Experience holiday magic at Christkindlmarket Chicago

We're counting down the days (14) until Christkindlmarket opens and with the signature wooden houses popping up in Daley Plaza this week we could practically start to taste all of our favorite German food and drinks. The big question on everyone's mind: What would this year's Christkindlmarket mug look like? For over a decade a collectible boot was the signature drinkware of Christkindlmarket before the switch to a more traditional mug in 2012. The boot made its triumphant return last year to celebrate Christkindlmarket's 20th anniversary, but it looks like we'll be drinking our glühwein out of a regular mug again this year.            The city's largest open-air holiday market opens November 18 and runs through December 24, with tons of free events, musical performances and the best food, drinks and shopping. This year suburbanites can join in on the festivities with a new market in Naperville that opens November 20. Enjoy all the celebrations at Christkindlmarket through December 24, and check out the full schedule of events here.  Sure, we'll miss the boot, but the good news is glühwein tastes just as delicious in a regular mug.  Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.  

While today's toasty temperatures might not make you feel like it, we're only one month away from our favorite holiday market setting up shop in Daley Plaza. Christkindlmarket returns on November 18 and we're counting down the days until we can eat and shop for all of our Christkindlmarket favorites. The massive open-air market is always a must during the holidays in Chicago, with great food, drinks and gifts—including handcrafted ornaments, wooden clocks, nutcrackers and more—from Germany and beyond.  And there's good news for suburbanites, as Christkindlmarket launches in Naperville this holiday season. You'll have to wait an extra week though; the new market doesn't open until November 25. Until November 18, we'll just be over here dreaming about boots full of Glühwein and a sweet plate of Germknödel. Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know. 

July is right around the corner and we all know what that means. We're halfway to Christmas season. It will only be a few more months until Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" mysteriously dominates the playlist in every department store, coffee shop and iPhone. To make sure you haven't forgotten about the joys of the holiday season, Christkindlmarket has just announced a new location in Naperville. The beloved Christmas market will bring more than 40 wooden stalls filled with glittery ornaments, warm strudel and handmade gifts to the suburb, beginning on November 25. There will be heated structures where visitors can enjoy German beers or glühwein in adorable collectable mugs (hopefully in the shape of a boot). Guests can also look forward to live musical performances and a visit from the Christkind herself every Sunday. Naperville residents won’t have to make the trek all the way to Daley Plaza in order to experience one of the largest and most authentic German markets outside of Europe. Just like the Loop-based market, Christkindlmarket will be free and open to the public Thursdays through Sundays with special extended hours leading up to Christmas Eve from November 25 to December 24.

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.