It’s hot as Hades outdoors when I stumble into The Wayward at Perry Lane Hotel, one of Savannah’s most esteemed local hotspots. But the air conditioning blows cold enough to set the scene for the conversation I’m having with the bartender about Christmas markets I love in places such as Prague, Vienna, Munich, and Krakow. The worldly tete-a-tete fits into the hotel’s raison d’ etre, or better said, its quiddity. After all, this is an imaginative hotel — newly built, artistic, and opulently glorious. Most unique, it’s based on the life of a — wait for it — fictional character named Adelaide Harcourt, an inveterate world traveler and Savannah native. So, as one does in bar chat, our subject matter embraces the ambiance, including Adelaide herself. The bartender tells me about Perry Lane Hotel’s muse (there’s even a portrait of her in an off-lobby salon, artifacts classified as souvenirs Adelaide has collected as she roamed the globe, references of her in every nook). Supposedly, Perry Lane Hotel is Adelaide’s former home, and like a friendly ghost she palpably haunts the location. We begin to talk about the muse as if she were real — and somehow we get to Christmas markets. (Believe me the route is straighter than you think.) That’s when I discover that The Wayward, Perry Lane’s captivating craft bar, holds a Christmas fete that may rival some of the best Christmas markets I know in Europe. (Well done, Adelaide!) Not mirroring them, of course, but perhaps borrowing from their celebratory joie d’ vivre, doing it all with North American bravado. Read on to find out about some special Christmas festivals in Canada, the United States, and Mexico you won’t want to miss.
More About The Wayward at Perry Lane Hotel Christmas Bar Experience
Festooned in glamorous holiday decor, The Wayward at Perry Lane Hotel brings the fun beginning on December 1, with retro decorations inspired by favorite holiday movies — such as moose mugs from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and the leg lamp from Christmas Story. Kitschy Christmas string lights and ornaments enliven the cocktail bar, as bartenders mix up special holiday drinks that feature the flavors of the season: gingersnap, apple, peppermint, and more. The line to participate in the frivolity can wrap around the hotel some nights. Expect amusements such as an ugly sweater contest, holiday movies, Elf on the Shelf mischievousness — even perchance real reindeers atop the roof and visits from Santa.
Quebec City German Christmas Market, Quebec City
Romantic Quebec, with its bygone beauty, French chic, and timeless charm easily could pass for Europe in a photograph. Its elegant buildings embellish a hill, wound tight with cobblestoned streets — all overlooking the St. Lawrence River. In the heart of Old Québec, a UNESCO World Heritage site, Québec City German Christmas Market melds the past with the present to showcase the city’s rich traditions and formidable history. Taking cues from the Christkindlmarkt heritage, the fair occupies key streets of the historic district. The scent of roasting chestnuts, the sound of carols sung, and glittering lights awaken every sense. Composed of some 90 wooden kiosks, the market offers holiday delights from crafts to foodstuff.
Bryant Park Holiday Market, New York
As iconic as Fifth Avenue’s elaborate holiday window displays and the tree at Rockefeller Center, the Bryant Park Holiday Market prevails as one of New York City’s most honored December traditions. Ever abuzz, the market instantly instills the holiday spirit as nattily clad shoppers mull about browsing from more than 180 multitudinous, varied mini boutiques. Trust us: you can do all your holiday shopping here — for this year and next. Take a break at The Lodge, a covered, outdoor, après-themed zone to observe ice skating, sip cocktails, and nosh. Weekend merrymakers can base luxuriously at The Knickerbocker, s Beaux-Arts wonder just steps from the soiree.
Congress Hall, Cape May New Jersey
With the second largest collection of Victorian houses after San Francisco, New Jersey’s most nostalgic beach town, Cape May, has an automatic storybook backdrop for its annual Christmas wonderland (November 29-January 1). With Congress Hall, America’s first seaside resort transformed for the season, the month-long merrymaking redefines the locale with sublime adornment and seasonal joy. Awash in family fun, activities include breakfasts with Santa, Santa’s workshop activities, the Congress Hall Express (a train that chugs around the grand hotel’s scenic lawn and veranda), an evocative carousel, and the Vendor Village, replete with candy cane-striped tents and seven specialty stores, each featuring Cape May gifts and curiosities.
Seattle Christmas Market, Seattle Washington
With European flair, the annual Seattle Christmas Market at Seattle Center brings to mind a ramble through a jovial Christmas fair set in Salzburg, Stockholm, or Zurich. Located at the Seattle Center, the multi-faceted event runs every day between November 21 and December 24, serving up European specialities from raclette to bratwurst, chimney cakes to perogies. Activities abound, including scavenger hunts, Christmas karaoke, live entertainment, kiddie rides, and Santa. A score of artisans sell stunning handmade items including carved-wood Santas, candles, toys, leather goods, textiles, and pottery from atmospheric wooden huts. For a long weekend respite, stay at the lavish Lotte Hotel Seattle, just five minutes from the market.
The Charleston Place, Charleston South Carolina
You don’t have to pray for flurries. It snows at Christmastime every year in South Carolina’s Holy City . . . at elegant The Charleston Place, one of the metropolis’ most peerless hotels. Ensconced in the historic district, it reigns as the city’s proverbial living room. Taking the theme of “Be the Light” as inspiration, the hotel refashions itself into the North Pole of the south where guests can enjoy holiday trains, Nutcracker-themed teas, children’s dance classes, a life-sized gingerbread house, and pop-up performances animate already cheery moods, while nobody can resist frolicking in the uncanny, real-life, super-freezing nightly snow.
Toronto Canada
Long winter nights mean more time to bundle up to explore Toronto’s array of Christmas markets and holiday happenings sure to warm the spirit. On Nathan Phillips Square, Cavalcade of Lights launches the season when it illuminates its twinkling tree and a jaw-dropping spray of sparkling lights. Begin your shopping at Bentway Christmas Market, a free, al fresco fest that features nearly 200 Toronto artists. One-of-a-kind creations, sculpture, jewelry, photography, fashion, skincare, and more tempt. Roam the cobblestoned streets of The Distillery Historic District’s Winter Village, kitted out with enchanted dining experiences, an impressive countdown clock, wandering elves, and abundant Christmas trees, then take a look at Casa Loma, North America’s only castle alight for the holidays. For funkier festivities, enjoy Stackt Market, built completely out of shipping containers. At Christmas, you’ll find a ferris wheel with views of the CN Tower and a yurt that serves up seasonal cocktails — among other delights.
Kimpton Hotel Monaco, DC
Just in front of Kimpton Hotel Monaco DC, set in a National Historic Landmark building in Washington DC’s Penn Quarter, two blocks of holiday happiness rolls out each December. The Downtown Holiday Market, now in its 20th year, takes the shape of a wintertime shopping village, chock full of some 70-plus vendors. Peruse their artisanal wares beneath the glittering lights and beside aromatic wreaths to the sound of carols and songs of the season. Inside the enthusiastically bedecked hotel, sip a warm libation at the ski-themed pop up Dirty Habit Chalet, re-imagined within the hotel’s onsite restaurant, Dirty Habit.
Mexico City
Heartwarming, traditional, ecstatic — even theatrical — Mexico delves into its varied histories at Christmas and throughout the holidays. A month of fiestas and romerías invite endless participation that can’t help but banish the grumpiest Grinch. Locals meander through Mercado Jamaica, the city’s most vibrant flower market, sipping a ponche as they choose from the plethora of poinsettias on offer, while shopping for ornaments and gifts. Lively everyday markets such as Mercado Coyoacan and Mercado Medellin become even more cheery and inspirited during the holidays. Selling everything from vegetables to baubles, they’re an ideal spot to purchase a Christmas piñata. Buy one with the seven pointed stars to break during Las Posadas — the traditional parties and parades that take place the nine nights before Christmas (December 16-24). Book your holiday visit in lavish Las Alcobas, situated in upscale Polanco for many reasons. The kid in us loves that they hang a Christmas cookie personalized with individual guests’ names on the lobby Christmas tree.
Austin Motel, Austin Texas
It’s likely to be 100 degrees outside with attendees sweltering in shorts and flip flops, but that doesn’t mean it can’t feel like the holidays in buzzy Austin. In SoCo, Austin Motel, one of Bunkhouse’s retro redo stays, throws a party for hipster revelers and their cohorts during the month of December. The cool-kid hotel gets tricked out in rainbow lights, Christmas trees, and ornaments aplenty. Choose from oodles of programming each Thursday-Sunday, plus lusty libations, festive events, DJs, movie screenings, 90s-themed ski parties, Santa, and local vendors in spades. A toy drive donates to Posada Esperanza, a family shelter.
The Holiday Market at Snowport Boston Massachusetts
With lights galore and European-style huts all in a row, Boston’s Holiday Market at Snowport elevates the Seaport neighborhood’s already chi-chi factor to include a realm of celebratory holiday bounty. Open mid-November until the end of December, the vivacious market commonly brandishes more than 120 vendors (more than half of which are local to New England), dining venues, tempting snacks, an après ski-themed lounge, and holiday bars. Participate in gleeful activities from outdoor iceless curling to menorah lightings to craft workshops. Visitors can base seaside at The Envoy Hotel, poised just up the street from the fair.
Featured image courtesy of Hotel Monaco
