The Christkindlmarket in Aurora, Illinois is now open for the 2025 holiday season! We have created a guide for this perennial Chicagoland favorite. You can find that guide here: Christkindlmarket Aurora 2025: Tips for Your Visit. While that guide has lots of tips pulled together over our many family visits to Christkindlmarket in years past, today we wanted to update you with observations from our first visit in 2025.
Christkindlmarket Aurora, A Brief Review
The Christkindlmarket has emerged as a beloved Chicago area holiday event. It is a holiday market based on traditional European Christmas markets. The Christkindlmarket has been in Chicago for almost thirty years, and it has become an indelible part of the holiday season for many folks. Admission to the market is free, and during your visit you can shop for unique and handmade gifts and purchase traditional foods from around the world, including glühwein. There is also frequently live entertainment and acitvities for kids. My favorite part of the Christkindlmarket is the festive atmosphere created by the darling striped and garlanded booths made even more jolly by the general feeling of goodwill. It looks lovely, it is filled with enticing smells, and the feeling of Christmas cheer is all over the Christkindlmarket.
In 2025, there are three locations for the Christkindlmarket in Chicagoland. One in suburban Aurora, one in the Chicago neighborhood of Wrigleyville and one–the one many folks think of first–in Daley Plaza in Chicago. On this site we focus on the one located in Aurora. Experience has taught us that it is the easiest of the markets to navigate with young children, and the market itself also hosts some activities aimed at children.
You can read about those activities as well as things like opening hours and (free) parking tips at our original post, Christkindlmarket Aurora 2025: Tips for Your Visit. Today, we are sharing some observations from our visit during the opening weekend of the Chrsitkindlmarket in Aurora, Illinois. We visited at 11am, which is when the market regularly opens to the public, and we ate, drank, shopped and had some fun. Here are a few of our take-aways and just general observations from our first expereince at the Christkindlmarket in 2025.
Free Parking and the Bridge to the Christkindlmarket
In our original post, we recommend making use of the free parking lot by the Christkindlmarket in Aurora. The parking lot is across the Fox River from the market and accessible via a very nice pedestrian (and bike) bridge. When we visited this weekend, one side of the bridge was blocked-off by construction fences, and the other side was only opened when the market opened. There is an expansion happening at RiverEdge Park, the home of Christkindlmarket in Aurora, and access to the bridge has been affected since it began.
During our visit we were able to use (one side of) the bridge, and there is no advisory about it being closed on the Christkindlmarket website. So, we are hopeful that we will be able to continue to use it throughout the whole Christkindlmarket season. If you want to check the Christkindlmarket website for parking information, you can find that here: www.christkindlmarket.com/aurora-parking-info.
Improved Flow at Christkindlmarket in Aurora
When we arrived at Christkindlmarket in Aurora, we immediately noticed one lay-out decision that dramatically improved flow. The incredibly popular Baked Cheese Haus with their warm Raclette cheese sandwiches is now located at the very end of a row of booths. Plus, the queue area for the Baked Cheese Haus was marked out by metal barriers.
As one of the biggest crowd issues at the Christkindlmarket comes from having to navigate around long queues, this one change seemed to make a big difference. We were both more comfortable while we were waiting in line and while we were walking around the market. In general we feel the layout of Christkindlmarket Aurora has become increasingly crowded-friendly, and we really appreciate the effort.
Run, Run As Fast As You Can. You Can’t Catch Me, I’m…
In our original post we mentioned that our kids enjoy the scavenger hunt activity at the Christkindlmarket each year. For 2025, the theme is gingerbread cookie characters. One notable difference this year is that these cookies are not in the form of statues or free-standing figures. The hidden gingerbread characters are actually large images on signs. So search for them mounted to the sides of booths or on other walls.
Beside and below the signs, you can find a little wooden shelf holding a hole-punch on a chain. Use this hole-punch to mark the corresponding number on your scavenger hunt map. If you are confused about which number to punch, look at the sign. Each figure has a unique name, personality and number. Additionally, the numbers show the character’s location on the map. You can see an example of the sign above and photo of the map below.
If you want to catch a glimpse of the figures from years past, keep your eyes open. We saw some of them decorating the Christkindlmarket for 2025. (Do not forget to look up.)
We Still Enjoy the Timber Tent
We have said that we enjoy spending time in the Timber Tent at Christkindlmarket Aurora, and that is still true in 2025. During our visit, we particularly enjoyed the live music and the invitation to raise our glasses and sing along. In some ways, it reminded me of Oktoberfest in Munich.
The Timber Tent is a great place to sit down out of the cold and enjoy some music. You can purchase the signature beverages of the Christkindlmarket here in the souvenir mugs or steins. Plus, the Timber Tent is where you go to turn-in your gingerbread scavenger hunt map and receive your prize.
Check Outside the Christkindlmarket Timber Tent for Free Samples
Just across from the Christkindlmarket Timber Tent we came upon another smaller open-sided tent and some folks with Garrett Popcorn. They handed each of us a nicely sized free sample bag of white cheddar popcorn.
In our experience, this location is often where a rotating line-up of businesses offer free samples to Christkindlmarket attendees. I mention this because this tent can sometimes be obscured by the long line to enter Käthe Wohlfahrt. We recommend that you politely make your way past this line and see who might be handing out free food or beverages during your visit.
Enjoy Christkindlmarket Aurora this 2025 holiday season.
That’s it for our quick observations about Christkindlmarket Aurora during its 2025 opening weekend. Thanks for reading. Do not forget to read our more comprehensive main post with tips, hours and other information about Christkindlmarket. This has become a treasured part of our family holiday traditions, and we hope it can become part of yours. For other tips about Chicagoland attractions, visit our section Chicago & Beyond, and be sure to read Guide to Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo Chicago 2025 for another great holiday tradition. Thanks again for reading!
