With free admission, great Christmas traditions as well as great shopping is part of the experience at the Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza on downtown Chicago. If you are looking for things to do in Chicago this Christmas season, stroll among booths selling toys, ornaments, jewelry, and clothing – many handcrafted by artisans – and such German specialties as nutcrackers, cuckoo clocks, beer steins, and other unique items. Also, savor the fragrant aromas and lively sounds of a 16th century German marketplace. The Christkindlmarket is open daily November 26-December 24, and admission is free.
Visitors from all over the world come to the Christkindlmarket Chicago annually 
and the numbers continue to grow every year. It is so popular and loved by all that any Chicagoan will tell you that they could not imagine the city without it. It is no longer just a German tradition – it has become a Chicago institution. Families, friends, co-workers, young professionals, suburbanites, city folk and visitors from all corners of the world enjoy Christkindlmarket Chicago. The unique shopping experience, the typical German food and drinks, the diverse holiday entertainment, and a place to enjoy the city during the winter season, makes this a preferred and popular destination.
Chicago’s largest open-air Christmas festival was first held on Pioneer Court in 1996. Inspired by the famous German Christmas Market in Nuremberg, which dates back to 1545, Christkindlmarket brings a cherished German and European tradition with international flair and local color to Chicago. 
By special invitation of Mayor Richard M. Daley, Christkindlmarket moved to Daley Plaza in 1997. Christkindlmarket Chicago and the City of Chicago with the Mayor’s Office of Special Events have since shared a great partnership based on mutual cooperation.
Since 1999 Christkindlmarket’s Grand Opening is a special highlight during the celebration of the City of Chicago Annual Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony which always takes place on the First Friday after Thanksgiving Day.
Popular from the very beginning in 1996, the two-week long Christmas extravaganza attracted more than 300,000 visitors in the first year. 
In 1997, Christkindlmarket Chicago became a four-week long event and the number of visitors quickly rose to over 500,000. Today, Christkindlmarket Chicago is the largest and most renowned German winter holiday market in the United States attracting visitors from the Chicagoland area, the rest of the country and from around the world.
The Christkindlmarket Chicago is the perfect place for teachers and professors of the German language to bring their students. At the market, students get to experience authenitc German traditions without having to travel any farther than the city of Chicago. The students will also have the opportunity to practice their language skills at the market with numerous German speaking vendors. Approximately 70% of the market’s vendors speak German as well as English. Several educational activities for students visiting the market include: scavenger hunts, interviews with vendors, or even singing German holiday songs for all to enjoy. From Kindergartners to graduate students the message is loud and clear: The Christkindlmarket is fun, fun, fun!
Dates & Times 2009
Daily | Nov. 25 through Dec. 24, 2009 | |
Sneak Peek: | Nov. 25 – 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. – (Tree Lighting Ceremony at 4 p.m.) | |
Thanksgiving Day Hours: | Nov. 26 – 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. | |
Official Grand Opening: | Nov. 27 – 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. (Grand Opening starts at 4 p.m.) | |
Last Day: | Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. | |
Daily Hours | ||
Sun. – Thurs.: | 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. | |
Fri. + Sat.: | 11 a.m. - 9 p.m. | |
Where | Daley Plaza between Washington, Clark & Dearborn Street |
