If you've walked by Daley Plaza recently, you may have noticed a small village being erected in preparation for this year's Christkindlmarket. The annual Chicago holiday tradition dates back to 1996 and is inspired by the long-running Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, Germany. Visitors to the open-air market can drink a mulled wine called Glühwein and sample German cuisine while shopping for gifts like ornaments and mittens.
Recently, Christkidlmarket released the vendor list for this year's event, which includes returning favorites such as Dinkel's Bakery and Pretzel Haus in addition to newcomers like the DönerMen food truck, which will serve curry wurst and döner kebab. Attendees will be able to drink Glühwein and cocoa out of souvenir mugs (pictured above, including a special snowman mug for the kids). Unfortunately, the popular boot mug (which was featured at the market from 2005–2012) will not be returning this year, much to the chagrin of the vocal boot mug enthusiasts on Twitter and Facebook.
This year, Christkindlmarket will expand to a second location in the western suburb of Oakbrook, offering up a similar selection of gifts and umlaut-ridden food (and hopefully reducing the crowds at the Daley Plaza market). You can grab a mug full of Glühwein and dig into some schnitzel when Christkindlmarket opens in Daley Plaza on November 21.