Chicago's Christkindl Market in Daley Plaza

Gliding down the Magnificent Mile and piling up credit card charges might signal  the start of the  Chicago  holiday season for some but for me, the official launch comes with  the fresh stollen, gingerbread and hot spiced wine of  the Christkindl Market. Considered one of the best German Christmas markets in the world, this open air, month-long event offers a more authentic (and cheaper)  holiday shopping experience.  Inspired by the famous Nuremburg  Christmas Market that started in 1545, the Chicago Christkindl features an official  November 25 launch by Nuremberg’s past Christkindl, a fairy-like character who wears a  shimmering, golden robe with a crown perched atop golden locks.

Under candy-striped awnings and a sparkling Christmas tree in Daley Plaza, the market bustles with German food and handicrafts. Many local vendors like the Chicago institution, Dinkel’s Bakery, which sells delicate stollen holiday cake, occupy stalls but a good portion travel all the way from Germany, including Frank’s Bavarian Gift Shop, which offers marzipan, beer steins and wooden ornaments.  Browse the market for handcrafted nutcrackers, cuckoo clocks and hand-painted toys and then perform the requisite gorging with homemade schnitzel, strudel, bratwurst, sausages and pretzels, washed down with gluhwein or mulled, spiced, wine.   Once you’ve properly insulated yourself with food, sit back and catch choirs, dance troupes and Alpine brass bands performing.  I recommend staying at a nearby hotel, like the iconic Palmer House Hilton, so walking in the Chicago cold and lugging goodies remains an enjoyable holiday excursion.

Handcrafted wooden toys

Photos courtesy of  Explore Chicago