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Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market

3.3 (58 reviews)
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Services - Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market

Community Service/Non-Profit

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The Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market
C B.

Christmas Galore, Holiday Shopping until you Drop, Vendors from A-Z selling quality items to meet every price range. Purchased merchandise can be arranged to be picked up at pu stations, lots of security and cameras keep the event monitored. Food courts on the perimeter of the Market with tables or like many sitting on the carpeted floors. Alcoholic beverages are available too. This is when you see folks dressed in holiday whimsy of all sorts of matching sweaters, jogging suits, shirts from.....book clubs, families, coworkers, and husbands were there too, although few in number they held their own! A Nutcracker booklet and a plastic shopper is provided once you scan your event ticket. Bring your own tote. IYKYK! Comfy walking shoes and a strategy during NOVEMBER 13-16, 2025. Travel to NRG on your own or locate one of the many, many chartered buses that bring passengers in style.

Shveta A.

The Nutcracker Market has become a tradition for me and my friends since I learned about it 3 years ago. And what bc an I say, except I absolutely love it! If you think of the holiday season encapsulated in one exhibit hall, that would still fail to capture all the magic of the market. From giant decorated trees to hundreds of vendors, it's the perfect way to kick off the season. And the variety! All of the staff and merchants are so courteous and you can literally find anything you're looking for for your price range. I personally love the amaretto hot chocolate, the fudge, the pies and breads and the chocolate popcorn. The brochure really helps to keep you organized as you navigate. And as the days pass, some of the deals get better! The market is also nice for finding unique decorations and ornaments, as well as toys and clothes. Really a one stop shop you'll keep going to!

Ngoc H.

My family and I decided to go to this event for the holidays. We went at noon and it was so crowded. Parking was plentiful for $22 at the stadium. There were many booths with interesting and cute items. We purchased few items to gift to family. Overall it's a nice event. I'm used to these markets bring outdoor in AZ but this is nice too since it was quite humid today.

Trisha C.

Came here on the last day of the market for this year. Admission is $20 and you can buy it online, on site, or at HEB. Parking is an additional $20 (so carpool). It was my first time going to the market, and there was so many things to see and buy! They have food, gifts, many Christmas trees, and many places to sit down! I was able to buy some pies since they were heavily discounted. Many of the gifts were reasonably priced and locally made. I thought it was well layout and parking was pretty easy. Staff was friendly. They had buses and carts to help attendees to get to the entrance of the event. Everything was laid out beautifully. I will definitely go again next year.

Right when it opened... around noon the crowd was almost elbow to elbow
Wen Z.

Wow! Houston Nutcracker Market came back with a vengeance! Visited the market today with my girlfriends... So very excited that all the vendors are there plus more... the line to get in was longer than the past but good for the businesses!

Fabian M.

Lots of fun stuff to see and buy. I suggest starting out at the entrance and take each row as you walk yourself to the end of the event. Cool Christmas stuff but not limited to. Exhibiting old school stuff was my favorite, and it awakened my childhood memories.

Lotssss of ladies shopping
Jane B.

3.5 Not quite a 4/5 but not really a 3 either. While it's definitely a shopping extravaganza fun for girlfriends, for me for now, it's a once every couple of years thing for me. I would love to hear Christmas music playing throughout and think it would be great if there were frequent appearances by ballet cast or orchestra members or local groups throughout the day. I mean it's only 3 days, right? Local choirs, bands, ensembles...maybe a gingerbread house or man competition...or invite collectors to display nutcracker collections....anything Christmasy. I felt it was really all about the shopping this year...which is fun...for a bit. I get that it's a charity event, but I also bet if it was more of an immersive Christmas experience there would be more purchases. There were allot more clothes this time....meh, not really what I go to the Nutcracker Market for. ‍ There are some repeat favorite vendors and some new. The Russian doll vendor was huge! And Amy's Art (jewelry artisan I say!) is ah-mazing. Food? All the way in the back, way in the back. Standard snack bar fare with maybe one vendor exception. How about pumpkin pie, hot apple cider, candy apples....or Christmas vendor food from around the world especially since HTx is so rich in cultural diversity. We have so much more to offer food-wise than taco salads/stuffed bakes potatoes. Spirits? A few scattered adult beverage stations with lines & lines & lines of people which ironically shortened around 5:00. ‍ Nutcrackers & Ballerinas? I was actually hard pressed to find either to buy. I was happy to see that most of the vendors had some special commemorative item. So it was nice that they got into the event. The systems were quite efficient though-parking, ticket taking, etc. Biggest Perk IMO - it's the one place you can get 50% off limited dates of The Nutcracker Ballet performance, so that's a big win! It's definitely a must do...but I think has lots of room for growth. #littlethings #Christmasize

Spring  Spectacular- doggie toys
Wendy W.

Review #25 This event is every shopping festival on steroids. PLEASE KNOW THAT IT DOES GET INSANELY CROWDED!! Don't say you weren't warned! Things to know: Proceeds benefit the Houston Ballet. Discount tickets can be purchased around town so do your research before you pay full price at the door. I highly suggest you buy your ticket before hand. You have pay onsite for parking so carpool. As of 2019 parking for NRG is $12. Get there EARLY! When I say early I don't mean right when it opens because the lines to get in are insane! I'd go about 30 minutes after doors open to avoid the lines. This event gets overwhelming crowded after the first couple hours. So much so that it can be hard to get down the isles. No strollers or rolling bags are allowed. Best to leave the babies at home. After purchases you can bring items to your car and return to shopping. Get your hand stamped. Be on the look out for quality. Many of the venders sell UBER cheap jewelry you can buy on Harwin at a fraction (or less) of the cost. Look for handmade venders. The market sells alcohol. They WANT you to drink! Oh, and you'll see lots of crazy ladies with matching hats and outfits. I think it is hysterical, but hey...it's their thing. (Clearly they aren't from inside the loop). ha! What can be purchased? Just about anything under the sun. Jewelry, clothing, home decor, holiday decor (indoor and outdoor), food and sweets. dog treats, kids clothing and toys, candles, make up, shoes, mens items, cups, art, purses, hair accessories, tons of monograming, cleaning items (as seen on tv type stuff), handmade items and items made in china. Venders come from ALL over! As of 2019 The Houston Ballet now offers a Spring Market. I went for the grand opening and there was NOT a crowd at all! I was in heaven! Think holiday market for with Spring items. I always find something here. Whether it is for myself or someone else. Just be warned of the crowds.

Socks are four for $10.

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That allowed us, in our matching Christmas shirts, to people watch everyone else in their Christmas outfits.

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Bunnies On The Bayou 37 - Mixers behind the bar

Bunnies On The Bayou 37

(1 review)

Downtown, Fourth Ward

What comes before Part-B? PART-AYY!!! This partay just happened to be the largest outdoor cocktail…read moreparty in Texas. BOTB has been around in Houston for 37 years now. I only just learned about it this year and wish I had been let in on the secret earlier since this was one heck of a party. Though I would not have been legally old enough to drink at all of those parties. However BOTB had generously funded a large grant to the nonprofit I serve on the board of, so I was more than happy to volunteer my time to help them out at their party to thank them for their generosity. I figured they were going to have me greet people at the gate or something since I am such a people-person, but they actually paid for me to attend a TABC certification class before the event and then put me to work as a volunteer bartender for a few hours - letting me check out the event as a non-volunteer private citizen when I was not pouring up drank. I have more than 20 years in the volunteer game - (and I know volunteering is not all about 'me') but I have never been treated better as a volunteer. BOTB occupied the entire outside Wortham area downtown, mostly headquartered in the Fish Plaza area. The front gate on Smith locked down entrance so IDs could be checked and only 21+ year old people were allowed in through the one controlled point of entry. The side of Fish Plaza running along Texas Ave had gates up also (and the high dollar donor area was along a large part of the gate anyway) so there was strong security in place. As my uber driver was crawling along Texas Ave to drop me off we could hear the loud music from a few blocks away. Party time, alright! While other people were spending their Easter Sunday in church or in quiet contemplation still drunk in a Tim Horton's parking lot this was the alternative: loud music, big crowds, and flowing drinks of vodka, rum, whiskey, gin, and beer types. Pretty much everything sensible you need for day drinking except Jägerbombs. What is BOTB? (From their webpage) Bunnies on the Bayou, Inc. is a 501(c)3, all volunteer organization dedicated to the raising and distributing of funds for various charitable, educational, and cultural programs that seek to improve the quality of life and promote education and awareness of human rights for individuals in the Houston GLBT community. The organization raises money through a series of social events throughout the year, and culminates every Easter Sunday at Bunnies on the Bayou, the largest outdoor cocktail party in Texas. Before my volunteer bartending shift started I collected some drinks of my own for proper drinkin' purposes. All of the first shift volunteers were amazing and polite. The thousands of guests were also respectful. There were cops everywhere, but I didn't see any issues requiring "Sekkurity!" at any point, which is pretty impressive considering that some of my family's weddings needed cops after the True Italian (tm) came out, even at a family wedding - and this was a day drinking party with thousands of strangers. Later when my bartending shift started everyone behind the bar with me was just as nice, as were the guests. All in all a great use of a Sunday. I know where I will be next Easter Sunday for #38 and it is for a good cause! The other benefitting agencies were all doing various types of great work in the community, and the executive directors of those agencies I met were fun to talk with as I learned more about their vision and strategies.

Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market - festivals - Updated May 2026

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