The scaled-back Holiday Market, here in the pandemic, was much easier to walk around, & just as…read moreenjoyable. Less is more. I'd vote to keep it on this scale (along with the Christmas Village at Love Park & the vendors inside City Hall courtyard). Also, going in the early afternoon to avoid the later-in-the-day-off-for-holidays crowds works. Vendors that stood out: The Philly Tarot Deck vendor & Skyseed Energy vendor. The tarot deck depicts various Philadelphia icons, past & present, as the tarot symbols. Questlove as the "hierophant," Ben Franklin as the "emperor," Kurt Vile as the "magician," Grace Kelly as the "star," to name a few. Prints & t-shirts were available too. Unique. Skyseed has gemstone jewelry for your spiritual & ornamental needs. If you're looking for a crystal for a specific healing/attraction purpose, lots to choose from at this vendor. Some of the other vendors, regulars from the past years, had exquisite ponchos, shawls, coats, & other jewelry that's definitely not your usual cookie-cutter mall store stuff. If you are trying to avoid mundane mall/big box chains for holiday gifts, I heartily recommend the Made In Philadelphia & Christmas Village markets. The latter has even more out-of-the-box gifts from various cultures. In addition to the many vendors, the Rothman Institute Ice Rink & Winter Garden (check out the reindeer topiary) both provide a winter wonderland feel. This a little enchanted spot during the holiday season in Philly that's not to be missed.

Set around Philadelphia city hall and one of the city's traditional holiday events it is worth a…read morevisit. Nestled side by side with the 'Christmas Village' market the Made in Philly has many small stalls selling candles, clothes, ornaments, food drink both hard and soft, and is a great place to shop for the season. While the 'the Christmas Village is more international and mass produced. Made in Philly is, as the name implies more local business and more artesian. If you're looking for that holiday something that screams local pride, this is it! Besides being smaller than the Christmas village the Made in Philly market is a little more relaxed. There are more areas to sit down and let your mind wander and abutting the Rothman ice rink you're not just limited to shopping and dining. I would recommend going during the day and going early in the season as the site gets busier in the evenings as commutes stop off and on the weekends. You may also find stocks not dwindling as the season rolls on as these are produced locally. Afterall it's easier to get a shipment in from Fishtown than something going to the Christmas Village from Dresden or Stockholm! Also they do not seem to have the problems with a uniform form of payment that is a both in the Christmas village. The one real downside here is the limited selection. While smaller than the Xmas Village there is also a sameness to some of the stalls, there's only so much you can do with scented candles.

With only minutes to spare and in desperate need of a fresh bouquet for our daughter who's about to…read moregraduate on Mother's Day, we couldn't have been luckier to end up at Almeidas on our way to the big event. Without prior arrangements and being told that they were just about sold out of everything, somehow they managed to put together a lovely arrangement of beautiful long stemmed white roses in less than 10 minutes! The best part was how accommodating and friendly they were the entire time. I don't think we could have pulled this off as smoothly had we gone to another florist. What's amazing was it only cost $35. We got to U Penn on time with her gorgeous bouquet in hand thanks to the lovely folks at Almeidas. Can't thank you all enough. You guys rock!

Love the flowers and handcrafted gifts they started carrying. Looks like yelps hours are wrong…read morebecause they are open until 2pm on Christmas Eve today for last minute gifts! They also have a funny gag gift lol which I thought was funny. Here are a few pics I snapped of my fav items

If you can deal it, they probably have it. Very fun place to shop for a halloween fit, there's…read moresomething for everyone! Obviously, look at my pics

Just a great shop, especially Philly centric things. I love the shirt selection with current…read morethemes, especially sports related. There is plenty offered here to find gifts or something for yourself. Place was crowded when I visited and staff was upbeat and helpful.

Interesting selection of Philadelphia themed crafty gift items, in a block or two laden with local…read morethemed gift shops. What caught my eye was the soft pretzel pillow in the window... although not compelling enough for me at $45. That being said, I'm not in the market now for a Philly gift or a pillow! If you are, likely one of the places to stop by Philadelphia Independents to check out their selection.

This was my first time using Pure Design. My mother was celebrating her birthday at a nearby…read morerestaurants, Dante & Luigi's. In the past, I have always had a florist design a centerpiece for the table at wherever we are eating, as a surprise. The staff was very patient and helpful as my mother is extremely particular about flowers. While they have a great selection of premium flowers, they are not inexpensive but I think you get what you pay for. My mother was extremely pleased and thats what matters. Picture here is my budget of $150, which with tax and delivery was $175. Would I use them again if I was in the area? Yes.

I was very disappointed with my experience ordering a prom bouquet from this business. I paid…read morearound $100 expecting fresh flowers and a nice presentation, but when I picked it up the next day, the flowers already looked old and wilted. The overall presentation looked rushed and poorly put together, especially considering the price. What made the experience worse was the owner's response when I politely brought up my concerns. Instead of trying to help or understand the issue, he became defensive, rude, and had an unprofessional attitude. Customer service matters just as much as the product itself, and unfortunately this experience did not meet expectations at all.

Perfect service if you're car-less, in an apartment, live in the city!…read more My husband and I don't have a car to haul a tree home, we also live on the 2nd story of a row home - we didn't have a tree last year for these reasons and we were both bummed about it. This year I thought, maybe there's a service that will deliver a tree for you? Googled it and found Mike's company. I think it can look a bit pricey when compared to picking out your own tree, but the price is warranted as they are delivering and setting up the tree for you - and it's obvious that they groom the tree prior to delivery for a perfect shape. They also cut the stump right in front of your home so it is as fresh as can be. Mike was so friendly and helpful, carrying it up the stairs for us and giving us tips on watering it for prime freshness. The tree (pictured) is absolutely perfect (delivered on 30-NOV and still looks great) and I will definitely be using them again next year!

There are not as many places/street corners that sell Christmas trees like they used to; they used…read moreto be all over. That being said, I googled places in Philadelphia that sold trees and came upon The Christmas Tree Stand as an option. It was 1 of 3 options listed without having to drive around searching or driving too far. The space where they are on Front street is a small space compared to other tree selling places I've been to in the past. However, they had a nice selection. My only concern was that their prices were considerably high compared to what I am used to. I have never paid $150 plus tax for an 8' tree. And I have been buying them for years to compliment our tall ceilings. I asked about delivery and that was an addl $199. Wow! So I took my tree with me. As I was too lazy to drive to another part of town 30 minutes away to see if they had just as good or better trees for a lesser price, I went ahead and purchased a tree. She is really beautiful, but overly priced for what I am used to from other places that are just as good. There was only one person working and he was really kind and helpful. So, they do have good customer service. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be returning there next year unless I can't find what I want elsewhere.

Visited Omoi Life Goods to check out what they offered (and get a passport stamp for my Traveler's…read moreNotebook). Enjoyed that they had a variety of not just paper, journals and pens but also locally sourced items like coffee, books and stickers. The shop was pretty crowded during my visit, probably a dozen people or so in the small space. This made me happy to see so many people shopping local. Eventually, after browsing most of the store, I decided to get a coffee bean pendant for my Traveler's Notebook. I've seen this same charm online for upwards of $20. Omoi's was $18. Definitely a value there! The service was excellent. While ringing me up one of the ladies running the register grabbed the Traveler's Notebook stamp (which you have to ask for) and let me do my thing. The stamp for the Traveler's Notebook is pretty cool, it features a soft pretzel and Water Ice.

I've really gotten into stationary goods lately and am always on the lookout for fun stationary…read morestores. Omoi was close to where we were coming to / heading to, so I bookmarked it and we managed to stop by before they closed. It was actually really poppin when we got there, despite the fact that it was about 30 minutes to closing time. I wasn't really on the market for anything, just wanted to browse. I ended up picking up some cute notepads for a friend and some washi tape for myself. I love that they sold matchbooks here! I am an avid matchbook collector, despite not smoking a day in my life. Staff were super nice and very friendly.

Mulled wine or Spiked Hot Chocolate, that is the question. What fun place to sip a hot beverage in…read moreadorable souvenir mugs and take a stroll looking at the different stalls. It may be in Philadelphia, but this Christmas Market is so similar to one's I've been to in Europe. In fact, it's one of my favorites. The stalls have some fun items, there are plenty of good options, and the Käthe Wohlfahrt ornament tent has beautiful work. It's really worth a visit.

Awesome little Christmas Village downtown. I really like the shops. Of note is the unique ornament…read moreshop. Some fan favorite beverage/food shops include the stroopwafel, hot chocolate in a boot, and spiked beverages. They have an Ice Rink, Ferris Wheel, Septa Track, and Carousel. There is also a nice tree that is pretty tall and well decorated. The indoor heated area was really good this year. I liked how much room they had to space out. They definitely did it correctly by increasing the indoor space and adding tv that played the football games. I ended up getting the hot chocolate at the Spiked beverage booth.

Really nice store. Beautiful layout. And the staff is really helpful when providing advice on how…read moreto care for your plants, even if you did purchase the plants at their store.

- nice, dimly lit space - price point wasn't outrageous…read more - I like that they labeled which ones were pet safe - no one walking around to assist to ask questions - the two employees stayed at the register area tho no one was in line; not personable - my friend tried to smile at one of the register attendees & she wasn't given the same friendly gesture