One of the best parts of living in Philadelphia during the holiday season is the amount of festive fun in the city to make the shortened winter days less miserable. My favorite Philly holiday tradition has to be Christmas Village, set up at LOVE Park and City Hall from mid-November until Christmas Eve. The concept is modeled after German Christmas markets, and visitors can enjoy cuisine both German and otherwise and warm beverages, like mulled wine and hot chocolate, as they browse the wares of countless artisans and vendors.

My girlfriend Brena and I were eager to enjoy some hot chocolate and treats and get some holiday shopping done on a fairly warm Sunday afternoon. The place was pretty packed on such a nice day, and we made a game plan to methodically walk past every single stall so as not to miss what would potentially be perfect gifts for our loved ones.

We started with some hot chocolate with whipped cream (in commemorative Philadelphia Christmas Village mugs, of course) and meandered through stalls, sniffing candles in festive scents, admiring jewelry and sifting through decorations and art.

I found some perfect gifts for my family and friends (and maybe a few things for myself … ), and I always prefer to support local artists and small business owners instead of just ordering everything from giant corporations. I can’t share what I got because they’ll most likely read this blog post, but you can be sure the Christmas Village has a little something for everyone in your life.

Brena and I ended our excursion with an afternoon snack of potato pancakes and Belgian waffles (we wanted chocolate strudel, but they, tragically, were all sold out for the day) before heading home to warm up.

— Hannah Gruen, administrative coordinator