I'm attracted to shiny things

December 13, 2007 4:46 AM

Last year I was in Strasbourg and was lucky enough to visit the Christmas Markets. I was amazed by the variety of Christmas ornaments, I've never seen anything like this in the US. That's the problem. I bought a few small ornaments, but would like to buy more. Does anyone know where online I can find these?
posted by revan to home & garden (12 answers total)

Have you got a photo or link to of an example of what you mean? What are the ornaments made out of? Are they decorated in a particular way that is distinctive?
posted by contessa at 6:54 AM on December 13, 2007

If you live anywhere near Michigan, you could try Bronner's in Frankenmuth (about 90 minutes north of Detroit). They claim to be the "world's largest Christmas store." They do have an online presence, but I'm not sure if everything they have in the (massive) store is available online.
posted by pardonyou? at 7:00 AM on December 13, 2007

Seconding Bronner's. If they don't have it, you don't need it.

Holy carp, that store was huge.
posted by Wild_Eep at 7:29 AM on December 13, 2007

ChristKindl-Markt
posted by Morrigan at 7:53 AM on December 13, 2007

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has a fabulous Christkindlmarkt each year.
posted by Soliloquy at 8:07 AM on December 13, 2007

You might want to see if any local cities have German sister cities. Akron, OH for example has Chemnitz (Germany) as a sister-city. Artisans and such from Chemnitz come over and set up a small Christkindlmarkt in the middle of Akron, with traditional wooden and glass ornaments. Other local cities may have similar programs. Alternately, see if there's a German cultural center in the area - they may hold a small Christkindlmarkt themselves, or may have information about any local ones. (Unfortunately, for various historical reasons, German cultural centers are somewhat few and far between in the US.)

contessa, the poster probably means ornaments like some of these - those are a few quick photos I took at the Christkindlmarkt in Marienplatz, in Munich.
posted by ubersturm at 8:09 AM on December 13, 2007

Doing a bit of searching, beyond the Bethleham, PA Christkindlmarkt, there's one in Kitchner, ON in Canada, one in Chicago, Ferdinand, IN, and Baltimore. No guarantees about authenticity of course; these just happen to be a few that have web presences.

You might also want to check out your local German consulate; odds are they're aware of and involved in any local events.
posted by ubersturm at 8:17 AM on December 13, 2007

No guarantees about authenticity of course

Having been to the one in Kitchener, it's the real deal.

Before WWI Kitchener (now named after the worst Admiral in British history) was Berlin. This is the same place with the largest Ocktoberfest in North America and the largest North American German-language newspaper. So their German christmas market has a good hometown crowd.

Except it ended on the 9th. :( You have to going sooner to keep up with the German you know.

Having said that, it's not really that big. The one in Frankenmuth is bigger. And then there's the chicken!
posted by GuyZero at 8:29 AM on December 13, 2007

wow - guys thanks. The ornaments are traditional bulbs, with glitter decorations in all different shapes and colors. I know you can search Flikr for Strassbourg, christmas markets and a bunch of images will pop up.

I'm going to explore a bunch of these links.
posted by revan at 11:14 AM on December 13, 2007

ubersturm - yes exactly like those Thanks
posted by revan at 11:16 AM on December 13, 2007

The Baltimore Christkindlmarkt at Zion Lutheran that ubersturm linked has some ornaments, but chocolate, liebekuchen and stollen are the main attraction.

Their website is filled with bad design and wonderful, fascinating history. And, they still have German language services.
posted by QIbHom at 7:14 PM on December 13, 2007

I'm in Strasbourg, just across the canal from the market. If you'd trust a stranger halfway across the globe, I can buy some things for you and mail them. Email, etc. are in my profile.
posted by stereo at 8:12 PM on December 13, 2007 [1 favorite]