BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Holiday ballads made famous by Bing Crosby, Mariah Carey and John Lennon were heard as festive greeters ushered in shoppers on the opening day of Christkindlmarkt.
The ArtsQuest's German-inspired holiday market, now in its 32nd year, opened its doors on Friday, Nov. 15.
It will be open Fridays-Sundays for its first three weeks, then expand to Thursdays-Sundays (with an extra week this year).
Showing in four heated tents are over 50 vendors who sell handcrafted Christmas decorations, tree ornaments, paintings, jewelry, pottery, gloves, hats, handmade jewelry, wooden signs, crystals and gems, scarves, purses, and baby clothing.
There are also treats for dogs and cats, jars of pickles, jams and jellies, spices, English toffees, chocolates, cheeses and handmade decorated gingerbread cookies.
Back again is the Käthe Wohlfahrt section filled with wooden nutcrackers and cherished themed ornaments imported from Germany.
Simply put: something for everyone on your Christmas list — whether naughty or nice (yes, Santa Claus is at Christkindlmarkt too).
Click here for the full list of vendors.
Christkindlmarkt will also be open the weekend before Christmas, Dec. 19-22. Last year, it ended Dec. 14-17.
'Thrilled' to be part of the community
Kirsten Bashford, founder and designer of Beyond the Wildflowers, brought some cheer to shoppers with her beautiful preserving pressed flowers.
Bashford operates Beyond the Wildflowers, a boutique floral preservation studio, in Milford, New Jersey.
Her bright and cheerful dishes, cake stands, bowls and small plates cost from $25 to under $300. Since each piece is handcrafted, no two are the same.
"I specialize in growing a lot of my own flowers, but I also use florists and other wholesale vendors to source my other flowers. Then I press them and preserve them onto pieces of glassware," she said.
"I'm thrilled to be here all six weeks. I always find that everybody here is like family, and they're always trying to help to lift you and boost you and help. So that was one of the reasons why coming here was really important to me, because I have a big sense of community here."Kirsten Bashford
"The glassware that I use is from 1910 to 1950 and then the flowers are preserved and sealed into the glass with an FDA-approved, food-safe resin, so everything is functional and down to earth."
It's her first time renting a vendor space at Christkindlmarkt, but she felt welcomed by her peers, other artists that's she's met at other craft shows.
"I'm thrilled to be here all six weeks. I always find that everybody here is like family and they're always trying to help to lift you and boost you and help. It's not the competition. We're all in this together. So that was one of the reasons why coming here was really important to me because I have a big sense of community here," Bashford said.
I Love You 2 Peacesowners Jason and Kelly Camillo, of Saylorsburg, are also renting a tent for the first time at the holiday market.
"We've heard from a couple friends who have booths here and have done it for a while about how much success they've had. We've shown at StroudFest [in Stroudsburg] for a couple of years, but it's nothing like this. We've never been to Christkindlmarkt, so we're excited to see how we do," Kelly Camillo said.
She carves the designs on handmade clay, which can take up to 28 hours per piece to create, while her husband, Jason, makes the bases for the designs.
On display are Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, gnomes, holly wreath plates and ornaments.
As she donned a reindeer headband, Kelly Camillo and her son, Drake, took a stroll around the market.
"We walked around and, oh my Gosh, some of the handmade pieces are phenomenal," she said.
'It's good for the soul'
Perhaps the happiest man at Christkindlmarkt on Friday was Mark Talijan, otherwise known as Santa Claus.
He has portrayed St. Nick at the event for the past six years.
"It's good for my soul. Because some of the interaction, the kids tell you the truth. The adults tell you the truth. Even if they don't say it in their words, they say it in their eyes," Talijan, er, Santa said.
During the most magical time of year, he enjoys spreading joy to locals and visitors in Christmas City, which was designated a World Heritage Site in June by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
"I've had people come back year after year and say, 'I saw you last year and I asked for this and got it. I said what I really wanted was a good job because I had lost my job,' and a week later she got a job. I've had older people come in and say they're not doing well health-wise, so I talk to them and tell them I'll say a prayer," Talijan said.
"I once met a teenage girl several years ago, and she sat down and said all she wanted was friends because she didn't have friends. So I introduced myself as Nick, and said, I'm your friend."
Record attendance in 2023, TV debut
In 2023, ArtsQuest said Christkindlmarkt saw record attendance and drew more than 117,500 people during its run from Nov. 17 to Dec. 17.
That was up more than 9% from 2022's record attendance of 107,000.
While it's too early to tell, organizers hope that the World Heritage Site nod, plus cameos in the Hallmark Network series and upcoming movie, "Saint Nick of Bethlehem" will draw more attendees to the giant market.
The Hallmark segment, filmed last December, will air Dec. 12 on Hallmark’s new "Ready, Set, Glow."
Saint Nick of Bethlehem debuts this weekend at the Roxy Theatre and will screen at ArtsQuest's Franco Banko Alehouse Theater (101 Founders Way, Bethlehem) on Friday, Nov. 29 and Shankweiler's Drive-In (4540 Shankweiler Rd, Orefield) Dec. 5 — 8.
Pamela Iobst, of Pamela Iobst Designs, has been showing at Christkindlmarkt since its start.
At her tent, she carries handmade Rio-glass earrings, necklaces, Christmas tree pins and handwoven chenille scarves.
Iobst said she wasn't surprised to see Hallmark Network actor Wes Brown and a crew filmed near her tent last year.
The giant holiday spectacle is a big moneymaker for all.
"This is the majority of my income. Whatever I make here has got to carry me through until Memorial Day when we start doing shows again."
