Spruce Meadows Christmas Market

The Spruce Meadows Christmas Market is a Calgary tradition like no other. From gorgeous decorations to fields of lights to of course the stalls and stalls of Christmas crafts, it’s the perfect place to spend an afternoon during the holiday season shopping, relaxing, and soaking up the best Christmas has to offer.

TELUS is the presenting sponsor of the 2018 Spruce Meadows Christmas Market with an Optik lounge to relax with refreshments, free charging stations, and the International Christmas Market.

There are more than 300+ vendors spreading in the Spruce Meadows Riding Hall, Equi-Plex, Horizons, Gallery on the Green at Congress Hall, Reindeer Alley, and Candy Cane Lane.

The outdoor areas include, ‘Founders Plaza’, ‘Twin-Peaks‘ and many more individual vendors around the grounds.

I took Charlie out for the opening weekend and here’s what we found!

The outdoor areas are filled with small craft shacks and snacks. There are benches surrounding fire pits and it’s a great place to have a snack and relax.

These areas feel like a vintage European Christmas Market; they’re bustling, friendly, and filled with laughter and smiles.

In addition to the outdoor areas, there are many indoor kiosks between the Horizons Pavilion, Twin Peaks, and Founders Plaza. These areas let you wander amongst the display of international Santas and take a spin on the carousel while you go inside and out.

Next to the outdoor courtyards, I liked these smaller pavilions as a chance to go in and out without getting too warmed up.

Once you’re ready for some serious crafting, or if you’re visiting on a particularly cold day, you’ll want to spend the majority of your time in the Riding Hall and the Equiplex. Here you’ll find Candy Cane Lane and Reindeer Alley (yes, Santa’s favourite beasts of burden are down for a visit and photo).

Inside these bigger halls you’ll find more food options, crafters with bigger booths, as well as continuous entertainment from choirs and dancers and the like.

The crafts range from the usual to the unique. You’ll find spiced nuts, meat jerkies, sauces. There’s purses and scarves and blankets. There’s ornaments and woodworkers and kitsch. Our favourite booth this year featured Grinch Christmas Trees. They were all tied up and dipped with a big ornament and were so cute!

2o18 SPRUCE MEADOWS CHRISTMAS MARKET HOURS AND ADMISSION

The Spruce Meadows Christmas Market runs over 3 weekends to start the holiday season in Calgary; Nov 16 – 18, Nov 23 – 25, and Nov 30 – Dec 2, 2018.

The hours are Friday: 10am – 8pm, Saturday: 10am – 7pm, Sunday: 10am – 5pm
(Outdoor booths are open each day at 9:30 am)

Admission is $12/person* at the gat, $10/person* | Purchased in advance, or $72 Multi-Entry Pass for 9 admissions
* Seniors (65+) and Child (-12) are admitted for free.

Most of the parking during Spruce Meadows Christmas Market is free, however for those serious shoppers there is a paid parking lot accessible via Tournament Lane. It works on a first come first served basis and costs $10/carload.