For 13 years, the European Christmas Market has offered a traditional approach to the holiday season, allowing visitors to shop and eat under twinkling lights in the East Plaza of Union Depot in St. Paul. 

However, the market can seem inaccessible to college students with tight schedules and tighter budgets. But the assorted holiday goods and European foods make the market worth a visit despite the cold. 

I visited the market this Sunday afternoon, a conscious decision to avoid the nightly dropping temperatures. The visit was made worth it by the people and vendors present. With Christmas carols sung by Mrs. Claus and fresh hot baked goods, I shopped the aisles of vendors of handmade goods with a college kid’s budget. 

Caroline Hunt at Under the Bark Syrup Co. said the people at the market make working in the cold bearable, as well as the many heaters they keep within their hut. 

“Everyone just seems so happy to be here,” Hunt said. She has worked at her family’s syrup company since she was 16 years old, and now, a decade later, she helps out on festival weekends with her father.

Besides the samples offered by Hunt, I was able to share an order of pierogies from iPierogi, German spaetzle and a mug of hot chocolate from a Krampus-themed booth named Krampuspaetzle, and a small but much-needed bowl of French onion soup from Valerie’s French Kitchen. 

Food was not the only thing the market offered. Many booths were lined with winter goods and trinkets, each playing their own playlist of Christmas music. 

In the neighboring booth to Hunt, Lisa Rydin Erickson sold her Nordic-inspired art prints and other trinkets. Her small tables were lined with Scandinavian and nature-infused artwork that Erickson had drawn on her iPad. 

“I was riding the bus to St. Paul and was working as a painter,” Erickson said. “And I just started working on my iPad since I had the time.” 

Since then, her art has been featured in public art installations across the Twin Cities, but she loves returning to the festival. 

Standing outside a booth lined with wool mittens and assorted dog collars, David Brecht was filling in for his wife, Nicole Brecht, for her booth of handcrafted goods Simple-Trends. The mittens are made from recycled wool sweaters that Nicole washes and repurposes into mittens for adults and children. She has been selling at the market for four years. 

“I love the festival,” David Brecht said. “People come in the holiday spirit and are happy. They seem to enjoy coming out despite the weather.” 

Down the aisle from him was Spriggan Stone and Dice Mugs’ booth. They offered a mix of stones, jewelry, leather journals, incense and custom stainless steel mugs with Dungeons & Dragons dice encased in resin at the bottom. 

Across from them was the booth for Do Me a Favor, a sterling silver jewelry brand by Kathern Dufresne. The brand started as a hobby almost 20 years ago, as Dufresne was attracted to jewelry and stones from around the world. Prices ranged from $15 to $75 with every item made by hand by Dufresne. 

“I just love the atmosphere, the people,” Dufresne said. “They’ve really captured the European feel.”