Hello friends! It’s the most wonderful time of the year again! The Vancouver Christmas Market is one of the long standing traditions in the lower mainland. This year it’s the 10th anniversary of the Vancouver Christmas Market and they have lots in store for all their visitors!
Their iconic carousel greets you when you walk in and you can’t get enough of the bright colours. It actually took a while for me to take it all in because it was just so magical!
While we were waiting for our tour of the market to begin, we were serenaded by the Gingerbread men. They sing a variety of Christmas songs and even have holiday themed remixes of popular ones like “Baby Shark!”
Just past the carousel you will find the advent calendar. It’s less of an advent calendar and more of a mystery matching game. It’s pretty fun if you have the patience for memory match!
To the left of the advent calendar display, you will find the Love Lock Installation. You’re able to attach a little heart locket to the installation as a symbol of love and friendship. What I found super awesome about it is that all the locks from last year are still on the installation so you can revisit the one you put on last year if you put one on!
Right next to the Love Lock Installation you’ll find Lovers’ Lane a 40-foot long tunnel covered with 20,000 twinkling lights. It even has mistletoe in the middle for the perfect photo.
At the end of the tunnel you will find yet another photo opportunity. You’re welcome to sit in the sleigh for photos and to make it all the more festive, they have reindeers in the background!
As you walk through the market, you will find another infamous feature at the Christmas Market, the giant Christmas tree! It’s covered with hundreds of lights and you can even walk inside of it!
In addition to fun spots to capture memories, the Vancouver Christmas Market also has lots of activities for kids! There is the Kinder Kraft Igloo, sponsored by 4Cats Arts Studio, and a market-wide Christmas Treasure Hunt!
At the back of the market you will find a hut where you can enjoy people’s company. There’s lots of seating for people to take a break from the market or to eat some of the delicious eats they got at the market.
Leading up to this large seating area is the Winterdeck. This year they have added lit up seats and heaters to the area so you can enjoy the view of the North Shore with comfort.
This year the market continues to grow with lots of new shops including The Sock Shack, Cashmere Crafts, Ru Supply Company, MysGreen, and Kasandy! I love how all the shops here are artisan with some featuring eco-friendly and reusable products.
One of my favorites has always been looking at all the ornament shops the Christmas Market has to offer. I mean, How could you say no?
Now that I’ve talked all about the photo ops and shops, let’s move onto the eats!
This shop has the best specialty wild mushrooms around! Not only do they sell them by the package dry, but they also serve it on their menu!
I was given the opportunity to try the Wild Mushroom Soup. It’s one of the creamiest mushrooms soups I’ve had! The mushrooms are chopped pretty small though so it was hard to tell what types were inside. I wish that they were larger so you could really taste the earthiness of them.
Das Gulasch Haus serves goulash in bread bowls! Goulash is a Hungarian stew that’s usually made with vegetables and beef. They offer a vegan version and a beef version. I decided to go with the beef one on this day and it was a delight! The beef was super tender and the tomato-y flavor of the stew brought everything together. You can eat the stew and bread separate but I recommend having them together so you’re not left with just bread towards the end!
Transylvanian Chimney Cakes were something I was eyeing since I entered the market. I’ve tried to make these before with some success but I couldn’t wait to try the real thing!
These Chimney “cakes” aren’t really cakes per say, rather it’s bread dough cooked on a wooden dowel so it maintains a springy shape. Something I didn’t know about Chimney cakes before was that they actually have a lemon flavored dough!
The shop offered two different variety of Chimney Cakes. One was with walnut and the other with cinnamon sugar.
The walnut one had very fine walnut shavings wrapped around the outside. I liked this one better because it tasted better with the lemon flavored dough. I loved peeling the layers as I was eating it!
The one with the sugar coating reminded me of the lemon buns you would find at a Chinese bakery. It had strong lemon flavor and the sugar added sweetness. It didn’t really need any though because the dough was sweet enough on it’s own. I’m definitely looking forward to having another one of these!
Two Sweet Elves is a newer addition to the Christmas market and they serve Poffertjes which are mini pancakes! They serve them in 4 different varieties including strawberry with nutella, chocolate m&m, condensed milk with marshmallows, and strawberries with peanuts and jam.
Once you place your order you’re given the opportunity to watch the pancake makers at work. Each pancake is about 1.5″ in diameter so they had to put lots of care and attention into making each individual one.
Each serving of Poffertjes comes with 8 silver dollar pancakes. It’s then topped with icing sugar, whipped cream, sauce and a topping. I decided to go with syrup and strawberries. Each pancake was super fluffy and soft making each bite as delicious as the last. It could have done without the icing sugar on top though because it ended up making the pancakes too sweet in combination with the syrup since I didn’t get it with whipped cream. That was a wrong call on my part because the whipped cream could have really helped balance everything out.
Mr. Hotcakes was one of the spots that I enjoyed visiting last year. They serve Syrup-filled Pancakes similar to Korean hotteok. I love how the pancakes have a flaky exterior because it’s a nice contrast to the gooey syrup on the inside.
They offer these hot cakes served with whipped cream or ice cream. I suggest getting it with the ice cream because the pancakes are super hot and the ice cream holds up to the heat better.
They have lots more food stalls to explore and I can’t wait to try them all out on my next visit! If you would like to read about some of the other food items at the market, feel free to read my post from last year here.
Now then, it’s not a German inspired Christmas Market without alcoholic beverages so here are some spots you can visit to get some!
The Bavarian Beer Haus offer a variety of beer.
If you’re not a fan of beer, you can visit the Christmas Pyramid for a variety of mulled wines and non-alcoholic Kinderpunsch.
Flavors of mulled wine and spices aren’t for everyone. Not to worry because Das Apfel Haus across from the Christmas Pyramid offers Apple Cider. At all the locations you’re able to purchase a Christmas market 10th anniversary mug to put your drink into instead of getting a paper cup.
If you’re looking for a place to sit with friends and drink with merriment, the WunderBAR is the place to be. The Wunderbar is a hideaway from the busy market. It’s a gorgeously lit bar featuring Christmas cocktails, charcuterie boards and dessert.
I love how the cocktails here are served in these light up mason jars! I can’t wait to reuse this in the future and they make for great Christmas decor!
Something I found neat was that they offer both vegan and regular charcuterie boards. I like how they are ensuring that all their visitors have an option!
What better way to end off the night than with a slice of German black forest cake. The layer of cherry filling is rich and the chocolate cake layers are truly decadent. Needless to say, this slice of cake is the perfect way to end a night of festivities.
Disclaimer: I was invited to the Vancouver Christmas Market Media event. I’m not sponsored or compensated for my review in any way. All opinions are honest and my own.
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