Wrigleyville's Christkindlmarket Runs a Week Past the Loop's. The Schedule Works Best for Whoever Lives Closest.

Christkindlmarket opens at Daley Plaza and at Gallagher Way on the same day, Friday, Nov. 20. The Loop market is marking its 30th year downtown and closes on Christmas Eve. The Wrigleyville market stays open through New Year's Eve. The Aurora market at RiverEdge Park also closes Dec. 24, so for the last six days of the year the only Christkindlmarket still open is at 3635 N. Clark St.

The daily hours point the same way. Wrigleyville doesn't open until 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and it closes at 9 p.m., an hour after the Loop. Entry to Gallagher Way and the market is free, and you don't need a ticket. All of this makes the market easiest to use for people who can walk over after work.

Two Markets, Two Clocks

Here are the regular hours for 2026, as posted by Christkindlmarket and reported by Block Club Chicago:

The Loop has more hours overall. It also stays open later on Friday and Saturday nights and later on Sundays. Monday through Thursday after 8 p.m., though, Daley Plaza is closed and Gallagher Way stays open another hour.

Wrigleyville's weekends are a little shorter than last year's. Block Club reported that the 2025 market stayed open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. In 2026 those nights end at 9. The weekday hours from 3 to 9 p.m. haven't changed, so the weeknights are where the Wrigleyville schedule did not get shorter.

The Weeknight Hours After 8 p.m.

On a Tuesday in early December, the Wrigleyville market opens at 3 p.m., and the rest of Winterland at Gallagher Way keeps the same hours. There are 28 vendors this year.

The Gallagher Ice Rink is open for the whole season. It costs $8 for anyone 13 or older and nothing for kids 12 and under. Children 12 and under have to skate with an adult. Your wristband gets you back on the ice for the rest of the day, so you can skate at 4:30 p.m., get dinner nearby and come back before 9 without paying again.

Two of the holiday pop-ups around the plaza run every day of the season. Lucky Dorr brings back Lucky Lodge, open seven days a week with longer hours during Winterland. It offers seasonal beers, hot cider and holiday card collecting in Caretakers Way, and dogs are welcome. Mordecai brings back Mistletoe, its themed holiday room with a limited cocktail and food menu, from Nov. 20 through Jan. 3. Mordecai takes reservations.

Thursdays in December add free movies. Toyota Movie Nights show holiday films on the Gallagher Way video board at 7 p.m.:

• Dec. 3: Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Dec. 10: The Santa Clause
• Dec. 17: The Muppet Christmas Carol

Each movie starts two hours before closing. That's enough time to watch and still walk the market afterward.

What Costs Money Once You're Inside

You can walk in, look at the booths and leave without spending anything. These are the posted prices for 2026:

• Gallagher Ice Rink: $8 for ages 13 and up, free for 12 and under, $16 skate rental, $10 per hour for skate aids. Rentals run from toddler size 9 to adult size 13, and you have to wear socks. The rink is cashless and accepts credit cards and Apple Pay.
• Holiday Train: $5 per ticket for a ride through the Wrigley Field concourse during Winterland hours. All ages can ride.
• 30th anniversary mug: $10 empty, or buy it with a hot drink. It's a 200 ml pearl-white mug shaped like a flute, with a market scene and fireworks on it, according to NBC Chicago.
• Other new keepsakes: NBC Chicago also lists a 40 ml mini stein shot cup for $7 and a glass ornament inspired by snow globes for $42. The new items also include a tree-shaped mug for non-alcoholic drinks and a green beer stein.

NBC Chicago reported that the anniversary mug is sold at Daley Plaza, Wrigleyville and Aurora. You don't need to go downtown to get the 30th anniversary mug.

For a family of four with two kids under 13, a skate session costs $16 in admission if you bring your own skates. If everyone rents, add $64.

The Busiest Dates Are Before Dec. 20

Most of Winterland's scheduled events happen in the first four weeks, before the long post-Christmas stretch. Here they are in order:

1. Friday, Nov. 20: Winterland and Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville open. Mistletoe opens at Mordecai the same day.
2. Thursday, Nov. 26: Thanksgiving hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
3. Friday, Nov. 27: Santa's Workshop opens next to the Cubs Store. It runs Fridays from 4 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 20. Pets are welcome on Sundays, and a photographer sells photos on site.
4. Sunday, Nov. 29: Breakfast with Santa starts at Alma at Hotel Zachary. It runs Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 20.
5. Early December: Alma starts taking daily reservations for Globes on the Terrace, private heated globes with mulled wine, board games, s'mores and vinyl records. Teddy Bear Tea runs Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 5 through Dec. 27.
6. Friday, Dec. 4: Winterland tree lighting at 6 p.m.
7. Tuesday, Dec. 8: Hanukkah menorah lighting at 5:30 p.m.
8. Sunday, Dec. 20: Last day for Santa's Workshop and Breakfast with Santa.

After Dec. 20, there's no Santa and no movie nights. On Dec. 22 and 23, the market opens at 11 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. Then comes the six-day stretch the Loop doesn't have.

Six Days After Christmas

The market is closed on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. When the Wrigleyville market reopens on Saturday, Dec. 26, Daley Plaza has already closed for the season. Here's the rest of Wrigleyville's year:

• Saturday, Dec. 26: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 27: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Monday, Dec. 28: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Christkindlmarket schedule
• Tuesday, Dec. 29, and Wednesday, Dec. 30: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Thursday, Dec. 31: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

During winter break, the weekday market opens at 11 a.m. instead of 3 p.m. That gives kids out of school and anyone off work a full day there, Monday through Wednesday. The two official schedules disagree on Monday, Dec. 28. Christkindlmarket lists it as an 11 a.m. opening. Gallagher Way's Winterland page lists the winter break hours only for Dec. 22, 23, 29 and 30. The same difference shows up the week before, on Monday, Dec. 21. Gallagher Way also says Winterland dates and hours may change, so check the morning hours on those two Mondays before you walk over.

The rink stays open through the end of Winterland, so the $8 all-day wristband works the week after Christmas too. Teddy Bear Tea at Alma continues through Sunday, Dec. 27. Winterland ends at 4 p.m. on New Year's Eve, and Mistletoe at Mordecai keeps serving its holiday menu through Sunday, Jan. 3.

Living a short walk from Gallagher Way means you can use the after-8 p.m. weeknights, the all-day wristband and the six days after Christmas. If you own near Clark Street and want to know what that location is worth in today's market, the Lakeview team at Vesta Preferred Realty can prepare a valuation for your address. Get a Home Valuation, and we'll send it before Winterland opens on Nov. 20.