Take the stress out of holiday shopping by forgoing shopping malls, long lines and combative consumers. Holiday markets offer one-of-a-kind gifts that show a level of care and extra thought, bypassing fast fashion for fair trade.
Looking to shop local? Check out these 33 Twin Cities area holiday markets
The Twin Cities area has a bounty of holiday boutiques. Use our list to get your shop on.
November 22, 2023 at 8:48PM
There are unique finds for the person who has everything and the people on your list who are just plain hard to buy for. This year there's a healthy offering of holiday markets where guests can leisurely browse items from local artisans who make jewelry, clothing, food gifts and other handmade items.
Many also offer entertainment, specialty beverages and a Santa sighting.
Here's a sampling of local markets:
A HANDMADE HOLIDAY MARKET: Noon-5 p.m. Saturdays through Dec. 16. Lakes and Legends Brewing Co., 1368 LaSalle Av. S., Mpls. mplscraftmarket.com
ART AT HIDDEN RIVER: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 2. Hidden River Middle School, 1700 Summit Av., St. Paul. artistscircle.org
AUXILIARY HOLIDAY SALE: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 1-2; 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dec. 3. $15. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. arb.umn.edu
BLACK FOREST INN CHRISTMAS MARKET: Noon-7 p.m. Dec. 9; noon-5 p.m. Dec. 10. 1 E. 26th St., Mpls. blackforestinnmpls.com
CHRISTMAS POP-UP MARKET: 4-8:30 p.m. Dec. 11. The Meeting Point, 14537 Dodd Blvd., Rosemount. themeetingpointmn.com
WINTER MAKERS MARKET: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon-Sat.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. through Dec. 30. thedaytonsproject.com
DECEMBER GIFT MARKET: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. & 5-10 p.m. Dec. 9; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 10. $15. Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska. arb.umn.edu
EUROPEAN CHRISTMAS MARKET: 4-9 p.m. Nov. 24, Dec. 1, 8 & 15; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 25, Dec. 2, 9 & 16; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Nov. 26, Dec. 2, 10 & 17. Free. Union Depot, 240 E. Kellogg Blvd., St. Paul. stpaulchristmasmarket.org
EXCELSIOR CHRISTKINDLSMARKT: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 24-25; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 26. Excelsior East Public Parking Lot, 421 3rd St. S., Excelsior. excelsiorchristmas.com
FAIR STATE BREWING HOLIDAY POPUPS: 5-8 p.m. Fri.; 1-5 p.m. Sat. through Dec. 16. Fair State Brewing, 2506 Central Av. NE., Mpls. fairstate.coop
FAIR TRADE HOLIDAY MARKET: Noon-4 p.m. Dec. 10. The Dream Shop, 3701 Fremont Av. N., Mpls. thedreamshopmpls.com
FIELD + FESTIVAL HOLIDAY MARKET: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sat.-Sun. through Dec. 18. Wagners Garden Center, 6024 Penn Av. S., Mpls. mplscraftmarket.com
HAUS HOLIDAY MARKET: Noon-5 p.m. Dec. 3. Schram Haus Brewery, 3700 Chaska Blvd., Chaska. schramhausbrewery.com
THE HOLIDAY MARKET AT MALCOLM YARDS: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 9; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 10. 501 30th Av. SE., Mpls. malcolmyards.market
HOLIDAYS ON NICOLLET: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; Tue.-Thu. through Jan. 5. IDS Center, City Center, U.S. Bancorp Center and 50 S. 6th St., downtown Mpls. mplsdowntown.com
HOLIDAY SATURDAYS AT NORTHRUP KING BUILDING: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., Dec. 2 & 9; noon-4 p.m. Dec. 16 & 23. 1500 NE. Jackson St., Mpls. northrupkingbuilding.com
HOLIDAY VILLAGE: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Wed.-Sat.; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sun. through Dec. 24. Young-Quinlan Building, 81 S. 9th St., Mpls. mplsdowntown.com
JULMARKNAD MARKET & FESTIVAL: Scandinavian marketplace with handmade goods from 60 regional artists. 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 2; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Dec. 3. $6-$18. American Swedish Institute, 2600 Park Av. S., Mpls. asimn.org
JUNK BONANZA CHRISTMAS: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 30; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 1; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 2. $10. Canterbury Park, 1100 Canterbury Road, Shakopee. junkbonanza.com
MINNEAPOLIS MAKERS MARKET & BAR HOP: 1-6 p.m. Nov. 25. Indeed Brewing, Padraigs Brewing, Tattersall Distilling and Dashfire Distillery. indeedbrewing.com
MINNESOTA MERRY MARKET: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 16; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 17. North End Event Center, State Fairgrounds, Falcon Heights. minnesotamerrymarket.com
MINNI DAZZLE: 5-9 p.m. Dec. 14-15; 2-7 p.m. Dec. 16; 1-5 p.m. Dec. 17. Fulton Taproom, 414 6th Av. N., Mpls. fultonbeer.com
MN CHRISTMAS MARKET: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 25. $1. Quincy Hall, 1325 NE. Quincy St., Mpls. mnchristmasmarket.com
NO COAST CRAFT-O-RAMA HOLIDAY SHOW: 4-8 p.m. Dec. 1; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 2 Midtown Global Market, 920 E. Lake St., Mpls. nocoastcraft.com
NORDIC JULEMARKET: 4-8 p.m. Dec. 1; noon-8 p.m. Dec. 2; noon-6 p.m. Dec. 3. Utepils Brewing, 225 Thomas Av. N., Mpls. nordicjulemarket.com
NORDIC VILLAGE MARKET: Noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun., except Dec. 24 & 31 through January. Four Seasons, 245 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls. fourseasons.com
NORTH LOOP WINTER MARKET: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 16th. 501 Royalston Av. N., Mpls. eventbrite.com
OLD FASHIONED HOLIDAY BAZAAR: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 30-Dec. 1; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 2. $5. Landmark Center, 75 W. 5th St., St. Paul. landmarkcenter.org
OLD ST. ANTHONY HOLIDAY BAZAAR: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 10. Machine Shop, 300 SE. 2nd St., Mpls. mplscraftmarket.com
PALACE THEATRE HOLIDAY MARKET: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 9; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 10. 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul. palaceholidaymarket.com
POP-UP JULEMARKET: Noon-8 p.m. Dec. 5. Norway House, 913 E. Franklin Av., Mpls. norwayhouse.org
REDHOT ART MARKET: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 16. Chicago Avenue Fine Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Av. S., Mpls. cafac.org
TATTERSALL WINTER MARKET: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. & Dec. 9-10. 1777 Paulson Road, River Falls, Wis. Tattersalldistilling.com
Lefse-wrapped Swedish wontons, a soothing bowl of rice porridge and a gravy-laden commercial filled our week with comfort and warmth.
