2. • For busy students who are looking for some
holiday spirit good food, good drinks and
crafts are an easy train ride away at the
annual Christmas Village in Center City’s
Love Park.
• Christmas Village will continue until 5 p.m.
Christmas Eve.
3. • Christmas Village, a German style outdoor
market, is now on its fifth year. The
number of people who come through has
grown every year. For 2012, they expect
to see around 500,000 visitors according
to their press statement. It hosts vendors
from all over the world, primarily European
and Americans.
4. • Students may wonder whether this is a bit
too juvenile for them, but it’s not. Inspired
by the German outdoor markets, Christmas
Village has over 90 booths with over 60
vendors selling a wide array of items and
holiday goodies. Students looking to pick
up unique holiday gifts will find that it may
have just the right thing for them.
5. • “People should definitely set aside a
few hours to walk around and really
see everything” said Rebecca Heine,
one of the many young shoppers. “For
those with money to spend it has a lot
of nice knick-knacks for the family”.
6. • Among the many stalls, student who are doing
holiday shopping might be interested to look at
Kathe Wohlfahrt’s authentic German Christmas
ornaments.
• Indoors one can find Christmas pyramids,
dioramas, glass and crystal ornaments,
nutcrackers, music boxes, beer steins—all of
which are each handcrafted in Germany.
• “Next week and the week after are prime
ornament buying times for the Village”, said
Bruce Chaftin, the manager of the Kathe
Wohlfahrt tent. “We bring the Village traditional
Christmas items like pyramids (which are the
original Christmas trees) from the Rhineland
region of Germany.”
7. • Even if students don’t wish to buy some of the pieces
which are slightly out of the normal student’s price range
with beer steins starting at $30 and higher quality items
going up from there, there are plenty of stands in the park
to choose from.
• Nepa Bhon is a vendor of Nepalese products including
handmade lampshades, photo albums, bags and other
general home décor items. The store residence is in New
York, where the owner Roger Sayami has neglected the
Christmas bazaars there for two years for the one in
Philadelphia.
• “We like it better here because there are lots of people in
New York, which make it not as worthwhile to do business
there”, said Sayami. “And the people are nicer here.”
8. • Another vendor with plenty of good gifts for the holidays
is Noel en Provence, a vendor of French items. The
vendor Fifi Siksik is American and met her French
husband while salsa dancing in the Riviera.
– They live part of the year in Nice, in the French Riviera where
they pick up many items for their business.
• “We take a trip down the Danube and stop at all the
outdoor markets”, said Siksik. “We become friends with
foreigners and get good products at a good price”.
• Noel en Provence has been a part of Philadelphia’s
Christmas Village for four out of the five years and prides
itself on the European craftsmanship displays. The
Siksik have noticed that students who shop in their stall
tend to buy scarves, soap, perfume, and earrings.
9. • Among the many families spending time
together at the market in early December,
there were also many young people and
students who are just soaking up the
Christmas atmosphere.
• “It’s a little overpriced so I’m not doing
shopping so much as just getting away
from the LaSalle world for the day”, said
Catherine Andrews, a junior at LaSalle.
10. • Lebkuchen is a German food stand
offering a beautiful assortment of
Christmas goodies like lebkuchen
(gingerbread cookies), stollen (specialty
German holiday cake) , as well as other
sweets.
11. • For those wishing for something more
savory, the German Grill offers bratwursts,
latkes, various meats and German potato
salad.
12. • If one needs to warm up with something a
little stiffer than the hot chocolates and
apple ciders that are to be found in many
stalls, then meandering to the Chaddsford
Winery might be a good idea.
• In this stall they offer two different types of
mulled wine.
• The vendor throws in a complimentary mug
on your first visit so you can come back
again for refills.
13. • If just the shopping and food stands
weren’t enough to tempt you, then the live
Christmas music performed should be.
There is usually a live singer on the stage
erected behind the Love statue.
14. • “It’s my first time in Philly for Christmas
and I wanted to check out ice skating as
well as the wide array of shops”, said
Katie Burrows, a businesswoman from
Wisconsin. “The singing that they do in
the square is nice, too.”
