Christmas Village in Philadelphia — Local services in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA: kick off the holiday season at Christmas Village in Philadelphia, an authentic German Christmas market right in the heart of Center City and it is easy to get to with a parking garage right underneath the park!

Located at John F. Kennedy Plaza aka LOVE Park, the park is famous for the LOVE statue and all the events they put on year-round! The Christmas Village is an outdoor event and is open seasonally from about Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve! The event also takes place across the street at City Hall and Dilworth Park.

Each section is full of vendors featuring delicious food and drinks, clothing, gifts, jewelry, home goods, and tons of unique homemade items to treat yourself or give as a gift. We loved seeing some upcycled vinyl works of art by Astrovinylart, sampled some hard spirits from New Liberty Distillery, bought a cute and useful Philly pretzel towel from Paper on Pine, checked out the Christmas tree, listened to a marching band, had delicious holiday themed drinks, and brought home a boot mug shaped souvenir. There is so much to see, buy, eat, and drink! The Festival of Trees, an indoor display of decorated Christmas trees opens on December 5th through 12/24 for the 2024 season.

Leashed and friendly dogs are allowed and we saw a bunch, but keep in mind that it gets very crowded and can be noisy. The event is rain or shine, so check social media and their website for updates and more information like meeting Santa.

At the corner of JFK Blvd and 16th street, a virtual "portal" is now open that features a live webcam alternating between Dublin Ireland, Vilnius Lithuania, Lublin Poland, and also shows a view of Earth from space! Phildelphians and our neighbors across the ocean had so much fun waving back and forth and even doing the macarena! The purpose of the portal is to unite people in public places around the world!

Across the street from the park is Uptown Beer Garden, which is open with their Express Christmas Pop-up bar! The outdoor beer garden is fully decorated for Christmas and features food and Christmas themed drinks. There are fire pits and a big section is enclosed for warmth. Leashed and friendly dogs are allowed! Kids are allowed to join...

My son purchased a sweater from the Irish Store at the Christmas Village, before Christmas. The sweater was way to big & it was a man's fishing sweater. I'm 74 & disabled, I don't have a car & don't drive anymore. My son was unaware that it was such a big item. I told him I wanted a button down sweater with shawl collar. He was in a rush. He bought it. After opening it on Christmas morning I said I would try to find a name or number I could call to exchange it. I found a number & called many, many times & it went to voicemail. After I said I would get it touch with someone, like here, & maybe he wouldn't be having a kiosk next year. Within 15 minutes I got a call back. He gave me his address in Philly & said to UPS the sweater to him & he would send me the one I really wanted. I sent it to him within 5 days. We texted back & forth. He was on the road, he was out of town, the boat was bringing his shipment. He also said, last we talked, that the shipment was in & he would send it to me. Sunday, April 21st I texted him & he texted me, he was in NC at the Highland Games, selling at a show & that the deleveries came on Friday. Texted again on April 27th ""surprised not there yet ''it shipped from Ireland. Maybe Monday & he'll send me the tracking info when he gets it. It's been since Christmas, 5 months now. I still don't have the item he promised, he has my original item, now he won't answer my calls or my texts. I texted him Monday 5/6 & left a long message & said I was starting to get impatient. It must have be a "slow boat from China"

His name is John Murray, I have his Philly address if you want it.

PLEASE, Can someone get in touch with him & expedite my sweater? PLEASE, Can someone get in touch with me...

This has become a Philadelphia tradition and I go every year and have been since its inception! They have really expanded this over the years and it’s really amazing thinking back to when it first started and was just a few huts in the old Love Park before it was renovated and as it expanded to City hall (i’m sorry Dilworth Plaza as it is now called lol). They always have a great variety of vendors so you’re sure to find something for everyone on your list and the vendors will work on pricing if you bargain but please don’t be rude and ask a vendor to discount an item 75% which you only want to buy one! Bargaining makes sense when it’s a good deal for both of you, for instance if you see a calendar vendor and only want one for your office I don’t think you should ask for a 50% discount on a $20 item! However, if you’re looking to buy one for your 3 siblings, 2 children, husband and parents all one then I’d say you have some bargaining power and could ask the vendor if they’d be willing to work a deal for 7 of them…maybe buy 6 and get one for free or you could ask for a 10-15% discount on the total. Listen, it never hurts to ask but remember that many of these vendors are making these items and putting their blood sweat and tears into the products they sell so don’t insult them by asking for an item that they are selling for $20 for them to discount...