 2023 with an array of novel offerings and cherished favorites. This year, the market reintroduces its popular three-pack mug, featuring location-specific designs for each Chicago, Aurora, and Wrigleyville venue. The Chicago mug, mint green with a wine-red interior, showcases iconic downtown landmarks, while the Aurora mug combines mint and dark green, highlighting local sights like the Paramount Theatre. The Wrigleyville mug, in mint green and grey, features notable locations such as Hotel Zachary.

For collectors, the market offers a unique non-alcoholic beverage mug adorned with a festive reindeer and a comic market scene. The annual Christkindlmarket ornament, hand-painted and glass-blown in Europe, returns for its third year, depicting a market scene against an ice-blue background.

At first, the market introduces a ceramic beer stein with a holiday-themed design and a novel Christmas tree growing kit, allowing guests to bring a piece of the market's spirit into their homes. These items and mugs are available while supplies last and can only be purchased on-site, as there will be no online shop this year.

Aurora, hosting over 50 vendors, will offer new interactive photo opportunities, including a gingerbread sleigh and a reindeer scavenger hunt. The market also invites visitors to participate in events such as glassblowing workshops, holiday-themed face painting, poetry typewriting, and beer stein-holding competitions. A special wine-tasting event featuring German and Austrian wines is scheduled for December 2, 2023, at RiverEdge Park.

Organized by German American Events LLC, a subsidiary of the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, the Christkindlmarket is a nod to Nuremberg's classic German holiday market. It features international and local vendors offering handcrafted items, traditional German foods, sweets, beverages, various cultural events, and family-friendly activities.

November 17 – December 24

Sunday through Thursday: 11 am – 8 pm
Friday through Saturday: 11 am – 9 pm

Special Opening Hours:
Thanksgiving (November 23): 11 am – 4 pm
Christmas Eve (December 24): 11 am – 4 pm

Daley Plaza, 50 W Washington St, Chicago, IL 60602