Arlington Christkindl Market (Dallas, Ranger: appointed, credit card, to buy)

[AusParent]

Has anyone been? If so, was it worthwhile?

[mSooner]

I'm curious too!

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

This will be our first Christmas in Dallas, but we are SO going! We've been to the real thing in Munich & Vienna - hope this one is a good attempt!

[AusParent]

I think we're going to give it a try too. For anyone else who is interested, here is the link:

Arlington Christkindl Market | German holiday market in Arlington, Texas

[mSooner]

We went tonight and had a great time! I wanted to report back and encourage you all to go!

It's a relatively small market set up right along one of the roads next to the Ballpark, but we still had plenty to do for the 2 hours we were there.

I'm really impressed--Arlington did a good job. Parking is free (and very close) and admission is free. You buy tickets (cash or credit card) for food or the petting zoo. We spent $30 and got 2 brats (very tasty), a drink, strudel, and admission to the petting zoo for our toddler. There was lots of staff there (Rangers employees and Arlington City Council I think) that were very friendly and interested in hearing how we heard about the event. They are obviously trying to grow it and get the word out.

It was a very festive atmosphere--lots of lights, I'd go at night if you can. You can tell they've made an effort to make it nice and relatively authentic.

Here is what they offer:

Shops: Lots of handmade items, German items, etc. My sisters bought beautiful alpaca infinity scarves from one of the booths. Maybe not a lot you would buy, but cool items. I was very tempted by a $12 knitted hat.

Food: Brats, beer, schnitzel, potato pancakes, pork sandwiches, "German cheesesteaks" (my sisters got them and said they were great), kettle corn, cider, hot chocolate, gluhwein (will have to try it next year when I'm not pregnant), corn dogs, strudel (okay, but I wish I had gotten a crepe), crepes, and more stuff I don't remember. Prices weren't too bad. ($8 for a brat with toppings, $3 for a coke, $3 for cider/hot chocolate, $6 for beer, etc.)

Activities: Meet Santa (legit looking dude in a neat costume), live music (really good), "Bavarian Petting Zoo" ($5, pigs, ducks, sheep, goats, pony--toddler had a blast), and a marionette theater we didn't get to check out (I believe you need to buy tickets in advance, but it looked quite intricate online and very neat)

Very cool. We will be back next year for sure.

[Puppy3D]

We had a good time there. Its worth spending an hour or two.

[AusParent]

We went this weekend and enjoyed it. The market really captures the feeling of the holidays. Plan to go for a few hours, get some food, and poke around the booths. If possible, also find the entertainment schedule.

[Made_it_To_the_Metroplex]

We're hoping to go this weekend... If we're not all iced in!

[flyntexn]

I went last weekend and wasn't blown away but still had a good time. It's small and really one of the two spots to go is the indoor (tent) Kathe Wohlfarht booth that has all the beautiful pyramids and ornaments. We bought a couple things there. The other is the food. There are quite a few vendors there that had some jewelry and some with just crap and was disappointed that they really had nothing to do with German/European background whatsoever. A couple places were just ridiculous and belong in the craft mall somewhere else.